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Cable Shifter Bushing Repair

12K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  black dc5  
#1 ·
If your cable shifter has a lot of play fore and aft, its bushing has deteriorated and there is no part from Honda to repair it unless you want to replace the shift cables. This DIY repair replaces the bushing in the existing cable.

Noisy shifter with lots of play:
https://youtu.be/NOrjAsBrkRI

Source of this problem:
https://youtu.be/D37TGltzFV0

First, you need to get a replacement bushing to fit the shaft and cable end. I measured the shaft diameter to be 0.317”. The inside of the cable end is 0.394” and its width is 0.235”.

The bushing size needed is 3/8” outside diameter and a 5/16” inside diameter by about 1/4" wide. I purchased some 3/8” diameter Teflon PTFE tubing with a 1/4” inside diameter and drilled it out to 5/16”. I then used a plastic washer between the shaft mount and the cable end. The tubing I used is no longer available from the supplier. However, if I were to do this again I would purchase one of these bearing components:

https://www.mcmaster.com/#6627K409

Note that the inside diameter might be a little tight. You can use a drill to open the diameter up a bit or cut it lengthwise to allow it to slide over the shaft.

Once you have the components, follow the steps below:

  1. Remove the shift knob by tugging down on the boot ring to disconnect it and then unscrew the knob.
  2. Remove the shifter cover. Open the cup holder and tug upward on the shifter cover and then carefully pulling up on the sides to free the retaining clips.
  3. The shift cable is connected to a shaft on the shift lever. Rocking the shift lever fore and aft will expose any play in this connection. You will likely see debris from the failed bushing at the base of the shift lever. See photo 1.
  4. Remove the cotter pin that retains the washer and cable end on the shaft.
  5. Remove and inspect the retaining washer which is steel with plastic on one side.
  6. Slide the cable end off of the shaft and wipe off any debris from the shaft and inside the cable end. See photo 2.
  7. Slide the plastic washer onto the shaft followed by the bushing. If using a flanged sleeve bearing like the component from McMaster-Carr, slide the bearing onto the shaft flange-side first. See photos 3.
  8. Apply some lithium grease to the bushing and then slide the cable end onto the shaft. See photos 4.
  9. Apply some lithium grease to the side of the cable end and slide the retaining washer onto the shaft, plastic side first.
  10. Insert the cotter pin and bend the ends around either side of the shaft. See photo 5 and video below.
  11. Replace the shifter cover and reinstall the shift knob.

This completes the repair.

No more play:
https://youtu.be/ohomsCEyoIM
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Recently i had the same problem when i was installing my Ktuned race spec shifter and indeed acura doesn't sell this part, so i found a cheap and easier solution:

Take one of those plastic bumper clips, get rid of the inside screw and with a razor cut the point side and now you already have a plastic piece that is the bushing and the washer almost of the perfect size together and is hard enough to handle the daily abuse, you just have to trim it a little from the inside to make it work.

This is the bumper clip i'm talking about:

Image
 
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#4 ·
That is a good and innovative solution as well. The last couple times I repaired in on my previous RSX I cut a piece out of a tube nozzle tip:

Image


Considering the lever arm of the shifter is about 3:1, any material will be subject to high loads of 3X the force on the shift knob.

It is not surprising that these only lasted a few years each. Looking at the bearing parts on the McMaster-Carr web site, the bearings I found had various load ratings with the nylon materials rated at only 55 lb. The PEEK bearing that I specified is rated at 195 lb so should handle up to 65 lb. of force on the shift knob.

That being said, any part you can find which will fill the gap will make a ton of difference in the feel of the shifter.