The rounded plastic bushing on the shift lever.

[RoyBatty]

You know, the one that fits into the collar of the shift yoke?
Is that part available as a replacement or is it supposed to be a lifetime part?
The one in my spider had broken up due to a repair of the indexing pin that the bushing fits over.
It looks as though sometime in the past the pin came loose and it was welded back in position. That's all well and fine, but they left a nasty weld bead and slag that placed stress points on the inside of the bushing.
I have cleaned up the juncture of the pin on the shift lever shaft and am in the process of fabricating my second bushing from a piece of hard plastic. The plastic is from a small solid plastic caster that I found at my local Ace Hardware store.
I have another shift lever on the way from a kind gentleman named J. Erskine.
When I do the transmission change out next weekend I am hoping to put all these little hassles behind me for a long time.
I have looked for this bushing from the various Fiat parts suppliers and it doesn't seem to be available.
Am I overlooking it?

[ventura ace]

The Fiat vendors sell a kit that includes all those little pieces. Fairly inexpensive as I recall A word of warning: these aftermarket kits may not fit as well as they should. The kit that I bought years ago, when assembled, was a little loose, allowing the shift extension to rotate easily. However, all it needed to snug things up was for me to stuff and extra little spacer to make things tighter. I used one of those round fiber gaskets that seal the cam cover hold-down bolts as the spacer.

Alvon

[wikkid]

J. Erskine is indeed a kind gentleman, and it's good that you have a setup on its way to you.

Having said that, have you considered a Michigan short shifter? Pretty nice stuff - do a search in this forum.

[So Cal Mark]

it sounds like you are asking about the ball on the lower shifter. Those weren't made to be replaced, nor are there replacement parts available. You will have to get creative to repair it

[RoyBatty]

Well then, I guess it's call me creative then.
I ran a 1/4" bolt thru the plastic caster wheel to allow me to chuck it up in the drill press. I then rough cut the outside diameter to a little over 1.25" with a hacksaw and placed this roughed out part in the drill press.
I then used a 40 grit sanding block to shape and size the bushing.
Once I had the proper shape and size to allow the proper fit and range of motion in the shift collar. I then drilled and sized the hole to allow it to slide up the lower shaft of the shifter.
I then cut a notch to clear the locator pin and when happy with the fit I used model airplane CA (super glue) to bond the bushing to the shaft.
The outside diameter of the finished part is just a bit over 1" and the center hole is about the same little bit over 1/2"
I made this part a little taller to have more contact with the collar it fits into.
Reassembled the shifter with a little white lithium grease on the bushing and test drove.
All works better than ever!
Sure seems like a part that would be readily available.
Yes, I can fabricate another if anyone wants.

[ventura ace]

Quite clever. I hope your repair holds up to the heat, since it does get a little toasty down there.

Sorry about the tangent on the bushings for the shifter extension up top.

Alvon