1976 Eldorado Gear Selection is Mushy through PRNDL

[cadlover1]

So here's another mystery (to me).  My gear selector feels mushy and imprecise as I move it through PRNDL. My mechanic says there is a bracket inside the steering column that the end of the gear selector handle moves through and that it is likely worn.  This seems like a reasonable diagnosis.  He further says, "you need to rebuild the steering column or buy a new steering column."  (He also said they don't know anyone who repairs steering columns.) I feel like all I need is to have the bracket inside the steering column either replaced or possibly have metal welded onto it.

Any thoughts on this (besides maybe "Find a new mechanic")? 
Thanks!

[TJ Hopland]

This era Eldo's seem especially hard on what I think is called the bell crank in the linkage.   Its what changes the direction of the linkage from vertical when it comes off the column to horizontal to go to the trans.   The RWD cars do the same thing just going the other direction and don't have the issue so there must be something about the geometry of the Eldo that causes extra wear. 

You can see from above looking down below the brake booster but its easier to access from below.  There were a couple different styles with different types of bushing used but it doesn't seem to matter which style you had they all have issues eventually.   Some of us have been able to repair them using not very specialized tools by installing bushings that are available in a door hinge repair kit.   

There have been a couple threads here about the process,  maybe someone can find and link to one of them.   

[bcroe]

As TJH says, it is probably in the linkage, I have never seen an
issue with the part in the column.  That section has an extra link
to reach the FWD trans, go thru it and clean up/replace any
problem with the pivot points.  VERY COMMON.  Bruce Roe

[hornetball]

Yep.  Inspect your linkage bushings.  They're pretty easy to replace -- especially from below.  You probably won't find the exact bushings, but you can make modern equivalents work there.  Honest John's has a kit (again, they're not exact -- but close enough -- might need to do some grinding/fitting on the bushings).  https://www.honestjohn.com/parts/?show_part=175

[TJ Hopland]

Cool to see that someone makes those bushings.   Luckily on the ones I have seen the non crank end bushing which has the retaining groove in it has never been worn.   If it was worn I'm not sure how you could improvise that one but at least now it looks like you could buy it.   The one that wears is the one on the crank arm side and that is the one where a door hinge bushing fits.    I don't recall if it takes slight hole modification to clean up wear issues or if the door bushing was slightly larger.  I know it didn't take much and could be done with a dremel type tool.  You didn't need to go full on die grinder or mill on it.

It looks like that bushing kit is plastic.   If you go the door hinge route at least you get metal bushings.  I suppose even new plastic ones would be a lifetime part the way must of us use these cars these days. 

[James Landi]

On my 80's Eldorados, the easy and elegant fix was a piece of gasoline hose--- You'll have to experiment, it's been years, but there is a size gas line hose that fits perfectly --- both inside and out, and the fit is sufficently tight that piece of hose won't slip off the actuating rod, so no grommet on the female side is necessary.  Hope this helps,  James

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

I agree with the previous statements.  I have a '73
Eldorado that suffers from this issue.  I can't get it
into Park at all there is so much slop in the shift
linkage.

The original bushings were all plastic and after 50
years they crack.  I have the kit from Honest John
but did not have a chance to try it as of yet.  Yes,
you have to do this from the bottom as the bushings
are not (on my car) readily reached from under the hood.

Mike

[TJ Hopland]

I took the whole assembly off the car.   I don't remember it being difficult to do and one end you have to have loose to re adjust it anyway.    To get to the bushing near the crank which is always the first one to fail you have to pull the whole crank out of the bracket and there may not even be room to do that with the assembly mounted in the car.

The hose fix could be done in the car I suppose since you could split the hose to slide it over the shaft.    I would think it would have to be pretty thin hose and you would also want it harder than the typical black fuel line.   But do note that there are at least 2 different styles of these so maybe regular black fuel line fits one version?   

I have seen the same version on a 73 and a 78 but a different version on a 75.  If it was an early vs late maybe one version was so unreliable that many of them got replaced under warranty?   Or maybe it was a different vendor sort of thing depending on the plant?  No idea I just know there are at least 2 styles for 71-78. 

[bcroe]

The 79 Eldo had a similar (if not identical) setup, with the same
sloppy shift issues.  Fixed this one with an aluminum shoulder
washer from my collection.  79 Toro changed over to a cable
arrangement, which meant both the trans shaft end and the
steering column were different.  Bruce Roe

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

I've heard about some guys using door bushings
vs. the plastic types.  Dorman has many of these
available but can anybody give the part number
for something that worked for them?

Just in case I'd like those as another way to solve
the problem.

Mike

[Big Fins]

I'll know that I'll be wanting to fix mine. The shifter drops enough to release the E-brake. Parking on a pretty sloped driveway is not good on the transmission when it releases out of nowhere.

[TJ Hopland]

Doorman #38374 is an assortment of bushings. 

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Thanks TJ, I'll get a set of those as well.

Mike

[TJ Hopland]

From what I recall which bushing works best depends on how egged out the original hole is.

[Big Fins]

From what I recall which bushing works best depends on how egged out the original hole is.

Not sure how bad mine is, but couldn't you pull the linkage, put it up on the bench and then fill the hole with a stick welder and then drill it out to the correct size?

It is frustrating to back the car out of the garage, apply the e-brake and then when you close the door the shifter drops down just that 1/2" and the brake releases. I envision the pawl giving out and the car ending up on my neighbors front yard. My driveway rises 4 1/2' in just 60' from the road grade. Not fun to try and work out there.

[TJ Hopland]

I'm sure if you had a real bad one and were a decent welder you could fill it in.   Some of the bushings in the dorman kit have pretty thick side walls so if you do have one that is egged out you can use a dremel type tool to turn the egg to a larger round hole. 

Having the car come out of park and roll is for sure a possibility.     

I have a mill and lathe so I could have got really fancy and custom with mine but at the time I did it I was talking to other forum members that didn't have those tools so I purposely came up with a method that didn't require any real special tools and using parts that were easy to get.   

[Big Fins]

I just looked for the Dorman kit on Amazon. A whopping $2.80ea for a set of 4 bushings. I ordered 2 sets. They'll be here tomorrow.

Now...when will I get to put them in? 

[TJ Hopland]

Its been years since I did one but I don't remember it being that bad.   I took the assembly off the car which I recall is much easier to do from below.   Be sure to block the wheels and use the parking brake because you could easily knock it out of park while working in this area. 

With the assembly on the bench I used some silicone or other plastic safe lube to lubricate the shaft inside the still intact plastic bushing at the end of the shaft which is also the retainer.  A little wiggling with the lube in there let the shaft pop out of that bushing at which point you can pull it all the way out and get a good look at the other side where the destroyed bushing is. 

I seem to think that all the door bushings fit the shaft.   Verify that they do and set aside any that don't.   Now take the ones that do fit the shaft and hold them up to the hole in the bracket to find which one will be the closest fit then go to work on the bracket to make it fit.   Note that if the hole is egg shaped you want to try and keep it centered so you will be grinding on the non pointy area.   

Keep test fitting the bushing and take it slow.   Its not a huge deal if you overshoot a bit but ideally the bushing will be a snug fit into the bracket.   If you go too far that's OK because you have the bushing flange between the bracket and the crank part so it can't really fall out.   

Also inspect the shaft where the old busing was.   If that was also damaged you will need to smooth it out.  The new bushing is wider than the bracket so as long as you don't have any sharp or high edges it will work fine. 


If the other end retaining bushing gets damaged you can try the kit that was linked above or do the same thing with another door hinge bushing but you would have to add a couple set screw locking collars to the shaft to keep it centered in the bracket.  I would then flip the bushings around so their flanges were rubbing on the locking collars.  I have seen those collars at good hardware stores in those drawers in the hardware aisle.   A decent hardware store will also likely have those bushings in both metal and maybe even plastic.   

[joecaristo]

Use Doorman #38374. Select the correct bushing. Drill out the hole a little larger. Press in the bushing with a C clamp. Reinstall the shaft. Now you are good to go. Done it many times. Works great and will last forever.

[TJ Hopland]

If yours isn't egged out real bad drilling works fine and is much easier and faster than using a dremel tool.   If its egged out which a few I have run into were I was concerned about getting the hole too far off center if you just hit it with the drill so that is why I was mentioning the more complex grinding method. 

I think it would tolerate being off center a bit so maybe its not worth worrying about?