Neutral safety switch

[cmac2012]

For the third day I've had a small hiccup upon starting. No response when I first turned the key a few mornings ago. I made sure I was in park and checked battery voltage - 12.55.

After trying a few more times I put it in neutral and it started right up. For the rest of the day it would start in park. I've had variations on that theme for 3 out of the last 4 days.

I'm thinking this might be a warning sign that the switch is on its last legs. FWIW I renewed the shift arm bushing about a year ago.

[BWhitmore]

Either neutral safety switch or shifter bushings.

[Diseasel300]

There are TWO bushings on the shifter arm. If you only changed one, the other one is probably toast. If they're both new, the NSS is probably worn out. My SDL wore out to the point that Park would no longer start the car, only Neutral would. When I tore the old switch down, the plastic cam that operates the switch had worn down just enough to no longer make in the Park position.

[cmac2012]

TWO bushings? Where could the other one hide at? It was hard enough getting at the one at the bottom.

[tyl604]

There is one at the back and one at the front. Each has a shift rod through it. Not sure how you could miss it.

[Diseasel300]

There is one bushing at the bottom of the gear shift lever, I assume this is the one you replaced. The other is on the crank arm on the side of the transmission, the same one that's attached to the NSS.

[cmac2012]

You're correct, that's the one I replaced. So the other one is at the point where the other end of that same rod does its work at the tranny?

[Diseasel300]

Yes. When I replaced that bushing on both of my cars, I took the crank off the trans. It's held on by a pinch bolt. The shaft is flattened, so it only goes back on one way. Makes it way easier to install the bushing with the crank off the car.

[tyl604]

Has been a while since I did this but this is what I remember: I ended up not replacing the front bushing because the original was like new. However I did remove the arm (crank arm?) and had a small problem putting it back in the exact position. So mark the front arm before removing it so you can get it back right.

[cmac2012]

The crank arm ... is that the arm on the neutral cut out switch that the rod attaches to?

Tonight I put the car up, and holy crap, the front bushing broke to pieces and fell out God knows when. All that's holding it in place is the circlip, which is not the small round sort as in back, but the larger square sort.

I was alerted to the need for repair in the back as the arm on the rod fell out of the shifter lever and I was stuck in drive about 50 miles from home, with a job I really wanted to do that day just around the corner and up a few steep hills.

Lucky for me I got it fastened back on with some zip ties - drove it around like that for a couple of months! Oh, I'm a hillbilly all right.

It was noticably loose and a tad sloppy with the zip tie mount. All of that went away after I installed the bushing so I thought I was in the clear. I'm a little disappointed in our vid star buddy as he said that sooner or later the shift lever bushing would need replacing but didn't mention the front one. Maybe I missed it, I'll look again.

I'm almost tempted to buy his special tool but I think I can get it in with a home made nut and bolt press. There's room for it. Got to use a small bolt I found out last time. If the bolt is the same size as the shift arm, the bushing can't squeeze into position. I'll probably use a 10-24. Or maybe 10-32.

One odd thing, on the Pelican page for this part, two different bushings are displayed, no explanation.

The one I used for the rear was the lower one, part #115-992-03-10. I got it from my local parts guy.

[tyl604]

You do not really need a special tool. Just soak the bushing in boiling water for a bit and it will get soft enough to install. Think I used a pair of pliers.

[Diseasel300]

The front bushing is exactly the same as the rear. The other bushings are for rebuilding the shifter assembly itself. They're not as common of a failure and won't prevent NSS engagement if they do fail. Yes, the bushing goes in that crank arm on the trans. Undo the 10mm pinch bolt and wiggle the arm off. No need for special tools, use a bench vice and a suitable socket as a press cup. The NSS is indexed to the crank arm with a peg that fits into a hole on the crank arm. It only goes back together one way.

[BWhitmore]

A good tool that I found works good for installing shifter bushings can be found in the kitchen wares department - a pair of special pliers used to remove the pit from a cherry. It does help, as mentioned, to warm up the bushing before Installation.

[cmac2012]

I'll be darned, a cherry pit puller. I'll look for it.

Boiling the bushing sounds like a great idea.

Thanks for all the help. Could be my neutral switch is just fine. I'm almost tempted to replace it one of these days anyway.

[Diseasel300]

If you're thinking of replacing it, now is the time. The crank arm has to come off to replace it. You're just 2 bolts and a plug away from replacing it.