Yeah, the stock SC automatic shifter is ugly and awkward, but who says all SC brethren have to install a gated shifter? What if you're like me and want to keep a majority of your SC stock?

This a DIY to repair that "shaky auto shifter" most of us SC'ers have on our cars. Took me about 2 hours per car. (I did it on both of my SC's)

First and foremost, before you even pick up a screwdriver, you will, of course need to order the two bushings. Part number is 90385-11003 and can be found at any Toyota or Lexus dealership. They will need to be ordered.

Note: This does involve getting underneath the vehicle for a short period of time, just a heads up.

Tools needed:
Jack (and jack stand to support vehicle while you are underneath it)
philips and standard head screwdriver
10mm socket
ratchet
extender
12mm wrench

Step 1Remove the center console all the way down to the radio and climate control. If you don't know how to, or need guidance doing that, here is a link to removing those things.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...ead-units.html




Step 2 Remove the plastic shifter cover. There are 4 philips screws. The fourth screw may be hard to access before moving the entire console. Wait if you like.




Step 3 Remove the entire console housing. There are four screws around the shifter surface, 3 10mm bolts inside the center console storage (remove the bottom liner first) then there is one on the right corner. To get to that one you must remove the passenger side kick panel (just two plastic buttons) then the screw is right there.



There is another on the drivers side which is more difficult. Remove the screw holding the drivers side kick panel in place that is all the way to the right. Pull the panel down and you will see a bronze ground with a screw. Remove the screw. It is quite difficult to put it back.





Pull backwards and remove the console housing. Now is a good time to collect long lost notes, cards, change, and screws from previous repairs.





Step 4Start disconnecting clips, buttons, and connectors from the shifter assembly. Don't remove more than you need to. The following is all I needed to remove.
















Step 5 Disconnect the lower transmission lever from the shifter assembly. Grab a jack, lift the car (and support with a jack stand) and grab your 12mm wrench.



Get underneath the car and locate the shifter rod and tranny gear selector rod, remove the nut that is hold it in place and slide the tranny rod off the shifter assembly.





Shifter assy removed.







Step 6 Now that you have the assembly on the table, remove the black rubber boot. This is done by pushing those reinforcement cylinders out from their locations.




Then, pop this rubber inlets out of the metal and slide the boot off the assembly. Now is a good time to replace this if yours is ripped. Mine wasn't too bad at all.









(continued in next post)

 

Step 7Now get your 12mm wrench from under the car where you left it...( ) and remove this nut/bolt holding the shifter pivoting bar.




Remove the bolt as well from the pivot.



Pull the cylinder out from between the pivot.



The new bushings.



Pop them in at each end of the pivot.



Slide the cylinder in the pivot, where it was before.

Install is reverse of removal.

Done. 2 hours and a stiff shifter. All in an afternoons work.







LMK if you have any questions regarding this repair. I'll be more than happy to answer them.

...and sorry gtsfire, you took too long to make the DIY. I got tired of waiting.

 

Very nice write-up. Were the old bushings completely disintegrated, or did you not take a picture of what they looked like upon removal? It's hard to tell if they're there in the pic with the 12mm nut still on.

I've had a set of new bushings on hand for whenever I eventually feel like doing all that disassembly, but if you're like me and prefer to put it off for as long as possible, here's a pretty good short-term solution I came up with, which of course SC400slide probably remembers:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...roved-fix.html

Nine months and still holding up great.

 

Awesome write up man! My project car has this exact problem, and out of the three SC's I've owned two of them definitely needed this done. Love the fact were still getting new DIY's.

 

The bushings in both vehicles were not even there. The likely crumbled years ago and fell from out of the car.

 

This is an awesome write up. My shifter is so noisy and annoying.

 

So, I finally tackled this today. Like 'slide, I had absolutely no trace of the original bushings when I took mine apart. And everything was too clean inside for it to have turned into powder. I'm skeptical that something of that nature could disintegrate with no trace, so I'm guessing the factory replacement part isn't actually what was used in the first place.

The difference is alarming. There's no play whatsoever in the linkage now. Thanks for all the pics of the process!

As I expressed in the other thread, I felt the 1-2 hr estimate was very optimistic. Doubling that would be more realistic, IMO. At least the part under the car was quick and easy, nothing to fear there.

 

The first time it may take that long, but once you have done it once, you can knock it out in half the time.

 

Well sure, but that's the objection I raised in the other discussion. When you're instructing someone how to do something, you pretty much assume it's their first time doing it. How long it takes them once they're well versed isn't at all relevant. It's all about how long it takes the first time.

I don't see what the value is in underselling the time commitment. No one's going to think any less of you for saying it's a 3 hr job. You're providing an invaluable blueprint for carrying out the work. I'm getting the impression this is a sense of pride thing in how quick of a fix it is, though, and that I've offended you in questioning it.

I could maybe see doing it in an hour, as you claimed with practice, if the car is already jacked up and the console is already out or you're not counting the time to button it back up. Just getting those brown zip tie clips undone and reconnected can take 20-30 minutes if you try to salvage them. On mine, I had to pull down the driver's footwell lowest trim panel (the one with the triangular light) in order to access the ground wire screw. That's another 5 minutes of contorting on your back to get a line of sight to get those screws back in the funky angled holes. All those little things add up to make it a pretty full afternoon's project. Replacing the bushings themselves is a breeze.

 

someone had to complain

 

I wouldn't have said anything if it was just this thread, but 'slide was telling me in my thread that it's a sub-1 hr job and I wasn't buying it.

 

The third time took less than an hour. First took around 2 hours. I corrected myself in your thread.

This project will take about 2 hours.

Like aforementioned, do this, or rather anything twice, you'll do it quicker the third time.

 

will this for the most part work for an 96 ls 400? i hae a shifter cable issue that i hae to fix........