In Canada the "HELP!" part is a "Door Hinge Pin Kit" for "Chrysler Upper Lower" Part Number 238388 and Canadian Tire Part 24-5327-8. The application info on the back of the card says Chrysler cars, vans, trucks 84-91. Note in the USA the HELP! part is # 38377. Price is $7.50 in Canada and $3.20 in the USA.
It should be obvious that the brass bushings are the needed parts... not the pin.
You can also purchase a 38374 Door Hinge Bushing Assortment. It contains the needed Chrysler Bushings and costs ~ $5.
The maker of HELP! parts is Motomite at www.rbinc.com
If you feel spanky and want to machine your own:
OD = 12.5mm (1/2inch)
ID = 8.8mm or 11/32"
Here is what fellows on zcar.com say about the upgrade:
press in the pin so the pin will form the bushing to the pin. The only filing you might have to do is on the outer edges of the bushings so they will fit in the tranny shifter ears.
- I used my vice to press in one side at a time. Then use the vice again to
Hey all, just putting my $.02 in for everyone's (hopefully) enjoyment!
I've had two Z projects in my time. a 78 280Z and now a 76 280Z. The 78 has a 5-speed and the 76 has a 4-speed. As with any car that has 25 year old rubber/plastic pieces, the shifter bushings were shot on both cars when I get them. This is an EXTREMELY common problem, so here's my long-term solution for everyone.
Go down to your Advance Auto, AutoZone, or any parts place that offers the HELP line of automotive products. Get the door bushings kit #38377. These soft brass bushings are the perfect size to fit your shifter lever, as they press nicely into place using a bench vice, and still leave perfect alignment for the retention pin to hold the shifter in place.
These bushings cost 3.19 here... and last for YEARS. I just installed them in the 76, and put them in the 78 5 years ago. Aside from the differences in the transmissions themselves... the shifters feel exactly the same. No slop whatsoever, and no performance fade over time...
Last night I installed the Help part number 38377 (I think that's the number) in place of my plastic shifter bushings. I found this idea in the archives and I just wanted to mention it again for those who may want to try it. I used a bolt and two washers and a nut to press the bushings in. They (the new bushings) appeared to be just a hair to large at first but I put one on each side of the hole and ran a bolt through the middle with washers on the outsides and tightened a nut down on them and they pressed right in. The retaining rod was an extremely tight fit going in as well but with some careful persuasion it went in. The difference is noticeable and the shifting more precise and my old bushings weren't bad to begin with. So I imagine if yours are shot or gone the difference will be dramatic.
Here's a helpful suggestion rather than filing the bushings after installation due to deformation: What I did on my bushings to fit them to the gear change lever was to let the bushings sit in the freezer (or on the porch if you are doing this in February anywhere near lake Superior...) for a while, then heated the appropriate section of the shifter with a Mapp gas or propane torch. This makes the bushings go in "SNAP" with a slight tap of a hammer as long as you line them up straight. Other wise if they are somewhat cocked, it's more like "Snap, taptaptaptap!" Either way, they go in with very little deformation that way as the clearances are maximized.
Here is the Nissan part if you want stock::
OK now for what I did:
My car is without the center console so here is
the starting point
Removal of knob and rubber clamping ring.
Getting closer! With the rubber boot removed, you
can see the lower boot and front u-joint in drive shaft!
Second boot is removed and you can now see the
pin, bushing and retaining clip.
Use a small flat screw driver to remove the
clip but be careful not to lose it!. I pressed my other thumb against it just
before it popped off.
Job done!
Wow, I was stunned, I had bought the bushings, got everything ready, pulled off the stick and it looked like this:
'82 Stick, pin, and plastic bits
No way was the brass bushing going to fit unless I drilled a new hole! :(
Duh, now I remember that my '77 280Z has a 5speed tranny from a '82 ZX!
The '82 stick sure had tons of "slop"... and now I could see why: the big plastic pieces and spring mechanism certainly contributed to it!
Oh well, I still had the original stick from the 77's 4 speed Tranny (The tranny was recently used to help a club member with his rebuild). So I dug the correct Z stick out of my heaps of parts in the basement and tried putting it in the tranny. To my surprise, it fit like a glove and felt better than the ZX and most importantly, IT SHIFTED BETTER THAN THE ZX! Whoo hoo I even took it for a quick spin without the clip installed just to make sure I was not dreaming. There was actually very little "slop" so the plastic '77 4speed bushings were not bad at all. Another thing I noted was that the distance from the hole to the bottom ball was actually longer on the Z stick than on the ZX. This would make it work a wee bit more like a short shifter. Regardless it still fit great!
'77 Stick and bits on left '82 stick and bits or
right (note the hole to bottom distance is longer on the '77
Here you can see the differences between the brass
and plastic bushings.
Pushing on (pun). I pressed the bushings into the Z stick. The trick is to do one side at a time:
One Side is in!
Pressing in the second bushing using a vice
It is difficult to see, but the inside of the shifter's pin hole is tapered toward the center from each side. This deforms the brass bushing and makes it too tight for the pin to slide in. Some filing is necessary or maybe using the vice to drive the pin in. I filed and it worked great.
Filing the bushing to allow the pin to fit.
A final flat filing of the brass flat side to allow it to fit between the tranny ears was all that was needed for a perfect fit! Check the zcar.com tip above wrt freezing and heating to get an even better fit.
Be sure to wash off all the filings before installing!
'77
stick
'82 Stick
Here is a comparison of the '77 stick (left) with the '82 (right). Note that the angles are slightly different (ref door handle to floor) so the comparison is not exact.
I liked the '77 best because it pushed back further towards the driver (me). Since I like to push my seat so far back, I always had to reach for the stick. Now it comes to me!
For an experiment, I may try drilling a new hole in the '82 stick and putting bushings in it to make a short shifter and push it back at the same time.
'77 on left '82 on right
btw that bottom bushing is: Nissan No. 32861-H7301 (Thanks to Z Doc on Zcar.com!)