LT77 Remote Bush Replacement

codekiddie

Member
The remote bushes on my LT77 five-speed conversion had always needed doing, as now and again I could hear a rubbing noise in time with the road speed, and changing gear, (normally from cold for some reason), could be a bit hit and miss. I was finally forced to replace them, as the remote had dropped enough to make an horrendous noise when rubbing on the prop-shaft :shock:

Of course this happened to me on the way to a show, but since it was being held in the village where I live, and the round trip was approximately 800 yards, I thought I would risk it :shock: At least I could push her home if necessary :LOL:

Here's a picture of two of the original bushes. The other side were just as bad:

OldBushes.jpg


The job would entail jacking the car up, removing the gear-stick, undoing the two bolts for the front bushes, and the two for the side ones, then removing the remote. A bit of a clean up, and fitting of some poly bushes meant I could then simply reverse the removal procedure :D

Yeah, right :LOL: All I can say is, if you get the chance to do this when the box is off of the car, then DO IT!!!!!

To start with, just reaching the front two bolts meant that I had to use every socket extension I owned:

IMG_3737.jpg


Then it came to the re-fitting of the extension. Although the job is simply having the bolts and washers already in situ on the remote, together with the new bushes, all you need to do is line up the bolts with the threaded hole, on both sides, at the same time. On top of that though, don't forget that you also have to hook the selector rod back in place. Unfortunately, access is very limited, and when you have your hands in place trying to get the first thread to catch, you then cannot see what you are doing, and it is all done by feel :?

I lost count of the number of times that the washer fell of on one side or another, meaning that I had to start over :evil:

On top of that I could not see the selector rod once the remote was in position, so had no idea if the rod was in place properly or not. Eventually I used my trusty snake cam from Maplins, (other suppliers probably exist), and aimed it at the post on the gearbox, to which the rod had to attach. I have only used this camera on three occasions, and each time I do I am thankful that I had it. On top of that, since I purchased it when it was on a half price special offer, it is most definitely worth it's weight in gold :shock:

Still photo taken from the video footage of the post the rod attaches to.

remote_lug.jpg


Now from the relative comfort of inside the vehicle, I could watch the screen whilst I maneuvered the rod in place. At least I had that part covered :)

Anyway on to the job. First I put the rear of the car on ramps.....

IMG_3735.jpg


.....and placed blocks under the front wheels.

Then I gained access to the gear-stick:

IMG_3730.jpg


The gear-stick was removed, and all four bolts unscrewed. The selector rod popped of of the post to which it was attached, and the remote removed:

IMG_3739.jpg


This is what was left of the bushes:

IMG_3747.jpg


The remote was all cleaned up, and the selector rod bushes re-greased:

IMG_3765.jpg


The new front bushes in place, with the pesky washers that caused me such a headache.....

IMG_3792.jpg


.....and the side ones:

IMG_3793.jpg


During the installation, only the front bushes were fitted to start with, as the side ones restricted the movement of the remote when manipulating it.

The snake camera was first used to help attach the selector rod, and once in place I then got back under the car to guide the front bolts in place. After several failed attempts to do so, (mainly because I just could not reach the bolts easily with my hands), I eventually managed to get the front bolts in place, (and I have the scars to prove it :shock: :shock: :shock: ).

Since a failed attempt meant recovering the washers or whatever else had fallen off, removing the remote, re-fitting the rogue washers etc... and trying again, it was a long drawn out process :(

IMG_3804.jpg


View from above of the extension in place:

IMG_3807.jpg


Gear-stick back in place, and greased up:

IMG_3808.jpg


All finished:

IMG_3811.jpg


It had been suggested that I could try and lower the rear end of the gearbox, and/or drop the propshaft to get easier access, but the prop bolts wouldn't budge, and the way things were going I didn't dare risk lowering the box. (thanks for the pointers though Stan :D ).

Now the job is done, it is a much more pleasurable driving experience. The gear changes are much smoother, and not a hint of any rubbing on the prop :D
 
I have done that, once, and it's not a particularly pleasant job. The problem for me is that polybushes weren't available at the time, only the standard ones, so chances are I'll be doing it again sometime.....
 
harveyp6 said:
I have done that, once, and it's not a particularly pleasant job. The problem for me is that polybushes weren't available at the time, only the standard ones, so chances are I'll be doing it again sometime.....
....and there was me thinking that you were going to pop up and say something like, "What you should have done was......." :LOL:

Makes me feel a little better that I'm not alone in thinking it's a nasty one to do :shock:
 
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They look like the ones. It’s been eight years since I did the job and can’t remember where I purchased them from now. Possibly Wins International.
 
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