Good post, thank you.

I installed this tonight in about 10 minutes. It takes quite a bit of force to pop the arm off of the ball so keep that in mind. I was able to get it off by wiggling the shifter back and forth while prying on it.

I installed the new one with an 8 mm socket. I just placed it over the bushing and tapped it in with a hammer. Worked fine.

So... here is my dilemma. The shifter still has a lot of play in it When it's in gear there is still a significant amount of left/right movement. I replaced the shift cables today also and it's STILL the same even after that job. Maybe they just naturally are sloppy or something else is worn out

 

anyone found the solution already for a lost defined knotch between first & reverse? Its very easy now engaging reverse instead of 1st gear at times. Its a after 2004 r53 with the newer gearshift.

a solution would be nice because its annoying me more and more.

 

Gotta try this for myself. $14 versus ???

 

Hi - Was interested in this idea as the rubber flexible end on the transmission end of the shifter cables is torn and sloppy on my 2003 MC-S. Has anyone found a replacement for that end?

The RealOEM diagram refers to what seems like two possible designs for the shifter - a design "condition A" and design "condition B" - does this work for both - how can someone tell which one they have?

 

I couldn't find the end piece so I just replaced both cable(s). Sorry that doesn't help much, I've found that it's very difficult to find specific piece parts for the Mini and have it work out properly... this shifter bushing replacement find was a rare (and good) one!

 

I felt really fortunate to have come across this site to find the Ford bushing. It's very difficult to tell if you have the "A" or "B" model without actually getting into the tunnel area (removing the vertical bars, removing the console and looking inside) What threw me off is the orientation of the shift box and the pictures they showed. So much of the shift box is obscured but if you look carefully, you'll be able to tell which model shift box you've got.

Good luck.

 

Just a heads up - the 97ZZ-7335-AA bushing is available from online Ford dealers for around $7 with $6 minimum shipping (if you get 1,2,3,4,5, etc). Nominal list price is about $11. Ebay sellers are now asking for $20 each.

One example:
http://parts.autonationfordwhitebear...ord/97zz7335aa

 

It's March 14, 2019 and I pulled up this post from almost five years ago. Guess what happened again??? After lots of enjoyable miles, the bushing gave way again yesterday, as I was picking up my car from the mechanic (who replaced the leaking thermostat/thermostat housing). The mechanic was concerned because he couldn't get it in reverse. I chuckled because not only had this happened to me before, THANKS TO THIS SITE I not only knew what was wrong and how to fix it, I had purchased two of these bushings when the last one failed so I had a spare in my armrest!

I'll update this weekend when I have a chance to tear apart the console. As I recall it took less than 30 minutes to fix the last time and this lasted nearly 5 years. If anyone knows of a gear box improvement that would get away from this cheap poly bushing, I'd love to hear about it.

I've got 130K miles on L'il Red - it's a 2002 and I want to hang onto it but there'd be no way I'd consider it if this site didn't exist. Thanks to everyone who posts here!

 

Here's what happens when you get cocky. I had the shifter go out - it was at my mechanic's for a thermostat/housing replacement (drippy car) and when he tried to pull the car out the bushing gave way. I'd fixed it before, thanks to this site and I had a spare that I purchased 4-5 years ago in the glovebox.

What I didn't recall was how hard it was to get the center console out with the two towers that go up to the HVAC and radio set. But I got them out, put the new bushing in (I thought) and put it all back together, started it up and went to put it in reverse - it didn't work. Clearly the bushing had slipped out again.

I discovered that I hadn't gotten down on top of the ball of the pin that engages the shift linkage. To do that, the bushing actually snaps over the ball. That must slightly expand the circumference of the bushing because I couldn't get it back into the shift linkage - too tight. I kept pushing it until I managed to destroy the cheap poly bushing. If anybody else has figured out a better way of getting the bushing on the control rod and the control rod back into the linkage, I would really like to hear from you. I have another couple of days before I expect my $7-$13 dollar part to arrive at my Ford dealership. Good luck to anyone else with an R53 and this cheesy Ford Focus SVT shift mechanism!

 

I have the non s and it's the earlier 02 - 04 R50 does that automatically mean I have style b or is there a chance it's either.

An accompanying problem after changing the clutch is that going into gear causes the wheels to spin intermittently even with the clutch pressed.

 

Probably not. Looks like previous posters have the S, which has a Getrag gearbox vs. the Midlands on the non-S version.

 

HELP! I am working on this "loose feeling" shifter issue when the car is in gear or in neutral. I bought the ford part in the thread above and the bushing is significantly smaller than the stock one on the car.

The picture attached is showing where the bushing is located on my 2005 R53 "cooper S". I cannot find this bushing anywhere.

Anyone win and find this thing somewhere? What is the fix?

thank you

 

I haven't done this repair but as I understand it, this part exists only on the pre-facelift models (prior to 2004).

 

Hi, Did you ever figure out where to get the correct bushing for your Mini shifter? Thanks

 

The one from ford is discontinued.