rmchrgr said

Steering shaft. Are you calling the shift tube the selector shaft? Either way, the I.D. of the bearing above would be way too small for the shift tube.

The column shift bushings without the roller/ball bearings inside just keep the shift tube in place so it's not loose inside the jacket. It also keeps out road dust to an extent. In addition, there's also usually a foam seal that goes around the shift tube but those disintegrate over time.



That rubber is an isolator for the upper parts of the column where the driver's hands are. It absorbs vibrations transmitted through the steering shaft.

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rmchrgr said

Just wanted to post some notes here and clarify a few things - the column I posted above was in fact a column shift from my '71 Duster. The shift tube was removed but that lower bearing/bushing thing is actually "correct" for a column shift. Other years vary with different lower bearing/retainer set ups but you should be able to make this work in most cases.

Most of you probably know that floor shift columns have an actual bearing, secured with either two or three screws - that's the $80 repro part that everyone always groans about. The $5 insert bearing essentially takes the place of that in case you were unsure.

If you don't mind the somewhat "incorrect" column shift bushing remaining in place after you take out the shift tube and don't care about %100 correct column appearance then this is the ticket when converting to a floor shift. Most wouldn't even notice the column shift bushing and retainer anyway since it looks factory.

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