Auto shift belt crank fix

Q; I have a 64 xl with a 390 / auto, and there is a lot of slop in the shifting linkage on the crossover assy. Looks like some sort of rubber bushing that was crimped in place originally? Any chance anyone has a remedy for this?

A; If you have an automatic equipped Galaxie, all had this bellcrank assy. linking the steering column shift arm to the transmission. At the primary side of the bellcrank assy., there is a grommet that was pressed in when assembled. The 50 plus year old rubber in the grommet falls apart and your left with the center sleeve and a lot of slop. The scary side of this is it can prevent you from correctly shifting into park!

There is a remedy for this, I have recently assembled, is a replacement bushing, rubber and steel washers, and a cotter pin. You will need to use the original spring washer and the finish washer.

The procedure is to drill out the flared center sleeve, clean the bracket id, checking for burrs or out of rounding, clean the rod to accept the bushing, you may find burring at the cotter pin holes. Make the repairs as needed, and assemble per the enclosed instructions. Don’t forget a few drops of oil at the bushing. This repair eliminates the rubber insulator with an aluminum bushing that will give you a nice solid shift feel that will last a long time.

As previously mentioned, all automatic 63 / 64 galaxies had this assy. I have had numerous requests for a fix on this, I recommend anyone doing repairs or a complete resto to consider this replacement. Yours may look ok on the bench, but like anything else it will only fail when its used.