Trans Shifter Bushing?

[Kellson]

Hey guys, I've noticed on my '89 XJ 5spd that the shifter bushing(?) becomes hot (?). I'm not really sure but after a long drive the shifty becomes kinfy loose and sticky. Definitely not right. Any ideas?

[slipinkramer]

Shifter bushing?

[Kellson]

Is that a thing? I'm not really sure what's goin on down there.

[4.3LXJ]

Gonna have to describe that a little better for us. Not sure what you mean

[Kellson]

Right, sorry. Well usually the shifter has a really good "rebound" into neutral position and moves through the gates very smoothly. But after a long drive, the shifting motion becomes clunky and more difficult to move in a smooth way. This is most noticeable when doing the "side-to-side" motion when going into neutral.

[4.3LXJ]

I haven't heard of this before, but perhaps your shift cable is getting worn and it shows up when it is hot

[Kellson]

Can I post videos on here? Could be an interesting thing to bring up to everyone.

[4.3LXJ]

The best way to do that is to upload to Youtube and then use the link to it here.

[Kellson]

Alright I'll try to get that on here soon. Thanks as always for the help

[slipinkramer]

He may be describing the shifting if his transfer case and not the mentioned 5 speed...?

[Kellson]

No video yet but here are some pictures to help out. I haven't been too worried about this problem until I could barely get the thing into gear yesterday!
For the first ten miles or so of a drive the shifter and trans feel great and I have no issues. After that the shifter starts sticking, and then another ten miles in I have to JAM the thing into gear when I'm starting from a stop. Any ideas? I know it's not clutch-related.
You can see in the pictures that, when in neutral, the shifter has no resistance and stays wherever you put it.

[Kellson]

Pic2

[4.3LXJ]

So let me get this straight. It works fine cold and then you cannot get into gear or out when it is warm? Sounds like your clutch master cylinder is starting to fail if I am reading this right

[Kellson]

Clutch master was replaced just a few weeks ago and has leaked no fluid. The hard shifting only occurs when starting from a stop, no matter which gear. Once moving, the gears shift fine. I'm thinking maybe just get a trans off craigslist?

[4.3LXJ]

Can you shift into reverse at a stop?

[Kellson]

Can't remember having any problems with that.

[4.3LXJ]

If you have gear grinding issues with that, then the clutch is not disengaging all the way. You might want to check that first