So after looking at the prices of NST's bushing sets (about $80 for cage/cable) I recall Dr Isotope making some bushings as well. Checked his site and $42 for cable AND cage bushings. But those are for the tC... technically. I emailed the Doc and he was also curious. Said he had previous made a set for the Yaris, but nothing for the xD yet. I planned to look into it. And that's what I was doing today.

First off, the xD's interior/center console area is actually a lot easier to work with and remove than that of my tC (which I also thought was pretty easy previously). Three 10mm bolts hold down the center console after taking off the **** / shift boot trim. Cake.

So after getting the console up, I pulled all of the bolts (12mm) for the cage and pulled out a bushing. Then I went to my tC and did the same. The xD OEM rubber bushings looked almost identical to what I remember for my tC's OEM cage bushings. I pulled one of the aluminum bushings from my (then) Creative Compacts shifter and it fit perfectly into the xD's cage.

I did not take the time (yet) to get under the hood and compare cable bushings... but even just the cage bushings from NST are more expensive than the Doc's complete set. So I might just risk it without testing. Not sure yet.

Oh... and while I had things apart, I thought I'd try the *****... my weighted Dr Isotope **** fit just fine on the xD, so that may be another thing we consider getting for Jen's new baby. I even compared weights.

OEM xD Shift **** Weight: 3.5 oz
Dr I's Weighted Delrin **** Weight: 9.25 oz

So there's quite a difference just in weight between the two.

Decisions, decisions. So far, it looks like we'll probably end up going with the Doc for bushings... and probably still NST for the SSK (if TRD sold their kit without the realigner for a while, I'm not too worried about not having it with the NST kit). And then a weighted **** might also be in the cards... and a shift boot.

Ya... the list is growing. Already.

I do have a few pics which I'll get up in a minute.

 

Here's some random pics:

xD's OEM Cage Bushing:



xD's Cage:



tC's Creative Compacts Bushing on left, OEM xD Bushing on right:



My tC's CC Bushing in the xD's Cage:

 

Hrm, what are the bushings for? I have no clue lol.

 

Well as you can see, the OEM one is rubber, so there is some flex there when you shift. So the whole cage sits on four rubber bushings. When you shift, this can cause a bit of bounce-back.

Replacing them with some hard bushings (aluminum, stainless, or delrin like Dr Isotope uses) takes some of this bouncy feeling out of shifting.

Beyond the cage, there are also bushings for where the cables connect to the transmission in the engine bay. Same concept there - I just don't have pics of those yet since you pretty much have to take the xD's battery out to get down there.

My tC has all of the bushings replaced and the shifts are pretty crisp and solid. And IMO, feels much nicer with a lot less of the "slop" in the system.

 

Well, just ordered the bushing set from the Doc. Will see how it goes when they arrive. For $42 for cage and cable bushings though, can't beat the price.

Now to see about that shifter.

 

sweet, keep us posted.

 

Oh ya... TRD SSK ordered too. Nothing against NST on this one (tC pulleys FTW) but figured the price difference wasn't too bad and I'll get the realigner thingy. Had just thought about it some more today and decided to go that way.

So all will be installed together: SSK, realigner thingy, cage bushings, and hopefully the cable bushings fit as well (I suspect they will). Will update this as stuff arrives and we get to work.

 

so did they fit??

 

interesting