Here is the picture that I tried to attach that wouldnt. Had to restart the darn computer:

 

Yep. Solid metal bushings, no rubber. OE on the Z06s ONLY as you said Bill. That's the same box I retrofitted my car with.

All are stamped "Z06", and to my knowledge, it is the only "hard part" (NON TRIM) specifically marked "Z06" on C5s. Anyone sharp-eyed enough can see the "Z" part of the stamping just to the right of the black ball cup that's not in shadow. The "06" is in shadow and hard to see.

 

So I just went for drive and the clutch feels great just got done installing it but my shifter feels sloppy. So after making another adjustemnt those bushing well what I thought was a bushing are all gone I pulled the shifter back up and they just flew away they were literally dust. SO should I order new bushings? Get some washers or get the z06 bushings? But your saying that you cant buy those seperate?

 

You're right. Metal bushings are not available as a separate item. I run across (actual) C5 Z06 shifter boxes on ebay from time to time, but be careful. There's a wide range of people out there that think they can just CALL call something a "Z06" part when selling it, and suckers will go "ga-ga" over it and pay a premium when in fact it's the same item as a regular C5. Sometimes their pictures are so bad you can't tell.

OTOH, there are sometimes someone selling a true Z06 shifter box (or the whole assembly) and the price is very reasonable, so I think maybe they don't realize what they have.

Some, if not all, of the C6 Z06 cars also have metal bushings, but I have not been able to confirm if it will work in a C5. I think it probably would not due to different dimensions of the torque tube it attaches to, but I would need to verify that.

 

PM sent.....

 

I went through the exact same procedure about a month ago. Here are some general notes from my experience:

* Note: These are the steps that I took, based on the research I did (mostly on this forum). If any of my comments are incorrect, please make note of it. *




Before pic. Note the deteriorated rubber bushing and the overall grime and dirt that is coating everything. You can also see the alignment port where the pin usually goes. The two holes should line up perfectly using a 9/64" drill bit. (I think that's the right size)





After: Everything has been cleaned and lubed. The old rubber bushings have been removed and the reddish polyurethane bushings are in it's place. There is a crack in the metal above the bushing. I couldn't find a replacement and don't think it should affect anything. But if anyone thinks otherwise, let me know.



- If your bushings are bad, you need to replace them. They cost about $20-25 shipped to your front door. I purchased polyurethane ones.

- For $50-70 you can get a C5 Z06 shifter assembly (upper & lower), which comes with metal bushings that don't degrade.

- There were complaints from Z06 owners that the metal bushings were causing excessive vibration through the shift lever, and GM eventually changed the Z06 bushing to some type of rubbery material (not sure which one specifically).

- The Z06 shifter is very similar to the C5 shifter, but is slightly shorter, so you get a little bit of that short shift feeling, while still having the stock smoothness. Or am I thinking of the C6 Z06 shifter???

- I dremmeled my alignment pin off as it was corroded. The pin is NOT 1/8". I believe it's actually 9/64". I used my drill set to find the bit that matched the pin. The reason it matters is that a tiny change in the alignment can make a significant change in drivability. By the pin being off by just a little bit, I was popping out of 1st gear violently a couple of times every drive. Scared the crap out of me...

- When aligning the pin, make sure it sticks straight up as you are tightening the Torx 40 screws. Keep adjusting the shifter and watch the pin as you tighten little by little.

- The (3) Torx 40 screws need to be tightened to 22 ft-lbs. Use a torque wrench or rent one from Auto Zone/O'Reileys.

- Smooth shifting does not come standard with a used car purchase. You have to keep playing around with it until it is to your liking. I had to open her up 3 times, adjusting and readjusting before it felt right to me.

- Once you're down there, you might as well open her up all the way. Remove the upper and lower shifter housings, disassemble everything and clean and grease the moving parts.

- You might have to use a screwdriver to gently pry the upper and lower housings apart. Once you do, the gasket is useless. Scrape it off and use liquid gasket sealer to reseal it when you're done with the cleaning and lubing.

- I used brake cleaner on the metal parts, but not around any of the rubber. For those areas, I sprayed brake cleaner on a rag and cleaned it that way.

- I used synthetic caliper grease to lube everything that moves. The difference was extraordinary. When I first got my FRC, I watched videos of people shifting quickly and thought that it would be impossible for me to do that. Once I cleaned and greased everything, it became easy as pie to run up and down the gears. The grime that builds up really messes with the speed of the shift.

- I think that servicing the stock shifter should be attempted before purchasing a new short shifter. You might as well get to know the process, and you might be happy with the results.

 

At that price, good luck; I tried. The few I DID find were mostly from salvage yards and are trying to skin people alive - think $150.00 to as high as $300.


You may be right on the size.
It's been a long time for me and I was going strictly from memory; point being, a drill bit is a convenient way to lock the shifter during alignment when the OE pin is lost/gone.

 

You're not looking hard enough

NUF_SED just sold one for a '03 Z06 last week for 75 shipped in the C5 Parts for Sale/Wanted section.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...z06-parts.html

When I first heard someone mention that Z06 shifters go for $50-70 I had the same reaction that you did. But then I started looking through the for sale section and $75 is about the right price. There are some that are higher, and some that are lower. You just have to be patient.

Good luck in your search

 

Yeah, actually I did look "hard enough", but it was on Ebay, not CF.

Actually I did run across one auction ad that a private, non-salvage yard, seller has going that's starting at $39.99, the results of which is the subject of my PM directly to the OP, see post #25.

Good luck to you.

 

Actually it was posted on CF and eBay. He posted for $75 shipped on CF and an eBay auction with a $30 opening bid and a buy it now price of $65 + $10 shipping. Obviously there is the issue of trying to sell during an open auction, but since the total price was the same he could have just had someone from CF purchase it directly through eBay. That would have cost the seller maybe 3% or whatever the surcharge is, but the buyer would pay $75 total.

My point is that whether the above mentioned CF member ultimately ended up selling it here on the forum or through eBay is irrespective to the fact you could have purchased a non-salvage 2003 Z06 shifter assembly for $75 shipped as of the end of the auction on Monday 5/11/2015.

Heck, you could probably buy a C5 oem shifter for $30-50. Add on some new bushings for $20, and saw off an inch off of the top to have your own custom short shifter for $50-$70. There are plenty of people who have aftermarket shifters. You might even be able to find someone who has a stock one lying around willing to send it to you for the price of shipping...

(I believe that it's actually the C6 Z06 shifter that is shorter than the stock C5. As far as I know, the difference between C5 and C5 Z06 shifter is the metal bushings on the Z06. I could be wrong on that point, though).

I'm just trying to let it be known to forum members who may be reading this that deals are out there... Besides, if someone tried to sell me a used OEM shifter for $300, I'd just laugh in their face and tell them that I could buy a brand new Hurst or B&M short shifter for $250. I can't imagine that anyone would actually be able to sell one for $300. Just because someone tries to sell at a certain price doesn't mean that's what it will sell for.

The same goes for eBay pricing. The prices for an item will be all over the board. Some auctions just started and are $1, others are Buy it Now at full price, and most auctions are somewhere in between. Do an advanced search for listings that have ended to find out what people actually paid for that particular product. That's the way to find the true market price of the item.

 

I think we may be talking about two different ads or postings on ebay. The one I spoke of, and PM'd the OP about, is still running and won't end until next Friday. It's opening bid is $39.xx

I understand what you're saying about that particular item, however you have to search for those reasonably priced Z06 shifters (which is what I'm focused on here, due to their non-perishable bushings) and get it quickly if you want one. At least on ebay. CF WTS ads are better generally price-wise, but fewer Z06-specific shifters show up overall.

I agree, and this subject of C5 shifters (pros/cons, etc) has come up NUMEROUS times over the years. Everything from custom made replacement poly bushings being made by an ex-engineering guy in Dallas, and another guy researching commercially available rubber grommets that can be made to work economically, to shortening/threading the shafts, etc, etc.
You're also correct about the only difference in C5 and C5 Z06 shifter boxes is the metal sleeves in the Z06. The same holds true for the C6 versions and I agree on the C6 being a bit shorter. Maybe the angled cant of the C6 shifters' shaft contribute to that, I don't know.

On the Z06 (original) shifter boxes you have to be pro-active if you want one and you need to be informed. Example: Ever since GM stopped making both the C5 AND C6 Z06 shifter boxes with metal sleeves, there exists the possibility that there are, in fact, some (maybe not many, but some) Z06 cars that may have hit the scrap yards, etc with GM shifters boxes that do not contain metal sleeves, but they are still actual GM boxes that came out of a Z06. IOW, the seller's not lying, or trying to deceive anyone necessarily by advertising it as a "Z06" shifter, because it really DID come out of a Z06 car, it just maybe doesn't have the metal sleeves (bushings) if that's what you're looking for. Caveat emptor.

Good luck.......

 

Yep we were definitely talking about two separate postings. Funny how the internets always finds a way to get peoples signals crossed

I agree with you that the best way to spot a Z06 shifter is to look for the non-perishable bushings. And it looks like we frequent the same sites with regards to bushings research...

Hopefully the OP gets his Z06 shifter at a reasonable price. But if he doesn't, the polyurethane replacements bushings are not a horrible alternative. More rigid than the garbage C5 OEM bushings, and a little more forgiving than the Z06 metal ones.