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I am going through the idler lever assembly on my Clipper. I was able to obtain a bushing and bearing kit that should help considerably. However, I find that several lever ends show some serious wear. Specifically the ends of the idler lever rods (3.330 $ 3.3301), tie rod (3.3045) and the idler lever shaft (3.30131).

My machinist is trying to figure out a cost effective way to repair these parts, short of making new parts from scratch. Any guidance or suggestions that I could pass along to him would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

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Fortunately, there does not appear to be anything fancy to the construction and "shaft" that slides into bushings appears to be a straight 5/16 diameter rod. I didn't measure the shaft to a high degree so correct me if I am wrong about the 5/16. If that is correct and the bushings are not a few thousandths too small, then depending on how bad and where the wear is located I can think of a few options.

One possibility would be to cut off the old worn shaft flush with the flat surface of the threaded portion. Lay the flat side down on a drill press table and then drill a new hole thru the center to weld in a short length of 5/16 rod. Doing it that way the hole should be 90 degrees to the flat & the shaft would be straight. A little grinding on the head to contour close to original shape and no one would be the wiser. The bushings would have to accept the 5/16 rod though.

A second option would be to file or grind down the shaft to make it a smaller diameter. You could then slide a bronze sleeve or piece of stainless steel tubing with maybe a bit of JB Weld inside the tubing over the reworked shaft and let that be the new diameter to insert into the idler bushing. The original shaft would still be present -- just a new outer surface. McMaster has some sleeves in 1/4 and 1/2 long lengths but better might be seamless smooth bore stainless steel tubing. That is available in 5/16 OD & several IDs so maybe one is available so not too much filing on the original shaft would be needed. That method might be the easiest if any of the long rods are involved but like the first method, would require the bushings to be of a size to accept the new surface.

A third option would be to weld some fill onto the original shafts and then grind or file that down to size. IMO, that would be the hardest option on the actual shift parts because of the difficulty getting a nice round surface to fit into the idler or lever bushings. It might be the best option on the support piece since that just needs to be snug and is not needing a precise slop free fit into the bracket.

Thanks Howard,
Bushings are 5/16 and McMaster does have 5/16 stainless tube with ID at .243. Should work nicely.

They also have a couple of sizes with ID's slightly larger than .243 available in 1 ft lengths. Only question is if the bushing is exactly 5/16 and the tube is the same then the fit might be a bit tight.

A 5/16 drill bit is a tight fit in the bushing, so may have to burnish the finished product a bit. Even if I don't get things exactly right, its gotta be better fit than now.
McMasters is a great find for me...