broken shifter lever bushing workaround

i own a 1995 SL2 and recently the little bushing for the shifter lever
broke (at 75K miles). i went to the dealership to buy a new one, only
to be told that not only did they NOT sell the bushing separately, but
i would also be forced to buy the ENTIRE shifter cable assembly for
about $200, just to get the bushing! (i noticed that a few other
people on this group have run into the same problem.) whats worse,
even if you try and find a used part, the bushing will break if you
try and pop it out of the cable eyelet, meaning you would still have
to buy the whole cable assembly used, probably for much more than a
single bushing would cost (one place i asked charged $60 for the
part). and besides, why should i have to replace the cables when
theyre doing just fine? talk about your poor designs...

anyway, i found a very low-cost workaround that i thought id share
with everyone, in case there are other people like me who refuse to
pay out that kind of money for what should be a simple part
replacement. heres what i did:

i went to home depot and bought a polypropene fluid connector (Watts
PL-3025 PB1068 PolyPro NPTF Male Connector 3/8" x 1/4"). as im
currently in the process of moving, the only tools i had at my
disposal were screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer, and a razor knife, but
they were adequate for the task (meaning this is a very low-tech fix).
i whacked off the threaded end of the connector with a flathead
screwdriver and the hammer and used the razor knife to trim it flush.
then i pulled out and discarded the little insert (youll see what i
mean if you look at the part) and whittled away at the outer ring with
the razor knife until it fit in the shifter cable eyelet. after that i
stuck one of the plier heads into the hole and twirled it around in a
circle, using the rough edges of the plier head to carve out the
insides until i could get it to pop onto the shifter levers ball
joint. finally, i cut a 1" square chunk from the polyvinyl baggie the
part came packaged in and used that as a shim. polyvinyl grips almost
as well as rubber, so it fits very snugly (in fact, i couldn't get it
on alone; my wife and i had to push together on opposite sides using
our combined force to get it to pop on), but still moves freely within
the socket (because of the hollowing out id done earlier). it seems to
hold really well and shifts good, and the total cost to me was $2.36
(before tax) and about 4 hours spent whittling and screwing around
with the part.

hope this helps another person in need!

 

Typical response from the dealer. To be fair though, it is nearly impossible
to stock repair parts for every assembly. Especially true when the assembly
design/manufacture is contracted out to another company.
Glad you found a good fix. I like to tinker too and often find the journey
more interesting than the destination.
Oppie

 

You definitely did help another person in need this weekend. My 95 Saturn
SL1 had the identical problem. I printed out your solution and marched on
down to Home Depot and bought that fluid connector. Thank you very much
for taking the time to type out such precise instructons. It worked great
and you saved me a good chunk of time and money!

 

glad to be of help! but there is one last thing i didnt know at the
time. apparently polyvinyl wears out pretty fast when its being
constantly rubbed, so in retrospect it wasnt a very ideal choice of
shim material. i have since replaced the polyvinyl shim with a foam
one (i used a couple of chunks of double-sided 1/2" foam tape), which
seems to resist wear much better. the polyvinyl shim started to really
wear down after a few weeks, but the foam one has been in for more
than four weeks now and shows no signs of wear whatsoever, and it
holds a little tighter to boot.

 

Brilliant,
How long did it take you to find that part? It worked perfectly. You
saved me an alot of time and money. Thank You.
To save time on widdling I used a vise grip and a pair of pliers to smooth
down the outer ring. I simply turned it back and forth until it was the
proper size to fit in the linkage ring. On the inner ring I used a Dremel
to bore it out so the ball would fit. Since I had no one around to help
me press it on I cut to small blocks and place them on both sides and
pressed. It went on and now shifts perfectly. Thank You for taking the
time to share your success with us.