Comments for Chaos Magnet

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by Black

Black — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:07:26 +0000

Hey, I have the same problem with my 97 Saturn Sc2. At first the bushing was defective so I had it replaced. Now the shifter cable has come apart… I found the part at Auto Zone for $63.00 dollars, and the bushing (metal) on ebay for $29.00 and had my mechanic replace them. I hope the other bushing is good, if not, I may have to go through this again. Good luck to you all because Saturn is wrong for how they designed these things…

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by Dawn J.

Dawn J. — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:23:26 +0000

I read your post about the broken shift linkage bushing and you said to email you if photos were wanted to see how you repaited this. Could you please send pictures to me? Are they step by step pictures of the procedure to fix this? My husband will be doing this for me, but he tends to try to do things “his way” all the time because he thinks his way is better than anyone else’s, but only tends to make things worse 80% of the time!!!! Any step-by-step info you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!!!

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by Ce-Ce

Ce-Ce — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:58:07 +0000

Im not sure that my issue is the same as everyone elses….i have a 93 saturn sl1 my bushing is fine but the cable that actually switches the gear bends and doesnt allow the car to go into any gear…it has left me stranded not being able to get it out of gear at all. Ive been using zip ties for months now but that isnt working anymore…it seems like the shifter has too much play and doesnt stay straight enough to shift it into gear…im at my wits end with this thing and dont have a bunch of money to spend to fix it. Help please

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by Dan in Orlando

Dan in Orlando — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:37:02 +0000

Save time! I just read through everyone’s solutions in this blog, and took a lot of time, but the best answer is found on Ebay. Why? Most solutions here are risky (using wire-ties that can slip off while driving) or need special equipment (drilling out metal). The best solution in my opinion is to go to Ebay.com and search for “saturn shifter”. There are several sellers with the part for about $20, and I am going to buy from the one who has 1800 sales and a high rating. This, in my opinion, is a time-saver and least-risky deal.

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by James Mckinzie

James Mckinzie — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:02:04 +0000

That was my first thought, but not mechanically inclined nor do I have tools.

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by James Mckinzie

James Mckinzie — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:44 +0000

My linkage bushing on my ’93 Saturn went two months ago. I need to fix my brake lines and worry about my clutch,$500 for a fifty cent piece of plastic? I have been riding my bike. That is Bicycle. Personally believed w/ a little thought I could resolve this, despite my belief the best way to screw up my car is to work on it. Took the time to think about it the other day and I prayed. That was two days ago. $1.50 and an hours time my car is fixed and my mechanic is impressed. Plan to patent this solution.

Or just post it on the internet. I have ID’s and OD’s. We should not have to pay a fortune for simple solutions. This is a reasonable and reliable fix for under a $100. If I can figure this out you want to tell me they can’t.

July 25th ’11. Let us see how long this lasts. Stay tuned and stay involved. We shall overcome.

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by admin

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:28:43 +0000

Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever had the photos. But I recommend this: find the Haynes manual for your car. It’ll tell you how to take apart the center console. Once you’re there, the zip-ties idea seems to be pretty popular. (But it’s unclear to me whether you need to do any drilling to make it work.) Unfortunately, I’m the guy who wound up spending the $750 to fix it, because it was already done by the time all of these great comments came in!

Anyway, the takeaway here seems to be that if you can find a way to put those two pieces of metal together, you’re in business. And if you’re already stuck, let’s face it; you’re not going to make it worse!

Does anybody have photos of how to fix this?

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by devon baker

devon baker — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:17:27 +0000

hello. i know your posting is very old. however. i was wondering would u still have those pics of your work on the saturn? im having this problem now in a 1998 SC2 5speed and basically need a little assistance so i can get around. ive messed two weeks of work because of this situation.

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by SdSun

SdSun — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:11:30 +0000

Thank you all for the wealth of information posted. My car only goes into 1st and 2nd gear, may be the metal clips. Does anyone know where to go for good quality clips? Should I try Napa or Advanced Auto Parts?

My car is a 2001 Saturn SL–I just hit 200,000 miles. Car runs good, I keep up on maintenance on it-no major problems, except for this mishap. I love my car.

Thank you

Comment on A $.30 bushing on a $375 cable by Douglas

Douglas — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:22:07 +0000

When my bushing went out I twist tied it for a week until I could get a part from AutoZone at $30. Unfortunately getting the “teeth” of the bushing through the circle was more than I was capable after 2 hours of trying. I ended up tearing half of them off and putting it on and twist tying it again together half-a**ed as before. Now, I’ll try the ebay bushing solution.

What a bad design for the coupling. You could just see the two engineering departments (Body and Motor) coming up with this bushing solution when a simple treaded nut and bolt would have been perfect.