Well it seems to make sense now. Last week I noticed that the tranny indicator at the base of the lever had shifted and so was not true anymore. I was able to move the lever forward and backwards and eventually the indicator righted itself. Today I changed out the tranny fluid and while I was under the car I observed that a linkage had separated. There is a hole in the bladelike shaft about the size of a dime and there is a shaft a tad less than a quareter of an inch in diameter , the tip of which seems to have held a "c" clip of sorts. I figure there must have been a washer over this cylindrical shaft that fits into the dime size hole in the bladelike shaft.Thing is I dont know what this linkage is called and i gues this will probably be a dealer item. My son confirmed that the tranny indicator moved when I moved this shaft to and fro. I am still able to select gears..any ideas?

You are missing the plastic bushing/grommet is at each end of the linkage. FCPgroton sells these for about $1.00 each.

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/8412/nm/Volvo_240_AT_Shift_Linkage_Bushing_1985_1993_Aftermarket_/category_id/208

Dan

Dan ..thanks a million for this info....have a great day!

Well..I installed the grommets/bushings that came with the kit..there were three flexible bushings and a "T" that I installed..the latter on the housing of the tranny itself..I ended up with three pieces left over , two seemingly harder plastic thin type bushings and a thicker hard bushing with a gearlike end..the largest of all..not even sure if its a bushing. I couldnt quite figure where the last three pieces go. In any case the tranny shifter feels quite good right now with hardly any play at all in the selected mode.