Last time my shifter had slop, I replaced the mangled original bushings with the silicone aftermarket bushings that every online parts place sells. I did not like them. They were not only less firm than the OE bushings, they were ten times more difficult to install. Even today I notice that nobody carries the original nylon style bushings, and a trip to the local dealer means getting on the beltway - no thank you. So I lived with the silicone bushings.

The silicone bushings wore quickly and my shifter has been getting looser for a few years. I did not realize until looking under the car this past week that, in fact, the bushings were completely gone, and likely have been for a long time. Once again I faced the choice of obviously inferior silicone bushings or a trip down the construction-plagued-cluster-fun that is the capital beltway. Ever one to find the unspoken option, I made my own.

I got out my dial caliper and measured the best I could in the cramped space of the tranny tunnel. The holes in the shifter linkage are roughly 1/2" (probably more like 13mm). The pins are roughly 5/16" (again, probably 8mm). And the bushings could be no longer than 5/16". I searched the shop for something suitable and found a piece of copper tubing (3/8" nominal?) with a 1/2" outside diameter. Obviously, the inside diameter was way too large.

I filled the tubing with lead free solder which is very close to many alloys of Babbitt metal. High tin alloys are excellent self-lubricating bushing/bearing metals, as long as the heat and pressure do not go too high. If you go to your local thrift store and find a beat up pewter stein, it will be almost identical to the original Babbitt metal, and will melt easily with a torch or hot plate. (I had one I was willing to melt, but didn't dig it out since I was just experimenting.) After filling the tubing, I drilled a 5/16" hole down the center and filed it to length. The end result is a copper shelled, tin-alloy bushing with a 1/2" OD, a 5/16" ID, and a width of about 5/16".

If anyone is interested, I centered the copper tubing on my drill press by clamping down a piece of soapstone and drilling a 1/2" hole. Then, without moving anything, I poured the solder and drilled the 5/16" hole, so it was perfectly centered.

The bushings fit perfectly, and give a satisfyingly firm shift. Not bad for an hours work. I am not sure how long they will last, but I am confident that neither solder nor copper will damage the steel linkage, so if I have to replace them one day, so be it. I notice McMaster-Carr has several bushings that might serve as well, possibly with a little grinding, and I may go that route in the future, but I won't go back to the silicone garbage.

Hello,

I am pretty sure you wanted Volvo part number 666143, which was the original part number for the shift linkage bushings and these are still available right from Volvo.

I have no idea why Volvo updated to the softer bushings, maybe to try to reduce vibrations transferred through the shift linkage.

We used the softer bushings for a very short period of time and then switched back to the early bushings.

We keep them in stock as these bushings are also the throttle linkage bushings for most of the early Volvos with carburetors.

Current list price is $4.60 a piece.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502

Eric, you gave "scorron" the info regarding original Volvo bushings but I think you missed his point about not wanting to drive on the capitol beltway to reach a Volvo dealer. I've driven in traffic in NY, Miami, LA, Baltimore and others--and there's no doubt those "drivers" on the beltway are the meanest, nastiest, rude and inconsiderate I've ever come across. Do "scorron" a favor and give him an address so he can order some from you. -- Dave

Funny how we can all read the same post and come away with such divergent conclusions. Eric thinks Sean needs help, and so does Dave, but I think Sean posted to help the rest of us; if not to provide an alternate solution, to provide an example of ingenuity Americans have been celebrating for 200 years.

As I've followed Sean's posts, I've come to know him as a practical metallurgist. I see in his post some desire to attain the resilience of the high-durometer elastomer original piece with alloys in use for centuries in the same or similar applications. Stuff he can mold and machine at home, without getting on the Beltway or even heading for the local hardware store. Make do with what you have on hand.

Sure, we immediately figure anyone originating a thread is looking for help rather than offering it.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

By the way, I've been using the aftermarket bushings and have not yet needed to return to them. Maybe they are like shocks, and wear slowly enough I don't notice the degradation.

Thanks, Art; that's what I was aiming for: the firm feel of the original hard plastic bushings, using materials that I had, and which may even be more durable (we'll see about that one). If I'd had a lathe, I could have turned down brass or aluminum, but I used what I had available, as always.

And yes, I know the original bushings are available from Volvo, but thought another board member might, like me, prefer to spend an afternoon in the workshop rather than fighting traffic or waiting a week for bushings to come in the mail.

I think your assessment of the slow wear in the bushings is correct; like shocks, mine disappeared so gradually that I did not know they were gone. I have had a rattle in the shifter area for months, but did not consider the possibility that my bushings were gone because there was no noticeable change.

Makes me wonder what else has gradually declined to the point of annoyance without my notice.

My apologies Sean. I guess I jumped the gun--focusing more on my horrible experiences on the beltway rather than the success of your utilizing materials at hand. But I have to also admit that there was an element of "who the heck would spend that kind of time fixing something that could be addressed easily with the original part" to my thinking. I should be ashamed of myself since I often do somewhat the same when the "right" part isn't available and my late dad was a master of the "backyard" fix---with the fix often outlasting the rest of the car. -- Dave

Hello,

I also applaud scorrons resourcefulness.

Mother is the necessity of all invention, or is it necessity is the mother of all invention. :-) :-)

However, I do wager that most of the DIYers out there would prefer to install a replacement part(s) that does not need to be self fabricated and that is why I posted the original part number.

Again, however there are always exceptions to EVERY rule.

And when only inferior parts are available or when new or used parts are either not available or unreasonably expensive, self fabrication may be your only option.

As an example, we used to use bulk hose and used plastic bushings to replace the long time no longer available shift linkage bushings on 1970-1973 Volvo 1800e/es with automatic transmission.

There are 2 shift linkage arms on this set up and there are 2 completely different bushings on each end of each shift linkage arm.

One of the bushings is made of the same type of nylon used in the 666143, and is designed to slip over a ball on a stud that is attached to a lever.

The other end of the shift linkage has a bushing that is a larger version of the 666143, but is made of rubber and has a separate plastic sleeve inserted and then a pin with a "e" clip.

The nylon bushing was never available separately, even though the bushing fits linkage pieces for all the early automatic Volvos up to 1972 and some of the manual steering column linkage as well.

After many years of searching, I finally found a direct replacement for that part and we now keep them in stock.

And after finally finding NOS (New OLD Stock) examples of the bushing on the other end of the 1800e/es automatic linkage, we now offer reproduction bushings we make from a mold we made of the original bushings.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502

I appreciated the info! I knew Volvo still showed the bushings as avilable, but I wasn't sure they were the same.

The thing I love about 240s (and older Volvos, I assume) is that so many parts can be rebuilt or replaced easily, and with a little ingenuity, the car could be maintained long after parts sources dry up.

Oh, not a problem. I usually agree with you - if a travelling Volvo parts peddler had been passing by the house that day with the right part, I would have gladly paid for the original bushings. But given the choice between driving up the beltway or waiting for (and paying for!) shipping, I chose to flex my engineering muscles.

I also like to reassure myself that one day, when 240 parts are all but gone, I will be able to keep my car on the road.