The shift mechanism on my 1994 940T wagon is broken.
Referring to the parts diagram here --

https://www.bostonvolvocarsparts.com/a/Volvo__940/42821001__5698110/Gearshift--shift-control/GR-65426.html

I can see that the rear of the (forked) lateral lever (54) is hanging down (with fastener and nut still attached in the slot). So the connection to the intermediate lever (9) is apparently broken and that probably the intermediate lever itself may be broken (tip snapped off?) and in need of replacement. I can find no reference to this specific job anywhere -- the FAQs seem to focus on the earlier 700 models -- can anyone advise? I was rather hoping that if I could get it on a ramp, I could undo the retainer (17) from retaining ring bolt (16) and install a new intermediate lever -- WITHOUT having to remove the entire shift mechanism from the car. Wishful thinking?

The car is stuck in reverse, on an incline, but on private property. I am thinking of rigging up some long device (hook on a long stick?) to attach to visible lever and shove/pull it toward the back of the car to get the car into neutral to make in easier on the guy I get to tow it. More wishful thinking?

Depending on the comments here I'll either have it towed home if the job is straightforward, or to a shop. Thanks ....

First of all, a huge Thanks for the fantastic, detailed and helpful responses. The situation has been resolved in the following way. We set up wooden ramps on a flat area of gravelled land 30 yards from the disabled car. My son and I chocked the back wheels while I crawled under the car from the driver's side to operate slotted lever 54 in the same diagram:
https://www.bostonvolvocarsparts.com/a/Volvo__940/42821001__5698110/Gearshift--shift-control/GR-65426.html
Fortunately, the lever moved very easily and car did not shift on the slope during this process. I pulled the lever fully rightwards. My son started the car and verified we were in park. Then, with his foot hard on the brake I shifted the lever 3 spaces leftwards. My son verified that drive was engaged and drove he car in 1 fell swoop onto the ramps without needing to reverse (which would have been a pain of course).
Once on the ramps we established that intermediate lever 9 was fine. Slotted lever 54 was hanging down loose, with components 55, 18 and (circlip) 21 present and correct but -- somewhat curiously -- the bushing and washer 20 were completely missing. I ordered new parts from bostonvolvocarparts that arrived inside a week and installed new 55, 18, 19, 20, and 21 by accessing again from the side of the car on the ramps. The repair was fortunately no more complicated than that. Thanks again, all. What a great resource brickboard is.

Dear Rob2volvos,

Hope you're well. Further to Amarin's post, the part you need is an e-clip. This is Volvo Part #951669. It is available from a Volvo dealer. The cost should be under $2. If I recall correctly, a 10mm e-clip (note the metric spec) will also fit.

The factory-original e-clip likely corroded-away to nothing. In addition to setting the emergecy brake - as Amarin suggests - I'd chock the passenger-side wheels, front and back.

If the car is on a paved surface, a floor jack - NOT the tire-change jack supplied with the car - can be used to life the car. Place jack-stands to bear the weight: NEVER go under car supported only by a jack, no matter how strong is the jack. The tire-change jack should not be used for any other purpose.

If the car is on dirt or gravel, you'll need to put sections of 2"x12" boards under the floor jack and the jack-stands. Those boards will keep the jack from sinking and/or the jack-stands from tilting. Failure to emplace boards when jacking on dirt/gravel creates death danger risk.

Before starting work, spread a small tarp under the work area, to ease finding the e-clip, if it gets away. Also bring a small magnet on a telescoping rod and a flashlight, for the same reason.

Go under the car from the driver's side. Emplacing the e-Clip is tedious: it sits in a recess in the black plastic "intermediate arm". A flat-blade screwdriver with a 1/8"- wide tip might help to push the e-clip into place.

Once the e-clip is seated into the recess in the stud, all will be well. You can coat the e-clip with white lithium grease to inhibit rusting.

While you're underneath, it might be wise to change the shift link bushing, This is part #381704. It should be available from a Volvo dealer for about $5. A bit of dish-washing detergent serves as a lubricant to help seat the bushing. The same flat-blade screwdriver also can be used to seat the bushing.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

I would totally agree with Spook as to what needs to be replaced--and the ease of getting the car in neutral. The one other malady that might be the problem is related - the connecting rod (54) is prone to rust -- I've seen at least one that broke due to rust. - Dave

My '95 940s have the same shifter mechanism as your '94 (as in the parts diagram). I'm unfortunately rather familiar with them having had to remove and completely disassemble them on a few occasions just this past year to deal with a troublesome shifter solenoid so hopefully I can be of help.

First off, if you can safely grab the shift lever hanging down then you can easily move it back and forth to shift the tranny into Neutral. There are no interlocks. The detent positions are fairly obvious, just remember the lever moves opposite to the shifter knob. It doesn't matter a whole lot if the car is left in Reverse at the moment. As long as it's not in Park then you can roll the car. Tow operators should be towing with the drive wheels raised off the ground or on a dolly in any case, which for a RWD means towing it backwards, so you can probably just leave it as is. I don't know about your area, but flat decks are often cheaper for long distance tows. Another option is of course a rented dolly.

Now as to the shifter assembly itself, yes, the end of the black plastic lever (#9) would seemingly be broken if you see the bolt in the yoke hanging down. I'm having trouble imagining just the e-clip coming off and the whole lever sliding off its toothed sleeve, but maybe someone has encountered this. The levers are pretty sturdy, so I imagine it struck something at some point in time. It looks like you can buy the replacement part and it's not horridly expensive. Another option is to get a whole shifter assembly from a yard -just make sure it's the right one as a number of slightly different styles were used in the later 740s and 940s (of particular note is the shift lock solenoid #45).

I would not consider it safe to attempt a bandage repair to the lever so you can drive it. The AW7x shifters are also a little fussy as to adjustment what with the switches and interlocks. Now if it is just the e-clip off then you could temporarily slide the lever back onto the toothed collar and just use something to bind it to the housing or between the tunnel so it can't slide out again unil you can get a new e-clip.

Now as for replacing the lever, it is indeed a bit of a PITA job to lift up the entire shifter assembly, especially just to have to replace that lever. I'd sure give it a try from undeneath, although it would be a heck of a lot easier up on a hoist rather than lying on your back with your elbows jammed up on the undercarriage. I'm trying to remember if you'll have enough side clearance to the tunnel to be able to pull the lever out from the side. You'll need something like a good 1-1/2" to 2" of clearance between the lever and the tunnel wall. If you just need a little more clearance, you can try undoing the four tunnel mounting bolts and tip the shifter assembly at an angle.

Replacing the lever is fairly straightforward. There's a fairly snug fitting circlip (e-clip) and washer (as I recall) on the end of the shaft at the lever end. You can probably pull the clip off with the jaw of a long handled bent needle nose plier, but getting it back on won't be near as easy, especially as you won't be able to see what you're doing and you will need to make sure the circlip slot is fully exposed beyond the washer to get it back on -probably the trickiest bit of this entire thought. Once you get the circlip off, the lever will slide off relatively easily (note the original orientation on a line through the upper shift stalk). For reassembly, you will need to pop the rubber grommet on the far side so you can press in on the end of the pin (#16) with your finger to be able to fully expose the circlip's slot.

If it turns out you need to pull the entire shifter assembly then I'll give you some tips in order to give you some idea of what you might be up against as I don't see anything in the FAQ. Post back for more hints if you need them.
o From underneath you will need to disconnect the overdrive wire as well as removing the broken bit off the trans lever. Everything else can be done from above.
o You shouldn't need to remove the console side panels (requiring the radio to be pulled), although I sometimes have to in order to fetch a fastener or tool I've managed to drop out of sight (consider yourself warned).
o Be careful of the plastic shifter surround. You shouldn't need to remove it, but if you do there are plastic notches and tabs in the four corners. Look under the rubber lip to see what you're doing as these can easily break if you do it wrong.
o Attached to the front of the assembly is the cable to the ignition switch lock that you will need to disconnect. It's a bit awkward to deal with. The crossbar is in the way, it hinges on the left, so you press in on the side panels a bit and forcefully lift the right side of the bar to release the hooked notch. You may also want to release and lift the relay tray for better access, requiring removal of the storage shelf (2 screws behind lighter bezzle). You need to reach around under the front with needle nose pliers and push the ball on the end of the cable out of the retaining slot (keeping the lever in Park). You will need cable slack, so when you turn the adjusting sleeve make sure you count nut faces so you can get it back to the original setting.
o On many AW7x shifter assemblies, the PRND21 shifter blind is broken. The part is available (FCPEuro) and this is an excellent opportunity to replace it, although it's a bit fussy. To do it properly, you need to remove the shifter switch off to the side requiring the careful removal of two starlok washers (warning, don't break the plastic studs).
o Note the routing of wiring under the clips so you can get everything back nice and tidy.
o Before reconnecting the trans lever, make sure the two nylon grommets (bushings) are in good shape -a great opportunity to replace them (Genuine Volvo preferred, but aftermarket will suffice, just perhaps not last as long) -Edit: I see you recently replaced them. You shouldn't need to adjust the shift lever length, but if you do then the procedure is in the FAQ.

Good luck.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

A few ways to do this:

1) ask a thin bodied person to crawl under the car to reattach the fallen lateral lever(54) back to intermediate lever(9). Use mechanics wire or cable tie or something. This only temporary repair. My thin bodied mechanic crawled under the car (no jackstands) to replace the shifter bushings (51 & 19) last time.

2) if incline is not that steep and handbrake is working good, put the car up on front jackstands (left n right for stability) and reattach the lateral lever(54). This also temporary repair.

3) if incline is very steep then its better to call tow truck to bring it to the shop. The tow operator might have to disconnect the propeller shaft or could lift the car high enough for somebody to set the lever(50) to neutral.

What may have happened was that the C-clip(21) had fallen off (maybe rusted or just aging) from intermediate lever(9) as the fastener and nut are still there. It very unlikely the intermediate lever(9) had broken off.

You last wishful thinking about using long device to set the gear to neutral should be two persons job. One person to sit in car to press the brake (because car on incline) while the other moves the lever(50). But don't drive the car. The fallen lateral lever(54) might get dragged on the road which could make repairs worse.


What ever you do think safety first,
Amarin.

Thanks Amarin for taking the time to provide some very helpful comments. I'm thinking of trying your idea 2). I have some heavy duty wooden ramps (homemade) that I might be able to persuade under the front wheels after jacking one side then the other, with the rear wheels chocked.
I recently did install a new bushing 51 (which was missing), but left 19 (looked ok-ish) alone. That was probably a mistake. Good news that all I'll need to effect a repair is a new fastener set. Still, this will be tricky. Much obliged -- Rob