Shifter connecting to cable problem

[Will-n-SD]

Guys,

Please excuse my little rant but I have to vent.

I have 97 SC1 with a manual trans. Last Wednesday when I was coming home, I lost the ability to shift as I was trying to downshift due to traffic.

Well after I get towed home I tear apart my console to figure out what went wrong. Turns out that the stupid little plastic piece that keeps the cable connected to the shifter broke and fell off. So I figure an easy fix and a quick trip to the dealer to get the new piece. Well I go to the dealer and they can only sell me the entire shifter cable that contains this little piece. They cannot sell me this piece. Well I am not going to spend over $300 for a little plastic piece. I figure that I can set something up as a temp fix to get me going until I can find the piece in a junk yard or something.

So I get a few zip ties and set it up. I sit in the driveway and shift into every gear without problems. I figure this is a good enough test since I don't need the car to be moving to test this. All works great and it looks like it will hold for a long time assuming the zip ties don't wear and break. So I slap everything back together and go about my business.

Well this morning as I get in the car to go to work, I check the shifter and all seems good. I get 5 houses down the street and the damn thing comes off again. Good thing that this time it came off while the car was still in the gear so I kept driving it back to my house and parked it in the driveway.

So here comes my question...

Has anyone found a replacement plastic piece that did not come from the $300 cable system? Has anyone found an easy fix? Please help me fix my car. Thanks.

opcorn:

[Will-n-SD]

Found this on the web.

http://www.justinfkimball.org/saturn_shift_repair.htm

This guy was funny

http://www.coolgoose.com/sites/flemco/car/car.html

I just did a search on eBay and found 5 entries for replacement parts. Just do a search for Saturn Shifter Bushing. I am buying mine from jcborshard which has 100% feedback on this. I will get the item and install it. Then report back here on how well it works.

[Will-n-SD]

OK final update on this. I got the bushing yesterday and installed it in about 20 minutes. This time includes the time to get the console out and back in. All works great!!! $20 later and my car is ready to go.