Just $0.35 vs $200.00

The title of this post refers to the cost difference between fixing vs replacing a part. A little background first.

While disassembling the car I had to detach the shifter cables from the transmission. These cables connect the "stick shift" inside the car to the transmission. The cables translate the motion of moving the shifter to actual gear shifting.

In the process of removing the cables from the attachment to the transmission I ended up snapping the plastic bushings that connect the cables to the transmission. Here is a picture of the snapped bushing.




There is another part to this bushing that is not shown. It is a hollow half sphere made of metal that sits in the center of the bushing and snaps onto the transmission shifter.

Here's the bushing attached to the transmission. You can see the bottom arrow points to where the bushing is still attached. The top arrow points to where the bushing has been removed (and the little ball it snaps onto).


The cable fits over the bushing. You can see the eyelet where the bushing would go through.



So when this happened it was no big deal. The cables were undamaged. The transmission shifter was undamaged. All I needed to do was go to the dealership and get the replacement bushings. How much could they cost? :-(

The answer to that question is $0. You know why? They don't sell them separately. You see, Saturn has decided that if these break you have to buy the entire set of cables. Then remove the old set and install the new set! And how much are these cables? Over $200 (and that's the cheaper aftermarket price).

So now I have a dilemma. Do I spend $200 for something that can't cost more than $0.50? And if I don't how do I fix this?

Well my first inclination was to check the internet groups that discuss the Saturn Vue. I can't be the first person this happened to. Sure enough I was not. Apparently these bushing break frequently under normal use. Unfortunately no one had a good answer for fixing them. The best solution I could find was to cut off the metal ends where the cables attach, drill a hole and tap it. Then I could insert a bolt to hold the cables in place. Not the solution I was looking for.

My second thought was to find another manufacturer, application, or device that used the same type of bushing. Then I could modify it to work for me. Again no luck. These bushings seem to be unique.

The next idea was to find another Saturn Vue in a salvage yard and "harvest" the parts I needed. And that was where I was headed until I decided to create my own bushing.

So I ended up buying stiff polypropylene tubing the same diameter of the bushing. I then cut off a piece the same length as the bushing.


Next I drilled several holes in the tubing to insert cotter pins. The plan was to trap the neck of the shifter (below the ball) between the cotter pins. Total cost...about $0.35.

Here's the result.


Running through the gears the shifter works fine. The ultimate test will be how it holds up. Luckily with an electric motor shifting is at a minimum. Only time will tell.