2000 S70 Shift Cable Bushing Hackjob Repair (And Subsequent Problems)

[tjmartin317]

Wanted to make a quick post about the "solution" I created to a problem I also created. I currently can't shift into 2nd, 4th, or reverse while the car is moving. Before I couldn't shift into 2nd, 4th, or reverse when the car was standing still whether or not the clutch was engaged. This led me to believe that I had a linkage problem, but my "solution" didn't fix it.

Brace yourselves... it's not pretty:

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What you're looking at are two long 19mm sockets with a 3/8 drive chopped in half (there's a little circular bit in the middle that made a great inner bore, and was good enough for government work inside the shift cable itself).

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These were wrapped in electrical tape so old that it has become two-sided electrical tape. They're held in place by various large washers (again, with a good inner bore) and, the piece of resistance, some bread ties.

This solution has been used for a nonconsecutive half hour, and shows no real signs of failing.

But, again, I still can't get into 2nd, 4th, or reverse while the car is moving (unless I'm going REALLY slow, in which case I can manage 2nd). So I'm worried I have both a bushing issue and a syncro issue. These are en route, and may be correct enough to make things... a little better?

https://www.snabb.us/stainless-steel-sh ... 0-v70-m56/

But I'm also concerned about my shift cable. In the RobertDIY video I've been using, his one cable is pretty straight and flush with the bracket:

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Mine sits at a pretty noticeable angle, and will not bend back straight no matter how much you try to negotiate. I'm not sure what each of these levers does, but I'm sure having the cable straight is important...

As for the other bracket/linkage, when I shift into 1st, 3rd, or 5th, that little bracket thing (don't know the proper name) rotates towards the back of the car. And pushing it to try and get it to "bounce back" to neutral is far trickier. Whereas, when you shift to 2nd, 4th, or reverse, it rotates towards the front of the car, and can be popped back into neutral with little to no resistance. Makes me think something inside isn't "locking" the shifter into place when it's in gear (at a standstill... again, I can't get it in gear while the car is moving).

This "short" post didn't stay short for long. But I'm still very pleased with this repair. It got me home after I broke the retaining clips (hence the bread ties), and that's what I needed.