The plastic bar that is inside the square metal rod for the shifter has broken on my S90.
Due to wear and tear, the plastic humps inside the **** that holds it inplace on the metal rod have degraded and such the **** just came loose in my hands the other day and as I pulled it backwards, it broke the plastic rod off a few mm above the metal rod top.

Has anyone else experienced this? How can I fix it short of ordering a complete rod assembly($300+ or so) and a new ****(which I cant even find anywhere, not even Volvo themselves here in sweden has those *****)

I am hoping there is a simple way to remove the plastic rod, and buy a 2nd hand rod from a scrapyard. But not sure how to go about fixing the **** in place, short of superglueing it to the metal rod.

 

Nice language filter
**** = ****.....

 

You're on to something with the superglue. What I've done is use superglue to build up worn "humps" on various plastic parts so they resemble their original profile. Do one hump at a time, apply only enough to place a thin coat of glue on only the worn part of the profile. Allow to flash and cure for a couple of minutes or more if necessary before continuing. Apply as many (thin) layers as you need to restore function.

Superglue has a finite shelf life. If your superglue has been in the cabinet for a few months, toss it and buy a fresh container. It should flash in seconds. If not, replace it.

Something I've done when repairing broken plastic rods (admittedly with limited success, I'm one for two here) is to "fixture" the two broken pieces firmly in as close to perfect alignment as possible, superglue them together, then leave them still clamped firmly in alignment.

Here's the tricky part: For reinforcement, I cut, say, three pieces of standard-size paper clip about 14mm long. The larger in diameter the plastic rod, the more pieces of paper clip you can use. For rod in the 6-7mm range, I'd use three. Bend the ends of each piece 90 degrees in the same direction about 2mm from the end. Holding one of the pieces of paper clip in the center with some SMALL needle-nosed pliers, heat the paper clip pieces one at a time to red hot, then quickly press the pieces into the plastic rod across the super-glued repair.

You want the bends to lie along the outside of the rod. Don't do what I did the first time and try to do it with the bends pointed to the rod centerline. If you do, the rod will just break at the deep penetrations. You can trust me on this.

You want the heated wire to be just barely embedded into the plastic rod. Don't get crazy. And use the smallest pliers you can find. First, you want the smallest heat sink you can use so the wire stays hotter while traveling between the flame and the plastic rod. Second, you'll almost certainly ruin the temper of the pliers tip, and small pliers are usually cheaper to replace than large ones.

When you have all three pieces of wire embedded more-or-less equally spaced around the break, wrap the repaired area with common sewing thread (10mm or so past the wires each direction, if possible), then soak the thread with a thin coat of epoxy. Slow-cure is better, say, 30-minute cure or longer. The five-minute stuff isn't as good. By the time it's thoroughly mixed, it's already begun to harden, so it won't penetrate the thread and bond to the substrate underneath. It will be more convenient to tack the thread to the plastic rod with the bare minimum drop of superglue on each end to hold it in place while you're dealing with the epoxy. You want the rod still firmly held in place while you're doing this. If it moves while the repair is underway, you're pretty much hosed. You may trust me on this, too.

Notice that all the thread and epoxy are doing is keeping the paper clip wires from coming loose. The embedded wires are what's keeping the rod together. Embedding them lightly lets the bends on the ends grip the plastic. If you have room for a somewhat larger diameter patch job, sand a few hardwood toothpicks flat (as many as you like or will fit), epoxy them around the patch, then wrap that with another layer of thread and epoxy.

Also, resist the temptation to just soak the thread with superglue. Epoxy is better for this application because superglue is much more brittle than epoxy. Superglue is more an "all or nothing" glue, while epoxy is a bit more forgiving.

My hobby is high power rocketry, and I've used a lot of different kinds of adhesives. Five-minute epoxy is near the bottom of my list of favorites, FYI, For a quick taste of my hobby, hit www.flyrockets.com. That'll take you to all sorts of cool places.

That's the best patch I know of for the sort of thing you're trying to do.

Failing that, how are your carving skills? Can you use a hardwood dowel and carve/drill the features and details you need? If so, do so, then SOAK the obvious weak places (drilled holes on the ends, thin places, etc.) with fresh, thin superglue. I mean take the lid off the container and dip the ends of the wooden dowel into the liquid for several seconds. Do one end at a time, and let it flash and harden completely before attempting the other end.

Remember, there's disaster written all over every step of these procedures, so pick your location carefully. Safety glasses and nitrile gloves are the minimum PPE here.

I know this sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go through for a relatively minor fix, but if you just CAN"T find a good replacement part, then repairing what you already have is just about all that remains. This is what I'd try next if it were my car. And it's all labor. One certainly can't complain about the parts cost.

All the best with your fix. Hope this helps. If you try either of these ideas, let us know how it turns out, okay?


Lynn B.

 

Thank you for all your input.

The problem I have now is that I havent been able to find the broken off piece. It could have fallen down into the stick assembly somewhere, or outside the car before I realized that the plastic rod was even broken off(Im no mechanic), I have removed the center console but I haven't been able to find it. And without knowing how much a whole rod protrudes from the metal rod, it might not be a good idea to wing it.. Too short and it would not unlock the stick lock properly, and too long would mean its half-unlocked/locked all the time and could potentially jump to another gear when driving over a hump in the road, and going from 4th to 1st doing 100=bad.. But it's leaning towards replacing the entire stick assembly for a brand new one, as I have done most of the work already. It's an electronic gearbox, so it shouldn't have any wire from the stick to the gearbox that I have to go underneath the car to loosen right? I guess then there is only the 4 bolts that holds the stick assembly...?

If I had found the broken off piece of the plastic rod my plan was to superglue the ends back together, then use electrical shrinking hose which I have tons of here. One or two hoses on top of eachother should be plenty to keep the rod from coming apart.

About the ****, I have checked the V70 sticks, they have the same square metal stick, but it's 15mm wide, the S90 is 10.. The early S80 has a round stick.. Though the ***** themselves look very similar. I haven't been able to have a look at a stick from a 960 automatic yet but from the pictures I've seen, the stick is square metal and looks like it might be 10mm wide. If that is the case it will be much easier finding a new **** than one for the S90 specifically.

Regards, Fredrik

 

There are 2 960's in yards near me. Let me know if you need me to go get the parts for you.