HokieS4

Original owner of a 2000 S4 here. I had a UUC shifter installed in 2000, and the damn thing just failed. My poor wife was stuck in traffic with a completely useless shifter that just flopped around. Luckily, a helpful policeman got her off the road and I told her to have the car towed to our house.

Took a look and found that the nut and bolt that hold the 2 pieces of the shifter together came apart, and the 2 pieces separated. So I took apart the shifter assembly (pain in the ***!), bolted the 2 pieces back together temporarily, and reinstalled the shifter assembly. Everything shifts fine again... for now.

But the ****er is going to come apart again - I vaguely recall when the shifter was installed there was a nylon bushing at the pivot between the two pieces of the shifter. That bushing is no more. So I just bolted the two pieces together loosely, aluminum on aluminum, hoping the vinyl locknut will hold for a while. I'm guessing that the disintegration of the bushing is what caused the nut to rotate off the bolt - friction would cause the bolt to bind, and the rotational motion of the shifter would just slowly turn the nut right off.

Any thoughts on what to do here? I don't think UUC makes or services that shifter anymore, so I don't expect to find an exact replacement bushing. Should I try some generic vinyl washers/bushings? Where would I find something like that? Think I would get a few years of service out of something like that? Or would I be better off buying a new shifter from some other manufacturer (I assume there are still some made for the B5 S4)? Really not interested in putting a few hundred $$ into the car right now though.

Appreciate any advice!

Steve

auOOOOdi

Try blue Loctite for the fastener in the interim until you find a different shifter.

Bentwrench1937

Get the JHM solid short throw....She's a beauty..

B5s4.200qt

yea agreed... That will be your best bet