3-speed shift lever grommet available?

[Teratech]

I have been looking around for replacement shift lever grommet. I found a discussion talking about what the factory part numbers are for the grommets. Shift lever grommet part number 1941699 updates to 3467791, current part. Can someone point me in the direction to locate this part? The places I have check are out of stock. Specifically looking for the 1963 manual transmission grommet.

Thanks!

 

[Darter6]

I believe those are still available from Chrysler as the were used up into the late 80's-90's.
You can try. It's a few years back, a friend got them for his 1980 D100 3 on the tree.

 

[Teratech]

Sounds like I need to stop by the dealer. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Teratech]

Here's the results of trying to locate a shift lever grommet 3467791. I called the local dealer and was told the part was discontinued in 2019. He gave me the phone number of a dealer that showed two in stock. Called that dealer and was told that those parts were on the special order rack so actually belong to a customer and were not available.

Called the local dealer back and asked if there might be another dealer with the old part in stock. He give's me another dealer number. Called that dealer and was told they did have one in stock. $12.95 for the part, $15 shipping, it on it's way to me now.

I also tried to find an "off the shelf" grommet on the Internet. The 3467791 grommet fits a 3/4" hole, 1/2" inside diameter, 1" outside diameter with a 1/4" groove. The closest I found is a grommet that all the dimensions match except it has a 3/8" groove. I plan to get a couple of these grommets and cut the groove down to 1/4" by removing 1/8" from the groove, two cuts with a utility knife.

If there is any interest, I would post the results of how the idea works out here.

 

[Teratech]

Update on the oversized grommet. Reference the attached picture. The Grommet on the far left is the over sized grommet with a 3/8" groove. Next to that grommet is the over sized grommet cut down to have a 1/4" groove, like the original grommet. Next to the cut down over size grommet is my old deteriorated grommet. On the far right is the center part of the grommet that was removed from the modified grommet. It seems that this will work good. Will provide final update after driving with it a while.

 

[townsend]

Impressed with your grommet project. Just one question: Did your grommet have a bronze bushing in it.

 

[Teratech]

Yes, if you look, you can see the bronze bushing in the grommet second from the left. I used the bronze bushing that was already on the shift linkage rod.

 

[townsend]

Looks like you're while on your way to making your own grommet but here is some additional information of interest. 1941699 was used up to 1966 on abodies and was located on the transmission levers. 3467791 was first used on abodies in 1974. They were used on abodies with manual transmissions but the grommets were located on the shift levers on the lower section of the steering column. 1941699 never superseded to 3467791. 1941699 grommet is made of a pliable rubber material while the 3467791 is made of a hard plastic. Photo of 3467791 is available on eBay. Do a search for grommets using McMaster-Carr online catalog. They have a large number of grommets.

 

[Teratech]

Mr. Townsend, you are absolutely correct. I finally received the 3467791 and it was indeed a hard plastic part. So it could not be a supersede to 1941699.

Took your advice and look over McMaster-Carr online catalog. Was unable to find an of-the-shelf grommet that met the dimensions that matched 1941699. Those dimensions are: 1/2" id, 3/4" hole size, 1" od with a 1/4" groove.

Final update on how the split grommet worked. It didn't at first. When put the two halves into the shift lever and place the shift rod into the the grommet with the brass bushing, the grommet immediate fell apart.

After contemplating the issue, I found a thin washer that was a bit too small to fit on the shifter rod shaft that the brass bush fits on. After a bit of filing with a rat tail file I got the washer to fit very snug on the shaft. Once the washer fit, it slid up to the small shoulder of the shaft the brass bushing fits on.

The split grommet was held together between the added washer and the cotter pin on the other side. rather then the sloppy shifts the linkage use to make, now it has very short positive motion with the shift lever in the car. Very happy with the results!