Once I verify this on mine, I may offer this as a service... I'm in AL and I love doing this kind of thing.

 

Shifter fixed and I didn't use the reflector method. I'll post photos soon, but I did buy a reflector, then when I was test fitting the butt splice i noticed that it was the right diameter. So I cut the old shaft to fit the butt splice and trimmed away most of the plastic sheath [all but a couple of cm.] Then I drilled a hole through the middle of the butt splice and reassembled the shifter and reseated the pin through that hole. It took a couple of tried because at first the but splice plastic tried to jam, but I eventually got it to move freely. It's now all reassembled and working like a new one. Cost of butt splice about .50 each.

 

Keeping the actuator pin in place for the key and brake lockout is what this fix is about. No matter how you do it, the only thing I would add now is maybe a drop of loctite on the pin splines before seating in your fabricated plunger.

Done properly it should stay put and last forever!

 

Ok, so I promised photos. Here they are.

The first image is the broken stalk

The second shows the drilled splice.

The third shows the assembled stalk.

Finally, here is the shifter ready to go back in.

This photo shows how I popped the white pin to remove the shaft. I used a socket and tapped it with a mallet.

I believe this to be stronger than the original. Here's a link to my picasa album with some additional pics.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1025161...eat=directlink

 

Hey Dave... I found some Graphite Impregnated rod that I was going to use but I need to know the diameter of what worked for you. Can you please post that info. Thanks JB

 

Haven't been here in a while, I had to look up some other things.
Now that I've jinxed it, it will break tomorrow.

 

Just so you know, I sold (meaning gave) the HHR to my daughter 6 years ago and she is still driving it 213k miles. I had to fix her A/C blower, it turned out to be the switch. I actually found the switch only and new on amazon for $16.

Anyway, the original shifter repair from 2011 is still working.

 

Thank you for the follow up report.