What is a transmission tailshaft bushing?

Well, your transmission has a shaft coming out it's...tail, and it has to rotate on some kind of bushing or bearing. By what you've been told, I'll assume its a bushing this time (dang, I'm brilliant ). If that bushing gets worn, there will be slop in the shaft, which could cause strange shuddering (especially on acceleration), ominous howling at any speed, clunks, bumps and/or whines, and possible fluid leakage (assuming the accompanying seal is as worn as the bushing). If your mechanic is trustworthy, I'd go ahead and have the work done. You don't want to let something like this go too long, or it will begin to damage much more expensive parts.

If you're interested in confirming the problem, you can easily do the same thing that the mechanic surely did to diagnose it in the first place. Put the front of the car up on ramps, put the transmission in neutral, and set the E-brake good and tight. For good measure, block the back wheels. Slide under the car, and look for the drive shaft. It's a steel pipe about 2 1/2" across, running right down the middle of the car, from the transmission to the rear axle. If the car is warm, beware of the exhaust pipe; it will be HOT. Don't mistake the exhaust pipe (which has bends in it, and is probably rust colored) for the driveshaft (which is painted black). Grab the drive shaft right before it reaches the transmission, and shake it. If it feels loose or clunks, your mechanic is right.

Another problem that can have similar symptoms is a worn or broken transmission mount. If when you jiggle the driveshaft the whole transmission moves a lot (but the driveshaft and the transmission feel tight to each other), then that's probably the problem. However, any mechanic worth a bean would immediately be able to tell the difference between the two. Of course, you might have both problems, in which case you'll get both kinds of movement. Worn tranny mounts are fairly common on older cars. Ask your mechanic about replacing it while he's down there. He'll be able to tell you if it needs doing. Tranny mounts for the 240 are dirt cheap, and it won't take him that much longer to do the work.

Cheers, Walt

It's the bearing at the back end of the tranny where the driveshaft attaches. The part is around $35 if you've got some tools, not a bad DIY job if you don't mind working on cars. If it gets too bad the seal will fail and the fluid will leak badly.