Axle key

The indicator rod for my bicycle's gear hub pulled out again (fortunately just as I was leaving the main road) and it was obvious that there was something seriously wrong. Took it back to the shop that originally serviced it, where I was told I probably needed a new 'axle key', which is the part with the tiny threaded hole that the indicator rod screws into... somewhere deep inside the hub!
( picture )

(So far as I can see, the rod pulls on this in order to move the clutch and change gear.)

So, forty pounds to take the hub apart and fit a new part about an inch long. Let's hope it solves the problem.

The irony is that this is a relatively new bike, probably only about ten years old, and three-speed hubs are usually bomb-proof: it's not unusual for them to go seventy years or more without breaking down...