Possible linkage problem???

[Joe'sSHO]

250 miles into my trip back to college (a 400 mile trip)I lost every gear but third and fourth. Even when in third or fourth, the shifter moves around as if it were in neutral. It can't be moved down or up (respectivly) while in gear but it can be moved side to side. I assuming I broke the cable linkage (I have a 90) and was wondering what the cost would be to repair the linkage. I'm just looking for a ballpark figure as I don't want to be ripped off and cannot fix it myself due to my situation (i.e. I'm at college) Any info would be helpful.

 

[projectSHO89]

Pull the trim piece off from around the shifter, then remove the shifter leather boot (a couple of screws).

Look down in there and wiggle the shifter around and see what is loose. The ball and socket joint can fail and cause cause your symptom. It can be repaired using an inexpensive part from MOPAR, part # 04340118. A few bucks will get you a bag of six of them.

Steve

 

[Bizzy]

The best thing to do first is get up under the car and check to see that everything is attached to the shifter as it should be, also check to make sure the cables are in the bracket and mounted to the tranny properly. Check for obstructions on the same.

If the shifter is not the culprit, then it very well could be internal damage. But check the cheap things first as it's much easier to replace a linkage.

As for where to get a linkage if one's broken, you might try a member on the forum perhaps or a junk yard. Not sure if these are obsolete or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were.

 

[Joe'sSHO]

The thing is, unless its a simple fix, I can't do it here at college. I only have a medium sized tool set and no jack. Also nowhere but the parking lot to work on the car. Any guesses as to what a mechanic or dealer ship would charge if it was a linkage problem. I am gonna pull the boot and look at it though. Thanks.

 

[sleep7]

I had the same exact thing happen to me. I was about 2 and half hours from home when the linkage went. Just like you, I only had 3rd and 4th gears, and I could move it around like it was in neutral. Had the my mechanic tie it back up until we got the rod shifter off of ebay for $150. Why dont you try going for the rod shifter?

 

[Gez89SHO]

Joe'sSHO:
The thing is, unless its a simple fix, I can't do it here at college. I only have a medium sized tool set and no jack. Also nowhere but the parking lot to work on the car. Any guesses as to what a mechanic or dealer ship would charge if it was a linkage problem. I am gonna pull the boot and look at it though. Thanks.

Had this happen to my '89 when I still had the cable shifter. Its possible the cable had came loose at the outer sheath - it was still connected to trans but when moving shifter, it would just move on the outer part and not move in between gears. Shouldn't be more than a hour's labor to pop it back in.

 

[Joe'sSHO]

Hopefully that's what happened. If it disconnected from the trans itself, I'll have to take it to a shop. I've yet to take the boot off and look at it. I've been a little to ******. Hopefully I can be back on the road soon. burnout

 

[shobote]

My cable shifter did the same; it popped out of where it mounts underneath the transaxle after hitting a hole on a rough road; just crawled underneath the drivers side and popped it back into place. takes less than a minute....

 

[shobote]

My cable shifter did the same; round plastic piece popped out of where it mounts underneath the transaxle after hitting a hole on a rough road; just crawled underneath the drivers side and popped it back into place. takes less than a minute....also the plastic bushing later broke apart on the shifter end and I installed the $2 Mopar clip, and everything works fine.

 

[shobote]

My cable shifter did the same; round plastic piece popped out of where it mounts underneath the transaxle after hitting a hole on a rough road; just crawled underneath the drivers side and popped it back into place. takes less than a minute....also the plastic bushing later broke apart on the shifter end and I installed the $2 Mopar clip, and everything works fine.

 

[Super Matty P]

repost X 3 there shobote!

bump from the dead.

My cable shifter is botched...Where the cabloe connects to the transmission there is a ball and cup. both are intact but the clip that holds the ball in the cup is broken off. From everything I've read the Mopar clips are used under the shift boot. Do these clips also go on the linkage under the tranny??