Auto shifter sticky

[vetteboy86]

I am going to be helping a guy fix a 71 this week. He is claiming that the auto shifter is difficult to move, and it never shows him being in 1 or 2. Says you really can't feel it go into each of the gears. I am thinking it is a linkage issue. Any idea what I may be dealing with? He said the cars shifts through the gears fine when placed in drive. I did tell him to disconnect the reverse lockout cable thinking that may be causing some kind of issue. There was no change however.

Thanks

 

[TimAT]

Could be the cable needs some lube or replaced. Or maybe just adjusted.

 

[vetteboy86]

Thanks for the response. How much of the shifter cable is accessible if I remove shifter boot?

 

[TimAT]

Under the console AND at the trans there's only 6-8" of cable and it's all shielded.

Before you rip the console apart, look under the car where the cable hooks to the side of the trans. There's a lever that has a single 3/8 nut (9/16 hex) that holds the whole show on the selector shaft. I've seen that nut come loose and all sorts of odd things happen. If you don't see anything there, pull the console plate and look at how it all works. As the lever moves to the rear, it pushes the cable into the housing- there is a clip there that holds the cable- they've been known to break too. Since he's saying it won't go back into 2 or 1, that would make me look at the travel on the selector shaft- loose nut, cable adjustment, total cable travel- in that order. And it's possible that Bubba put the lever on upside down too.

 

[vetteboy86]

Thanks, I will take a look at all that.