Stiff handle and shifting in an automatic?
12-17-2013, 09:05 AM
#1
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Stiff handle and shifting in an automatic?
(last month)
After put my entire driveline back in the car I tested the shift linkage. Turns out it would move easily from P to R to N.....then from N to D it got harder to move....then even harder from D to 3...and onto 2 where it would barely budge. I was not happy. I thought at first my used transmission was dicked up some how...I collected my thoughts and started trouble shooting it. Turns out the issue was in the cable assembly itself.
We all know what it takes to remove the cable assembley from the car!
Out came the ENTIRE driveline again to get the cable out and "bench" test it.
With the cable on the bench I repeated the test of moving the linkage. Once again it became stiff as travel progressed
It was fine before I started all this work...now it wasn't. So what happened?
The images below show it...and it is very hard to pick out unless you look closely. It was something that I could have actually fixed on the car, driveline still installed. However, at the time I really didn't know how the shift cable/linakge was constructed.
Turns out there is an aluminum guide tube that guides a steel rod that is attached to the end of the flexible cable. This steel rod is what connects to the transmission switch.
Un known to me, the aluminum guide tube became ever so slightly bent during my work. It was bent enough to cause binding as the steel rod moved along its length internally. The farther the rod moved inside the tube, the hard it became to move.
With the assembly on the bench I tweeked the tube "true" again and everything moved freely!
fixed in 30secs after all the un needed work to remove it.
pics of the bent rod and with it fixed. if the rod is bent a certain way you wouldn't be able to tell as it sits against the side of the transmission.
After put my entire driveline back in the car I tested the shift linkage. Turns out it would move easily from P to R to N.....then from N to D it got harder to move....then even harder from D to 3...and onto 2 where it would barely budge. I was not happy. I thought at first my used transmission was dicked up some how...I collected my thoughts and started trouble shooting it. Turns out the issue was in the cable assembly itself.
We all know what it takes to remove the cable assembley from the car!
Out came the ENTIRE driveline again to get the cable out and "bench" test it.With the cable on the bench I repeated the test of moving the linkage. Once again it became stiff as travel progressed
It was fine before I started all this work...now it wasn't. So what happened?
The images below show it...and it is very hard to pick out unless you look closely. It was something that I could have actually fixed on the car, driveline still installed. However, at the time I really didn't know how the shift cable/linakge was constructed.
Turns out there is an aluminum guide tube that guides a steel rod that is attached to the end of the flexible cable. This steel rod is what connects to the transmission switch.
Un known to me, the aluminum guide tube became ever so slightly bent during my work. It was bent enough to cause binding as the steel rod moved along its length internally. The farther the rod moved inside the tube, the hard it became to move.
With the assembly on the bench I tweeked the tube "true" again and everything moved freely!
fixed in 30secs after all the un needed work to remove it.
pics of the bent rod and with it fixed. if the rod is bent a certain way you wouldn't be able to tell as it sits against the side of the transmission.
12-17-2013, 12:58 PM
#2
Chronic Tool Dropper
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For those playing along at home, that aluminum tube is a known failure point. Not available separately. There's also a rubber accordian sleeve that fits over that area and protects from crud intrusion into the cable. So you can grease the cable and make it even smoother. The bracket that holds the rear end of the cable housing sometimes gets bent too.
The alignment of the shifter base plate with the tunnel is also important. There are 4 bolts that hold the base plate down, with some adjustability available. Fore and aft adjustment lets you get the position indicator close to the little gear number on the trim panel when it's all together. There's also some side-to-side adjustment available that lets you get the plate to a slight angle that causes the shift lever to bind in the tamber. If you find that you need to pull the shifter and cable out, take a moment to take a picture of the current location before removal. There's no real convenient way to put witness or alignment marks, so a picture will be handy at reassembly time.
The WSM offers instruction on how to remove and replace the cable with the driveline in the car. With the rear disconnected, the cable comes out by pulling the shifter out forward in the passenger compartment. Tie a rope to the aft end of the cable as you remove it, use the rope to pull the cable back into place from below. Leave that aluminum sleeve off the cable until the housing is secured in that rear bracket again, or risk bending or breaking it as it all gets pulled back into place.
The alignment of the shifter base plate with the tunnel is also important. There are 4 bolts that hold the base plate down, with some adjustability available. Fore and aft adjustment lets you get the position indicator close to the little gear number on the trim panel when it's all together. There's also some side-to-side adjustment available that lets you get the plate to a slight angle that causes the shift lever to bind in the tamber. If you find that you need to pull the shifter and cable out, take a moment to take a picture of the current location before removal. There's no real convenient way to put witness or alignment marks, so a picture will be handy at reassembly time.
The WSM offers instruction on how to remove and replace the cable with the driveline in the car. With the rear disconnected, the cable comes out by pulling the shifter out forward in the passenger compartment. Tie a rope to the aft end of the cable as you remove it, use the rope to pull the cable back into place from below. Leave that aluminum sleeve off the cable until the housing is secured in that rear bracket again, or risk bending or breaking it as it all gets pulled back into place.
12-20-2013, 01:32 AM
#4
Burning Brakes
I have replaced both auto shift cables in both my drivers they seem to wear through the plastic shield over the converter. It lets water and rust into the cable until it jams and blows the end off at the shifter handle. I replaced both without dropping the driveline, just the exhaust and heat shield, pulled the new cable in by attaching a wire to the old when I pulled it out. I figure it is an age maintenance issue and expect in on any original cable now. Yours was just bent great save and cheap fix for you....If you are putting in a new cable I wrap the cable with rubber tubing and tape where it goes by the converter.
