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Stuck in neutral

jrichardson

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
562
Location
Hillsboro, MO
So I was driving and went from 3rd to 4th and it didnt go that far. Stuck in neutral. I have resisrance in the shifter going left and right but nothing going forward and back. Is this oh so fun broken bolt in the shift tower? I couldnt find conclusive info on it just that people said it was stuck but didnt say if the shofter was completely loose or if it just didnt move forward and back.

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You need to take a look at your cable ends where the shift cables attach to the transmission. The little grommet in the white end can fall out...leaving too much play to move the shift pins. I've even had the white cable end come off the shift pin and just hang there. I've also had the cable snap.

If your cable ends appear to be attached and still in adequate shape, then check where the cable ends attach at the shifter by pulling up the leather boot and inspecting them.

If your cables are attached at both the shifter and the MTX...then you can start to worry about the bolt in the trans.
 
I don't think I have heard of a broken bolt causing loss of the shifter in one direction only. Normally its a complete loss of the shifter. Still worth checking the cables.
 
Easy to check. Have a buddy sit in the car and move the shifter back and forth between 3 and 4, while you look under the hood at the shift tower on the transaxle. If the shift tower is moving as normal, then you broke "the bolt". If this shift tower IS NOT moving as normal, then you have either a busted cable or a busted shifter.
 
Alright. So I pulled the tower...and the bolt was broke. Fished the head out replaced with an intact unit and I now have gears again. I guess I didn't explain well in my first post. I could move the stick in circles but there was still resistance left and right, just not forward and back. I know an 8.8 grade bolt is not ideal but will it live for a little bit until I can get a keyed tower?

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Not sure on the bolt. From what I recall reading over on FCO, the bolt is tri-lobal (sp?). Not sure of the details but it isn't just a normal bolt from my understanding.
 
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