Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Can't Shift Transmission

This morning i was driving to the bank and when i came to a stop light i couldn't shift the 1st. It was like all the gears were gone. I think the cables came off on the transmission, but i cant see where the come in from the top and i cant really get underneath the car to look right now. could someone please tell me where they hook up to the transmission?

I am assuming you have a manual (try to include year, make, model, mileage and anything relevant to your troubles in your posts)


The linkages come in on the driver's side of the engine, closer to the firewall. If you know where the starter is, then you can find the linkages (they are slightly further towards the firewall than the starter) One should have an orange cap, and the other black(??). They go right in to the top of the bellhousing.

Have someone row through the gears for you, and make sure that both linkages both freely throughout their range.
Also, check underneath your shifter boot (on the interior of the car).. the links that connect your shifter rod to the rods that lead to the tranny can come undone..) boot pops off, after you remove the shifter knob.

There is a recent thread (2 weeks) in troubleshooting, including pictures of the interior shifter area....

Ray

Ray is my hero, and i dont even have a manual so this forum doesnt pretain to me..but he's the smartest contour guy i know.
thanks for being such a smart helpfull guy ray
mike

There are ALWAYS smarter/faster/better people. Greg is the top of my personal list, but I can still say thanks.. I try to be helpful..


Ray

ok, its a 98 se sport v6 with the manual transmission. Right now the car is stuck in first gear. When you move the shifter around there is nothing there, you can move it side to side when it should be in gear. I could tell right away when it happened that something wasn't right just from the feel of moving the shifter. Anyways, thanks for the help with locating the spot where the cables come into the transmission, i will be checking that out tomorrow.

I have somthing to add to this for you 98_SE_SPORT. There is no cables for your cars trans shifter it is rods. If it is not the linkage than your going to need to go to a shop like i did and find out how much it is going to cost for them to fix it. I can tell you ths it is not going to be cheep for the shop to go into your trans. I was quoted a grand just to take the trans out ant put it back in not including the work they got to do to it and parts. If it is not the linkage your best bet is to go to a junkyard and get a used trans then you can get one with the gearing you want like the one out of the 99 cougar is a danm good swap the gearing is better i think at least. I know this cause im still looking for a trans & shop that will do this swap for a good price. The cheepest cougar trans that i found is like $900 and that is to much for me but if you have the money to spend than go for it. If you find a cougar trans cheeper than that let me know im in wisconsin.