Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 96 Mystique V6 ATX ..is it a linkage problem

I have a 1996 Mystique with V6 and auto tranny, that when manually shifted into 1st or 2nd gear seems to stay in what seems like 2nd or most likely 3rd gear.
I'm thinking that this may be a linkage adjustment issue??
Also, the little green button on the shift column for the OD selection does not function.
The car runs fine and shifts seamlessly thru all 4 gears of the transmission and obviously is permanently selected to use the OD option.
My concern is that I would like to do some light towing and would like the option of turning off the OD and/or manually selecting other gear options.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, it could be linkage related, but also could be a misaligned range sensor or malfunctioning valve body.

I would have to start with the linkage first though. To check this, follow the black cable down to the transmission. You will see where it mounts to the tranny. Just below this point, you will see a lever and on the case of the transmission, you will see some markings that denote gear positions. Put your shifter in "1st" gear and see if it lines up. Then put the shifter in Neutral and see if it lines up, then park. If they all line up, you will know that it's not your linkage. If not, then you will need to adjust your linkage by way of the nut at the bottom of this mounting point.



As you can see in the image above, you simply disconnect the cable from the assy and rotate it to either lengthen the cable or shorten it.

hey...that's a sweet reply dude...I really like the detailed drawing ..I'll check this out according to your advice..thank you very, very much!!