Hey guys, fist let me start off by saying I know this isnt in the right section but the car is my daily driver and I did a search on drivetrain and it didnt seem like there was a whole lot of reply's and I need help asap, if u feel u have to move this to a differant section then u have to do what u have to do.
Now let me start off by discribing the problem. The shifter has gotten hard to move up and down like its sticky or something. We looked under the car at the shift linkage were it bolts to the tranny and when the shifter is moved up and down the linkage doesnt move down there so I know its not a problem in the tranny. The car is stuck in drive bc it will lung forward when i start it and let off the brake. The car will also roll back when the car is not started and I have to use the E-brake to keep it in place. I beleive it is stuck in park and not overdrive bc it doesnt shift into overdrive when I am driving it. Any help is appreciated. I know it has to be something in between the shifter and where the linkage bolts to the tranny but I am not sure what to look for. thanks alot, Dustin.

 

Just to let you guys know, this is a friends 95 A4 z.. Thanks

 

Try removing the center console shifter plate and see if that frees it up. If there has ever been anything larger than a pop can in the cup holder someone has spilled pop on it and it gets sticky. If it free's up the shifter plate needs cleaning. I recomend using warm water and mild detergent. Not to hot it will discolor the plastic.

 

Thats what i thought it was at first bc it was a little tougher to move back and forth but we took off the big plastic shifter plate and it is still really tough to move. It has to be something in the shift linkage somewhere, but I am just not sure what to look for.

 

Disconnect the cable from the transmission and see what it does. It can't be that hard to figure out. It' just a lever and a cable.

 

OK here's the deal so far. I disconnected the shift linkage from the tranny. I manually moved the level to put the tranny back into park and I verified by starting the car and it did not creep forward so i know the tranny is in park now. I have the shifter in the park position but now when I connect the shift linkage back up the plate doesnt line up with tranny pan bolts now, so now i cant bolt it back up with it being in the right settings. Anyone have any ideas as to why the shifter cable isnt reaching far enough now??

 

Well something aint right in there if you're starting the car in drive. Did you alter/remove the nuetral safety switch? And when/if you did, maybe messed up something in there.

 

It starts in drive because the shift handle isn't in drive, hence the neutral safety has been "tricked". Trans is still physically in gear. Sounds to me like a bad cable. If you move one end, and the other doesn't- that's a bad cable. It's not a sophisticated piece

The reason it moves hard is because the cable is broken, thus the cable end is binding in the sleeve. Just my guess.

Oh, the reason it won't bolt back up now is because the broken cable isn't touching inside, so the effective length is different.
Good luck!

 

If it is in fact a broken cable (i havent verified yet). Exactly what peice has to be changed? Is it the whole peice that goes all the way up into the floor board? How hard is it to change one of these out? Also, if someone has replaced theres before it would be helpful if u could tell me about how much it costs for a new cable and where would be the best place to look for one. Thanks for the help. Dustin.

 

Adavanceauto.com or autozone's site should have a price. Buy a cable, then once you're holding the new one, it will be pretty obvious what you need to do. Not a big job.

 

Alright man thanks alot. U have been a big help and hopefully i can get this takin car of soon. Take care, Dustin.

 

Cable adjustment procedures can also be found on my Tech Page. You will need it if you install a new cable.

 

Ok I took out the old cable today. The little bar peice that actually connects to the shifter itself is broken off from the rest of the cable, guess this was my problem. I called around today and the only place that can even get the cable for me is a dealership and its like $50. Shoebox, I will be sure to use your tech page when it comes time for cable adjustments. Thanks alot guys, Peace.

 

Deckstripes, I went to a salvage yard today and looked at a cable that was off a 1994 camaro, i dont know if it was a Z or not, I didnt think it mattered seeing as how they both still had the 4l60e even with it being a 94 and mine being 95. When I compared the 2, the end where the little lever connects to the tranny was a little differant. My little metal tungue peice wouldnt fit into the joint on the end of the 94 cable. Do u know if there is in fact a big differance in the 1994 cable from the 1995???

 

I have a 95 and it sounds different. Mine has a cup that slips onto a ball kinda like the wiper blade joints. The cable end is the cup and the transmission shift side has the ball on it. At one point it started falling off so i drilled a whole throught the center and slipped a little cotter pin through both. Problem fixed. Eventually I'll get a new cable.