Gear shift linkage keeps binding up

[flan]

02J linkage keeps binding up. I took the linkages off and manually exercised them and they freed up, 50 miles later it's stuck in the neutral position again. Anyone ever deal with this?

 

[Rembrant]

What parts are you talking about that are binding up?

When the shifter is stuck in neutral, you can't move the shifter at all?

Can you shift gears by hand...on top of the transmission?

Maybe the sleeve bearing in the shift tower is bad. When you "exercised" the linkage, did you lubricate it where it was stuck?

 

[flan]

I got to look at it better tomorrow, I looked the the bearing and it didn't look great but not horrible either. Seems like the cables are binding up, shifter doesn't want to move.

 

[JSWTDI09]

Can you shift gears by hand...on top of the transmission?

I think this is the first question. Is it the transmission that "binding up" or is it the shifter cables that are binding up? You need to know exactly where it is getting stuck.

Have Fun!

Don

 

[JSWTDI09]

Seems like the cables are binding up, shifter doesn't want to move.

The cables can be detached from the transmission for testing. If you do this, you might first want to search YouTube for the Dieselgeek video about adjusting your shifter linkage - so you can properly put it back together again. If it is the cables that are binding up, they might have to be replaced. Sometimes they can be lubricated (like WD40) and worked until they don't stick and they will work OK for a while, but this is usually a temporary solution.

Have Fun!

Don

 

[flan]

I should be able to move the shifter around freely if they are both detached, correct? I had them off about 50 miles ago because of this same issue and i thought the shifter was still stuck but i wasnt paying too much attention ill try again tomorrow. I know i grabbed the ends (once removed) and moved them in and out from the engine compartment side. I also pulled the shifter tower And inspected, didnt see anything out of sorts when all put back together it shifted fine until last night.

When you disassemble the shifter tower it can only go back together one way, correct?

 

[flan]

I took off the cables and worked the shift lever by hand they were free, I moved the trans through the gears with the golf club and put everything back together and did a shifter cable reset, about 30 miles on it so far, at one point I thought I sensed the side to side tightening up so I shook it side to side a few times and back to normal, will see how things play out.

 

[sisyphus]

Weird. I wonder if the shifter in the car is worn, but it's mostly plastic. The shifter tower is prone to lots of different issues. On the other end of the "golf club" thing there's a plastic bit that slides around when it goes fore and aft. Sometimes they wear poorly and affect shifting. There's also a sleeve bearing inside on the tower shaft. I had (have I guess i should say) an '01 that came to me with that tower completely trashed but for the most part it still shifted.