Shifter Broken - Removed, Disassembled, and Fixed
02-26-2011, 09:42 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 04-19-2009
Location: KY
Posts: 49
Shifter Broken - Removed, Disassembled, and Fixed
The button on my shifter stuck and for several days I have been using the release button on the steering column to get the keys out each time I stopped.
After some research on the forum, apparently the plastic plunger breaks at the hole for the pin that actuates the key release microswitch and the pedal lockout. Once broken, the pin eventually falls out which can cause several problems. This appears to be a very common failure and the guy that designed this crap should be....well, you get it! I also found that my car had Coke (or several) spilled into it and it's a real mess to clean in the car so that was the reason I completely disassembled the shifter.
Well, I fabricated a new plunger from some plastic stock I found at Tractor Supply (1.99 and you won't believe what it is from) and I believe it is better material. I was going to take pictures of the fabricated item but after I reassembled the shifter it fit and worked so well I didn't want to chance the removal and reassembly. The shifter is reinstalled in the car and works well....so far.
Besides the basic tools to remove the shifter, I used a drill press to drill the hole for the pin in the plastic stock. I then inserted the stock into the drill press and used files and sandpaper to remove material and shape it properly to add flexibility(roughly the same shape as the stock plunger). I even found out that the exact length is no big deal, just get it close. Drill the hole in the proper place and the proper size so when the pin is inserted the splines in the middle must be driven into the hole you drilled in the plunger. Also, the stock I got was just a bit smaller diameter than the spring, so I cut a cylindrical notch on the end of the plunger where the spring rested and doubled two very short pieces of heat shrink and used them as a seat for the spring. It's not quite as pretty, but it may be better than GM's crap!
So, if you have this problem, a Tractor Supply, a 1.99, and you want to tackle it, I can provide more info.
After some research on the forum, apparently the plastic plunger breaks at the hole for the pin that actuates the key release microswitch and the pedal lockout. Once broken, the pin eventually falls out which can cause several problems. This appears to be a very common failure and the guy that designed this crap should be....well, you get it! I also found that my car had Coke (or several) spilled into it and it's a real mess to clean in the car so that was the reason I completely disassembled the shifter.
Well, I fabricated a new plunger from some plastic stock I found at Tractor Supply (1.99 and you won't believe what it is from) and I believe it is better material. I was going to take pictures of the fabricated item but after I reassembled the shifter it fit and worked so well I didn't want to chance the removal and reassembly. The shifter is reinstalled in the car and works well....so far.
Besides the basic tools to remove the shifter, I used a drill press to drill the hole for the pin in the plastic stock. I then inserted the stock into the drill press and used files and sandpaper to remove material and shape it properly to add flexibility(roughly the same shape as the stock plunger). I even found out that the exact length is no big deal, just get it close. Drill the hole in the proper place and the proper size so when the pin is inserted the splines in the middle must be driven into the hole you drilled in the plunger. Also, the stock I got was just a bit smaller diameter than the spring, so I cut a cylindrical notch on the end of the plunger where the spring rested and doubled two very short pieces of heat shrink and used them as a seat for the spring. It's not quite as pretty, but it may be better than GM's crap!
So, if you have this problem, a Tractor Supply, a 1.99, and you want to tackle it, I can provide more info.
Last edited by DaveB; 02-27-2011 at 06:53 AM.
02-27-2011, 08:32 AM
#3
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 04-19-2009
Location: KY
Posts: 49
Farm Animals and Shoulder Gloves not Required!
IMO All the molding on the factory plunger has no function except the areas where material has been removed to make it more flexible and of course the location of the hole for the pin.
THE MYSTERY PART (the shaft not the reflector)
You can bend the shaft double without breaking it. It drills well, is very strong, and if you screw the first one up you have about 4 ft. of stock to try again. At a $1.99, it's a "Piece of Cake" Right!
THE MYSTERY PART (the shaft not the reflector)
You can bend the shaft double without breaking it. It drills well, is very strong, and if you screw the first one up you have about 4 ft. of stock to try again. At a $1.99, it's a "Piece of Cake" Right!
Last edited by DaveB; 02-27-2011 at 10:57 AM.
Nice job on the repair, I'll keep this handy just in case I come up shiftless someday.
02-28-2011, 02:22 PM
#10
New Member
Join Date: 10-31-2010
Location: NW arkansas
Posts: 29
