Replaced 5-speed Shift Cables
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 02-01-2006
Posts: 1,471
From: lockport,ny
Replaced 5-speed Shift Cables
Last night my son and I replaced the shift cables on my SS.
The side-to-side motion of the shifter was getting very stiff.
A few notes:
1) It's definitely a 2-person job, one inside the car and one outside to keep the cable ends from snagging on stuff
2) The pass-through hole in the floorpan is directly above the catalytic converter heat shield. It would make the job easier to remove the converter heat shield, but it's riveted to the floor and the converter would also need to be removed for easy access. The converter bolts were rusty so I didn't want to mess with them. I was able to bend the shield enough to (just barely) get to the pass-through grommet.
3) You have to replace both cables at the same time. They come as a set with both going through the molded-on floor grommet. After the grommet is molded on, the (large-diameter) cable ends are attached at the factory, so you can't pull one cable in or out of the grommet.
4) Both cable ends won't fit through the hole in the floorpan at once. The hole is about 1 1/4" diameter, but each end is about 1" diameter. The cables ends are even with each other, so you have to bend one of the cables so its end is short of the hole so you can push the first end through. Then you can push the second end through the hole. The cables are very stiff, so its not easy to put the "S-bend in one to shorten the end. Then there is the rubber floor grommet keeping the cables together, further fighting your efforts to put a bend in the cable. You get the picture. A few $#@@#$ words and some effort should get you past this step.
5) I was able to remove the cables from the transmission by going through the driver side wheel well. They are actually easier to access from above, but you would have to move a bunch of stuff like the fuse box.
When it was finally done, it took us about 3 hours to do. The car shifts fine now.
There is something wrong inside the bad cable. The ends look good but I can't move the cable inside the sheath by hand. The new cable slides easily by hand. I am going to cut open the cable to see what happened out of curiosity.
I also ordered a short-throw shifter from ZZP, but haven't installed it yet. I wanted to fix the problem first.
Steve
The side-to-side motion of the shifter was getting very stiff.
A few notes:
1) It's definitely a 2-person job, one inside the car and one outside to keep the cable ends from snagging on stuff
2) The pass-through hole in the floorpan is directly above the catalytic converter heat shield. It would make the job easier to remove the converter heat shield, but it's riveted to the floor and the converter would also need to be removed for easy access. The converter bolts were rusty so I didn't want to mess with them. I was able to bend the shield enough to (just barely) get to the pass-through grommet.
3) You have to replace both cables at the same time. They come as a set with both going through the molded-on floor grommet. After the grommet is molded on, the (large-diameter) cable ends are attached at the factory, so you can't pull one cable in or out of the grommet.
4) Both cable ends won't fit through the hole in the floorpan at once. The hole is about 1 1/4" diameter, but each end is about 1" diameter. The cables ends are even with each other, so you have to bend one of the cables so its end is short of the hole so you can push the first end through. Then you can push the second end through the hole. The cables are very stiff, so its not easy to put the "S-bend in one to shorten the end. Then there is the rubber floor grommet keeping the cables together, further fighting your efforts to put a bend in the cable. You get the picture. A few $#@@#$ words and some effort should get you past this step.
5) I was able to remove the cables from the transmission by going through the driver side wheel well. They are actually easier to access from above, but you would have to move a bunch of stuff like the fuse box.
When it was finally done, it took us about 3 hours to do. The car shifts fine now.
There is something wrong inside the bad cable. The ends look good but I can't move the cable inside the sheath by hand. The new cable slides easily by hand. I am going to cut open the cable to see what happened out of curiosity.
I also ordered a short-throw shifter from ZZP, but haven't installed it yet. I wanted to fix the problem first.
Steve
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 02-01-2006
Posts: 1,471
From: lockport,ny
Administrator
Joined: 10-13-2011
Posts: 40,082
From: Welland,Ont Canada
I learned the truth at 17, post #17 that is
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/ss-s...s-62162/page2/
Thank you Janis Ian ! Loved her voice!
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/ss-s...s-62162/page2/
Thank you Janis Ian ! Loved her voice!
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