2004 sahara auto trans shift linkage stiff on the trans

C

c_anthony27

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2004 sahara automatic trans

Noticed today my shifter was really stiff getting out of park

managed to get it in reverse and it felt awful
couldnt get it in to park so i shut it off and put the e brake on

i pulled the top of the shifter off
checked the plastic piece inside and it was fine

disconnected the shifter cable on the shifter end and the trans end
pulled the cable and it was stiff as hell
the cable actually broke
no big deal ill put a new cable in

i went to move the linkage on the trans to get the trans in to park and its stiff as hell

that cant be normal
i was going to put some pb blaster on it in the am and let it soak a bit

is this something i should be worried about in the transmission ?

i could barely move it towards the rear by hand to get it in to neutral
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Could be the shifter cable but did you pull the entire plastic shift rod out to verify its integrity?
Click to expand...
i did
its intact
with the cable disconnected the shifter moves perfect to every position

the cable is for sure bad
it broke when i disconnected it on both ends and tried moving it

but im concerned about the linkage on the trans not moving freely with the cable disconnected
 
Good detective work. The shifter bracket on the transmission is not easily moved by hand, the shift lever on the console gives quite a bit leverage to make it seem easier. Replacing the cable would be a good place to start.
 
The bracket on top of the transmission is attached to the manual shift rod. The manual shift rod rotates when you move the transmission shift lever. This rod can develop rust and become difficult to rotate or even freeze entirely.

Different transmission but the same concept:

If it's not a binding cable or rust on the manual shift rod, you would need to look inside the transmission unfortunately.
 
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AjRagno said:
The bracket on top of the transmission is attached to the manual shift rod. The manual shift rod rotates when you move the transmission shift lever. This rod can develop rust and become difficult to rotate or even freeze entirely.

Different transmission but the same concept:

If it's not a binding cable or rust on the manual shift rod, you would need to look inside the transmission unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Fortunately that shift rod, if it's the root cause of the shifting problem, is not hard to get to and work on.

It's the vertical rod in the below photo I took while fixing a problem in my 42RLE.

20180626_142936_resized~2.jpg
 
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