Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

[firebird19_99]

had a post before about this but w/o pictures its pretty hard to know. The shifter was stuck, it didnt want to move, i finally forced it and broke this piece. Now my car is only in drive whether i put it in P, N, D, R doesnt matter it only goes forward. Is there anything else that i should replace other than just this piece. Shifter has been giving me problems in the cold, doesnt want to shift and had to stick a screwdriver under there just to make it shift. So now its broken and i need help. Thanks


Hope these pictures help.

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

Can anyone tell me what could cause the shifter to not want to move? so i know what i need to replace.

[cam98aro]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

Can anyone tell me what could cause the shifter to not want to move? so i know what i need to replace.

something wasnt aligned right, im assuming

[hockeyman]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

I wish I could help, but I've never owned an automatic 4th gen. IF I were to take a sot-in-the-dark, I'd say maybe a Shifting Cable....?

Was your car ever in a flood? The trans bracket is bigtime rusted!

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

^^yes it was, dealer said it had "slight water damage" BS. Im planning on trading it as soon as i fix it.

[Skinny]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

That's the shifter linkage cable. The cable itself could be the reason it wouldn't move. It could have been bound up somewhere or something. I would suggest getting underneath the car and disconnecting the cable from the lever on the transmission. From there, make sure you can move the lever back and forth through all the gears by hand. If you can move it by hand, then replace the cable and you should be set. If you cannot move it by hand, then your problem is in the internal linkage in the transmission. The internal linkage can be accessed by removing the transmission pan.

[ssms5411]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

I think you would need a whole new shifter linkage to make it functional again,since that one is broke, like Skinny said also check to see if it is the tranny , I think it was like $35-$50 for a new shifter linkage at the dealer. Shouldn't be too hard to replace, I put mine in when I went from a M5 to A4. That rust is pretty bad sounds like one of those commercials on T.V. about buying used cars, slight water damage, and they show it floating down a river.LOL Good luck with it.

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

lol ok so when you say they sell the whole new shifter linkage does that mean it also includes the internal linkage like skinny said? Would the new shifter linkage include everything that you see broken on mine. Yea i know, i feel like i was sold a lemon, though the same dealer is the one trying to get me to trade for the other car. But my dad says M5 are crap and auto is the only worthy transmission. Wait i thought everyone here usually goes from an A4 to an M5. Why did you want it auto?

speaking of which this is the other car. Mine is cloth, door panels are messed up badly not including the fact its rusted by water like you just saw, exterior looks nice still. This one has 164,347 miles and mine has about 110,500. Headlight looks wrong too. so idk if its worth it. I'd be paying him 800 more for this one. Opinions? worth it, ive never driven manual either. (sorry to go off topic)

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...=&cardist=6111

[Skinny]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

The shifter cable from the dealership (the price ssms5411 mentioned sounds about right) will be just the cable. It's fairly easy to swap. Remove it from the shifter (If I remember correctly, it just pulls off) then remove the metal retainer (looks like a long staple) from the clip at the base where the cable passes through the floor. Squeeze the sides and push the cable through the floor. On the transmission side, the cable just pulls off of the lever. You'll probably need to use a screwdriver to pry it. There is another staple shaped retainer and clip on the transmission as well.

Again, make sure you can move the lever on the transmission by hand. If you can't then you'll need to be looking inside the transmission for a bind. In either case, you'll need to replace that cable though.

[ssms5411]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

I switch to a A4 for 2 reasons , I broke my first M5 while running a powerdyne supercharger about 8-10 psi( dynoed 288 hp 330 tq) before 928 upgrade so it was probably running around over 300hp and 3XX tq. Shattered 3rd gear into peices. Had it replaced but had to take it easy because I didn't want to break another one. The A4's hold more power so I was wanting to swap or get a built G-Force M5. But I had a stoke do to a hole in my heart where a clot went through a went to mt brain causing about 25% of my right side of my brain to be dead. This affected my left side, and I'm also left handed so I had problems with clutch using my left leg(sometimes I couldn't shift at all my leg would just shake to where I couldn't control it). Also my cordination trying to tell my leg to push in and trying to shift was really off, and still trying to focus on the road. I pretty much almost rear ended a semi at 75 mph if I wouldn't have swevered off the road into dirt. Thats when I decided I needed to have a auto. It was about 5-6 months after my stroke which 3 months I couldn't drive and about 2 months trying to learn how to drive it again. Sorry for the thread life story jack.

The cable is real easy to put in I drove mine home with the cable not even attached to the shifter it was attached to the tranny. Because the mechanic didn't have time to install the shifter and the car needed to be moved off the lot. so I just pulled on the cable end till it was in OD and took off.LOL I got home pushed the cable back in for park and installed everything for the shifter assembly. I 'll tell you what though driving 70 mph with the shifter not in is weird looking at the ground while driving also the heat that comes up from there, I can see why they use such thick rubber to insulate around the shifters. Good luck to ya.

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

sorry about what happened to you. Good to see you doing good though. Thanks guys for all the help now i feel a little bit more confident in doing this and will try it this weekend.Thanks for all the helpo, ill be back here if i get stuck.lol

[ssms5411]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

Thanks, life sucks sometimes, I had the hole in my heart(PFO) since birth and they never found it until the stroke. You'll be fine the hardest part was trying to get the cable to bend right so I could get it through the hole and connected to the shifter, and make sure it is not kinked. Good luck.

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

sucks about that but at least your still here and well. kinked?

[ssms5411]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

Kinked , like not straight or misaligned something like that , I've had alot of Oxycottin, nerve blockers and muscle relaxors today so I sometimes don't get what I'm thinking worded right. Just make sure it is a smooth bend is what I was trying to think of. If not it will do like whats in your picture, start to crack. You know it takes me about 5 minutes to type some of the responses I post because I mispell, word things wrong and have to reread what I type about 5 times because I loose track of where I'm reading. Anyways good luck to ya, I think once your under there, you'll see how easy it is.

[firebird19_99]

Re: Whats this piece, what does it do and how hard to replace it? (i broke it)

thanks for all you help and hope you make a speedy and well recovery.