lighting rod's lock-up in drive

[rogerb]

Have a 84 Hurst Olds it's my winter daily driver in AZ when we are here, every thing worked OK last winter. Arrived here early Dec. and in driving the Hurst I find that the shiftier does not like to come out of Drive. Going to Reverse or Neutral from Park and back and forth no trouble. Then if placed in Drive you have quite a chore getting back to neutral or park.

Any suggestions on where to start on this ??? Did take the shift ball and plunger off and tried some WD40 down the tube the plunger seems to operate freely as near as I can tell.

 

[xitabl442]

We had an '83 in the shop this summer that did that. Found that if you don't push the button down very far it worked fairly smooth. Hope this helps.

 

[rogerb]

Do you have any idea the amount of travel on the button ?? Also last year I had the car in the shop they did a number of things trying to get the Speedo to resister the proper speed, picked the car up drove down the street about 3 blocks and stopped at a place again had difficulty getting into park ran it back to the shop and they adjusted the linkage. Perhaps this is again the problem ??? Perhaps if adjustment is needed frequently the cable need to be replaced???

We had an '83 in the shop this summer that did that. Found that if you don't push the button down very far it worked fairly smooth. Hope this helps.

 

[xitabl442]

IIRC we just barely pushed the button. Slight pressure on the rod and slight pressure on the button. I remember that I tried to shift the rods into 1st and it took 20 min to get it back into park.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Do you have any idea the amount of travel on the button ?? Also last year I had the car in the shop they did a number of things trying to get the Speedo to resister the proper speed, picked the car up drove down the street about 3 blocks and stopped at a place again had difficulty getting into park ran it back to the shop and they adjusted the linkage. Perhaps this is again the problem ??? Perhaps if adjustment is needed frequently the cable need to be replaced

If the column adjustment is out of whack it could cause problems getting the L rods into park.. Best way to verify is to get under your car and loosen the adjuster nut on column interlock rod to allow free travel. There are NO adjustments between the L rods and the 200 4R trans. If the cable is good, the factory brackets set it up correctly. Why doesn't the speedo register correctly? I would be worried about someone "trying to get the speedo to register correctly" as the way to do this right is by using the correct driven speedo gear in the 200 4R trans. Sounds like your car has been modified.

 

[88hurstolds]

Your cable has either become slightly stretched by the mechanics messing around like kids or needs adjustment either at the bracket or pin on the trans shift arm or both.
Do not force the shifter, this is how these shifters become damaged and people usually think it's the shifter itself and the balls get chipped, detent pins snapped etc.

You will need to losen the pin on the shift arm and put in drive to where everything lines up nicely and then tighten and put the car in 1st and park to make sure the shifter is smooth.
This will take some finesse.
If you can't get the adjustment correct or if its too far off the cable may have stretched and the bracket may need adjustment or the cable needs to be replaced.
Find a cable from a 77-82 Corvette, should only cost $50.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Your cable has either become slightly stretched by the mechanics messing around like kids
Find a cable from a 77-82 Corvette, should only cost $50.

Good advice

 

[tobyp]

Adjust it in this manner. Trust me, spent LOTS of time getting the rods to actuate the cam gears correctly. Put the car in D and have a helper hold down on the button (if you can). Crawl under and loosen the 15mm bolt on the shifter bracket to cable. This will either allow the helper to press the button fully down, or not. If he is able to push it down tighten the 15mm bolt back down and go through your sequence. Everything in the Lrods is "planets aligned" from the main gear shift being in D, then all the other rods should move freely. If you move that inside cable connection at the shifters 1/8" either way out of the "sweet spot" it will cause them to hang up and bind. You will also want to look at the condition of the steel housing on the cable near the C clip at the main bracket inside the car. I have seen them hang up or be bent causing shifting difficulty. I have taken my shifter bracket off the transmission in many cases and added an 1/8" or more and widened the slot for more adjust ability, as well as modifying the bracket transmission to pan holes and making them wider for more adjustment. I bet in your case they are out of adjustment, as mentioned 1/8" off will cause you to pull your hair out.

 

[rogerb]

Have a update on my problem took the car to a shop I have used for other work. They have the shiftier working good from park down into "overdrive" was told going past that to Drive will b ring back the problem. Would have to uninstall the Lighting rods for bench repair, not knowing what parts would be needed or even if they can be purchased I am a little reluctant to proceed to the next step. I really don't care if the 1 and 2 rods are working for what I use the car for.

Question here any idea the potential trouble spot and part's needed to allow free movement of the shiftier??? I do realize this is a shot in the dark but perhaps some one has been down this road before.

 

[88hurstolds]

No bench repair is going to fix this issue.
If you lived nearby I would have this fixed in 5 minutes... but you dont so at minimum change the cable if adjusting the bracket/pin are not doing anything.
The shifter is not the issue here.
The issue is getting the cable pin on the selector lever and cable bracket aligned properly.
And no offense but I don't trust ANY mechanic with my stuff...
My friend is the head diesel mechanic for a Ford dealership and says that he doesn't even trust his guys.
He actually wants out of the profession having to put up with the incompetence.
So... do you trust your mechanic or is it some random shop?