Why can I shift my car from the column?

[gbodytoys]

Ok, I know the title sounds odd, but he's my situation:

I have a Monte Carlo SS. Yesterday, at the dream cruise of all places, I went to park my car and it the floor shifter wouldn't catch in park. When I got home, not only wouldn't it shift into park, but when it start loosely going through the rest of the gears. After doing some searching on here and mcss forums, it seems to be the shifter linkage. My car still wasn't in park though, so I learned I could go under the car and manually push it into park. Oddly, I followed a rod up to trough the firewall and I saw that I could shift the gears from the engine bay, seemingly attaching to the shifter column. On the inside, I saw that I could manually put the car into park, just by turning the column right behind the steering wheel. What is going on here? Did authentic SS's ever have column shifters?

 

[565bbchevy]

Believe it or not buckets and center console were actually an option for the Monte SS (though most people checked off that one) but I believe in your case you still have a factory center console, I believe they had the transmission linkage hooked up to the steering column only so the column would be able to lock the steering wheel in place once the floor shifter was put in park but was never designed as an actual shift point.

 

[Pontiac455]

Tha bar goin form the trans to the column is the neutral safety. They used this instead of a electric switch on the shifter wired to the starter circuit. The key will only turn to start in park and neutral. Check yer cable mounting points at the transmission and the shifter, sound like the cable has broken away.

 

[pencero]

Congratulations you have now discovered why lots of people get the B&M shifter (when their shifting linkage inevitably fails similarly) Won't be surprised to see one in your car when you get tired of having to crawl under it to jam it in park every time you go out for a spin. Do NOT forget to put the e-brake on before putting the car in park from below or you will totally hear it slip into Reverse 1 day and you will be so sorry a split second later lol

 

[gbodytoys]

Congratulations you have now discovered why lots of people get the B&M shifter (when their shifting linkage inevitably fails similarly) Won't be surprised to see one in your car when you get tired of having to crawl under it to jam it in park every time you go out for a spin. Do NOT forget to put the e-brake on before putting the car in park from below or you will totally hear it slip into Reverse 1 day and you will be so sorry a split second later lol

thanks to all that replied. Pencero, that's just it, I don't have to crawl under anything, I can either pop the hood and pull the "bar" up, or now, I can cut the car off in drive, and manually turn the column behind the steering wheel to the left. Either way, I plan on getting the shift linkage fixed this week after I get my carb rebuilt...or possibly at the same time. I'll also look into that b&M shifter. Thanks.

 

[81Regal]

There is also an adjustment on the linkage where the two bars cross, loosen the bolt then push up on the rod going to the collumn and retighten. There is two oval bushings on the lever at the transmission and a plastic bushing where the rod connects to the steering collumn. Any of these can be broken or missing causing slack in the shifter. Possible your stock shifter cable is close to braking also. No need to buy an aftermarket shifter that is just the "easy" way out.

 

[gbodytoys]

There is also an adjustment on the linkage where the two bars cross, loosen the bolt then push up on the rod going to the collumn and retighten. There is two oval bushings on the lever at the transmission and a plastic bushing where the rod connects to the steering collumn. Any of these can be broken or missing causing slack in the shifter. Possible your stock shifter cable is close to braking also. No need to buy an aftermarket shifter that is just the "easy" way out.

thanks, I'll pass the info on to my mechanic when I drop the car off. Getting my carb rebuilt.