Apocalanche
Full Member
First of all this is for an automatic transmission with the shift lever on the column (for anyone who reads this that does not have an Avy).
The shift lever has 2 planes of operation:
Vertical: Up and down is the place that it moves when selecting gears (Park, Reverse, etc.).
Horizontal: Forward and backward - this is sort of a safety thing so that you have to pull the shift lever backwards in order to change gears.
My vertical plane was nice and firm - it uses a plastic (ball) bushing. If you're in Park and can move the lever up and down (excessively), you need a new Shift Lever Bushing.
My problem was the horizontal plane - which uses a metal spring to keep the lever forced to the front of the truck (hence having to pull backwards to shift out of park). Once I shifted to park, I would have to manually push the lever forward or I could not extract my key. I called all over the place for a "shift lever [return] spring" and everyone kept trying to sell me the plastic bushing. Aggravating! Dealer said they could not get just the spring - but I could order a $400 kit that should have the spring. WTF!?! He said he had a spring for an older GM (Part # 7812853). I popped down there and picked it up for $8. It was a little long, but the correct diameter and about the same spring resistance. I took some cutters and snipped it to be about ? of an inch long. It was a little challenging to get it into the hole (OE would be as well), but it's doable.
Use GM Spring Part # 7812853.
Tilt wheel to lowest possible position. Pop the main dash trim. Remove top cover to steering wheel column. You do not need to remove any bolts or screws from inside the column.
Curved needle nose pliers work great! Pull the old spring (probably broken in 2 or more pieces) out. Trim the new one down to ? of an inch. Getting the new spring back into place I used the curved needle nose and assisted it with a smallish flat blade screwdriver.
All in all - about a 5 minute job.
The shift lever has 2 planes of operation:
Vertical: Up and down is the place that it moves when selecting gears (Park, Reverse, etc.).
Horizontal: Forward and backward - this is sort of a safety thing so that you have to pull the shift lever backwards in order to change gears.
My vertical plane was nice and firm - it uses a plastic (ball) bushing. If you're in Park and can move the lever up and down (excessively), you need a new Shift Lever Bushing.
My problem was the horizontal plane - which uses a metal spring to keep the lever forced to the front of the truck (hence having to pull backwards to shift out of park). Once I shifted to park, I would have to manually push the lever forward or I could not extract my key. I called all over the place for a "shift lever [return] spring" and everyone kept trying to sell me the plastic bushing. Aggravating! Dealer said they could not get just the spring - but I could order a $400 kit that should have the spring. WTF!?! He said he had a spring for an older GM (Part # 7812853). I popped down there and picked it up for $8. It was a little long, but the correct diameter and about the same spring resistance. I took some cutters and snipped it to be about ? of an inch long. It was a little challenging to get it into the hole (OE would be as well), but it's doable.
Use GM Spring Part # 7812853.
Tilt wheel to lowest possible position. Pop the main dash trim. Remove top cover to steering wheel column. You do not need to remove any bolts or screws from inside the column.
Curved needle nose pliers work great! Pull the old spring (probably broken in 2 or more pieces) out. Trim the new one down to ? of an inch. Getting the new spring back into place I used the curved needle nose and assisted it with a smallish flat blade screwdriver.
All in all - about a 5 minute job.