jimthesoundman

I have a 4-cyl 2003 S-10, automatic, extended cab.

I hit a piece of wood lying in the road and now my gearshift won't shift into Park.

It "feels" like it is going into Park, but the dashboard indicator says it's still in Reverse, however I can still take the keys out.

I have to start it in Neutral, and I have to remember to put the parking brake on or else it will roll away when parked. Other than that it seems normal.

Can I adjust this myself to get it back to normal, or should I take it to a transmission shop?

Thanks in advance!

JIM

EinST

Hit it or went over it? If the latter, something around the shift range selector on the transmission is probably damaged. You'll have to assess whatever is bent or out of place on the left side of the transmission. You can take the key out since the shift lever itself moves to PARK.

jimmydriver

Your linkage is damaged. maybe bent.

jimthesoundman

I can manually push the lever into Park if I crawl under the car, so I would think that the cable that connects the gearshift lever to the transmission lever is either out of adjustment or bent so it is no longer stiff enough to push the lever all the way into Park.
How can I assess if the cable is damaged or needs to be replaced? How can I either adjust it back or replace it?

Thanks in advance for your help!

EinST

Are you still working on this one? If so, it sounds like you have a broken bracket that's supposed to secure the shift range selector cable to the transmission. You shouldn't be able to move the range selector (the lever you're rotating on the transmission) by hand when everything is tight.

jimthesoundman

Yes, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with it. The end of the cable at the transmission end has a tension adjusting screw on a bracket that connects to the sheath around the cable, could it be just that has gotten knocked around?
I don't know whether the cable is okay and just the tension adjustment is out of whack or the cable itself is bad. I went by the auto parts store and asked if they sold the cable but they don't, they sent me to the dealer. I don't want to buy the part from the dealer and have them say it's not returnable or something like that.

EinST

That bracket may have taken a beating and is now bent or not holding the cable tight (the sheeth/jacket end). Hope you can figure it out.