Got this lovely shifter, but how to I get the old one off?

[plumsmooth]

Pardon me if this overlaps my other shifter stuck post but I really need to get this car out of here either sold or given away to a junkyard or otherwise anyone for that matter.

I go this as good as new looking extra nice veneer glossy shift.

I am starting to search for other posts. The boot is in really good shape and following someones instructions I managed to easily rotate the top of the boot and get it to slide down. Pulling as hard as I can on the shifter it does not budge! The other thing is it is stuck in park and I do not know what else to do at the moment.

I really hope putting it into another gear is not part of the removal installation process.

Thanks for your help.

I saw a reference to the Haynes Manual so maybe I should look. It is way funner to come here and beg for help.

[plumsmooth]

Update: I started the car and tried again likely in Park! Just a teeny bit of side to side movement and it came off SO very easily! I am about to put the new one on but hardly any air in tires so I am going to make myself wait to see if this works to get my car out of gear! Can hardly take the suspense...

[plumsmooth]

Bad News Brand New Shifter still stuck in Park.
Shift-lock override does nothing.

I take it the next thing is to remove the console?

[plumsmooth]

Any chance my OBD-II code reader and reset device possibly would do anything? Or help me figure it out?

[abscate]

OBD won't help here. Are you hearing the solenoid click when you step on the brake worth the ignition on ?

[plumsmooth]

Good Question to my aging memory -- not sure if I am family with that sound except unconsciously?

Another thing I forgot was maybe I should have moved the lever to make sure it wasn't stuck because it seems like a little bit of an effort to engage the button when trying to shift even with the new shifter.

And I also read something about a micro switch. Not sure if this is related to the solenoid...

Thanks for the help...

Dark now guess I look for that sound in the morning...
being that sounds are visible when you have synesthesia...

[plumsmooth]

Update just checked after some more education...

Brake Lights come on!

I hear that click! Hey isn't it amazing you could drive a car for years and then someone asks you to listen for a sound that you have never heard but then you hear it and it is obvious!


What now? Any chance that lever that the shift button is supposed to depress is stuck?

This is ridiculous this is like something that would stop me from even having it towed out of here!

[erikv11]

Make sure the shift lever is engaged all the way down or the button won't be able to move out of Park. I've had that happen a couple times the last two years when I loaned my beater 850 wagon to friends. Twice they told me its stuck in park, both time I just popped the lever back down and it works again.

[plumsmooth]

Not sure what you mean. Could you explain a little more. Are we talking about (what I am calling the button up top or) the knob at top of shifter that you depress? Even though I have a brand new one in there it feel a little sticky when trying to depress it. Which makes me wonder if the actually metal shaft underneath need to be lubricated or something?

[BEJinFbk]

The shifter interlock system is also connected by a small
cable to the ignition switch's steering lock mechanism.
IIRC, the key needs to be in at least position 1 for any
method of releasing the shifter to operate.

That cable can become stretched over time and may
need to be tightened, The adjustment is at the shifter
end of that cable, so getting into the console sounds
like a logical next step.

Popping the shell off of the steering column may also
be helpful if the cable seems wonky at the shifter.

Hope this helps!