Stretched Shifter Cable? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

mt700a1 · 10-18-2010, 08:52 AM

Hello,

The car is a 94 Prizm w/ 5 speed manual with 180K miles. Very often the car goes into the third gear when I shift into the first gear position. If I don't pull the shifter to the left very hard, it goes into the third gear instead of the first. It has become gradually worse over the past several months. What I also noticed is that it is easier (less resistance) to pull the shifter to the left than to the right.

One mechanic diagnosed a "stretched shifter cable" as the culprit. He recommends replacing both cables (there are two). Cables are ~$280 and with labor the total cost is around $550. This is close to the value of the car so I haven't come to a decision yet. I took a good look at the shifter linkage at the transmission, and it goes into the first more reliably if I assist the link motion by hand while the driver tries to shift into first.

Parts guy at Toyota dealer told me that cables very rarely go bad. I am puzzled to see that there is no adjuster on the cables. My other car, a 97 Saab has an adjustment feature so the shifter and the linkage can be aligned properly.

I am wondering if others had a similar problem in the past, and would appreciate to hear from you if you have a cheap solution, guesses, or just plain observation.

Other than stretched cable I would imagine the problem could be:

Broken motor mount(s)-if the engine moved under the hood, alignment b/w shifter and trans will be off. They looked ok but hard to tell.

Loose linkage: there was some play in the pivots but not sure if it is excessive.

Thank you in advance.

MT

BoyYota · 10-18-2010, 09:21 AM

If your engine was moving you would be able to tell.

I know you're avoiding harder stuff, but did you ask if it's possible syncros would cause it?

You could also take it to another shop/mechanic for a second opinion.

I also had something similar to this on my old truck and I was told I had a bad throwout bearing. It wasn't exactly what you describe but a bad throwout bearing will cause mis-shifting and sometimes grinding.

speedy25 · 10-18-2010, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mt700a1

Parts guy at Toyota dealer told me that cables very rarely go bad.

He's right. BUT the bushings in the ends CAN go bad. Check them.

-SP

Suprawillis · 10-18-2010, 05:04 PM

I don't think a motor mount could be a problem. You could check and see if the cable has moved off the bracket. So what you can do is remove the intake and inspect the cables that are a tad behind the tranny if you are staring at the engine standing from the driver side of the car looking down.

I don't remember off the top of my head since it has been since January when I did a clutch job. But there are two transmission cables. Both ends are held in place by brackets and C clamps I believe. If the cables are loose on the brackets, or have come off the bracket then that could throw the shifting off alignment.

mt700a1 · 10-18-2010, 08:25 PM

Thank you all for being so helpful. I will check the condition of the bushings more carefully, but it will be difficult to tell because they don't appear to be broken in any way. The cables have not come loose, but there's some play in the shifter even when it's in gear. If it turns out to be a bad synchro, I will have to decide if it's worth fixing. Thanks again.

Loneyc · 10-18-2010, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mt700a1

Thank you all for being so helpful. I will check the condition of the bushings more carefully, but it will be difficult to tell because they don't appear to be broken in any way. The cables have not come loose, but there's some play in the shifter even when it's in gear. If it turns out to be a bad synchro, I will have to decide if it's worth fixing. Thanks again.

Check the shifter as well.. Maybe the shifter cable connected to the shifter part is loose.

BoyYota · 10-18-2010, 09:03 PM

I skipped over something. $550 = close to the value of a mid 90s Toyota?

Is it in rough shape or what? That's like 1/3rd its value in good condition.

***Zembonez*** · 10-18-2010, 09:05 PM

I'm willing to bet on worn bushings in the shifter.

mt700a1 · 10-19-2010, 11:11 AM

Thanks, definitely check out the shifter bushing more carefully.

>I skipped over something. $550 = close to the value of a mid 90s Toyota? >That's like 1/3rd its value in good condition.

I paid $1500 for mine 5 years ago. And they are still going for around $1500 on cl today. These cars don't depreciate do they? I replaced the leaking clutch master cylinder a few years back and the car received a new catalytic converter a year ago, but Corolla/Prizm have been the most reliable cars in my family.