Hey everyone. I just picked up a great 2004 D2 SE7. It's my second D2. Anyway, I was chasing a few things over the weekend, nothing major, but I noticed sometimes it would not recognize being in park. I thought the shifter felt wiggly and when I wiggled it in park, the P indicator lights on the dash and shifter would go on and off with the wiggle. I have to wiggle the shifter sometimes to get the get the car in park in order to release the key. I can hear lock engage when I wiggle the shifter and then the key comes out easy. Long story short: I make my way to the XYZ switch and realize the control arm holding the cable is bouncing all around like a needle on a warped record. I had my kid jump and and wiggle the shifter and the control arm bounced all around. First thought: great, easy fix. Tighten the nut. But nope. I reached up and no bolt. Someone obviously changed the XYZ in the recent past. It looked pretty clean and rather than a bolt, the control arm was welded to the XYZ switch. Photo attached. The weld spots are where the bolt should be. I am seeking advice for a short term and long term fix! I just need the thing to stop wiggling when I engage park. It doesn't seem to affect any other gear. I can see the mounting bolt coming into the XYZ switch, so I think the bolt broke in the weak spot, where the threads start. Any advice on how to get it to stop bouncing for now and how do I even begin to replace that bolt? Thanks in advance, I appreciate your thoughts. Also, you have to do a shot for every time I said 'wiggle'.



Pete

 

What you are referring to as a missing bolt is actually a missing 13mm nut that secures the lever onto the selector shaft (marked "2" in the illustration below).

There should also be two M6 bolts that secure the XYZ switch to the transmission case (marked "3" in the illustration). It's difficult to tell from your pic, but it looks like at least one of the two mounting bolts is missing (far right in your pic).

As for replacing the broken "bolt" (i.e. selector shaft), the instructions for doing so are in the RAVE (under Transmission, Repairs, Seal - Selector Shaft). You have to remove the transmission pan and valve body to access the shaft from inside the transmission. The challenge would be sourcing a replacement shaft. There's a thread over on the LRO DII forum on this topic. In it, sierrafery points out that welding the lever to the selector shaft would melt the selector shaft seal. Is there any sign of transmission fluid leaking from behind the XYZ switch?
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Thanks for the reply. I figured this was the ultimate direction. Trying to think of short term fixes and hoping for a "hack". Both 6M bolts are there. Believe it or not, right now (knock on wood), I have zero leaks. No transmission fluid coming from behind the XYZ.

 

What a dodgy, hack repair.

I misunderstood your first post. I now understand the shaft wiggles even though the M6 bolts are in place holding the switch onto the trans.

I'm surprised there is this much play in the switch hub. I have a spare here and I just tested it with a pencil. No play.

Seems to me that the problem may be just a slight misadjustment of the switch. The holes in the switch through which the M6 bolts pass are elongated to allow the switch to be rotated on the shaft. Wiggle the shifter until the P in the LCD display is off. Then have your kid sit in the seat and watch the display as you loosen the M6 bolts just enough to allow the switch to rotate. Rotate the switch ever so slightly one way, and then the other, until the P illuminates. Tighten down the bolts and see if it works better.

 

I know, right? I just took the trim off the shifter and can see that safety lock for park is not engaging with the shifter. I pushed the shifter forward and P engaged and the lock popped out locking the shifter. The lock goes in and out when I pump the breaks. I had the kid pump the breaks while I looked at the XYZ. I shoved some aluminum foil between the control arm and switch to stop the wobble to see if that helped. It didn't. It appears as though when putting it in P, the control arm holding the gear cable isn't getting enough "umph" to push it all the way into P. If I give the switch a gentle nudge, it pops into P and every thing is fine. I just sprayed some penetrating oil on the M6 bolts and will let them sit for a bit and then I will try readjusting them. But it does seem like the switch isn't making it all the way forward in to P, it's getting stuck just before. Could this also be a cable tension issue?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your time!
P

 

Could be a cable adjustment issue, but I don't understand the cable tension idea.

 

I think you're correct about a switch adjustment. It's getting hung up between P and R on the switch. I was thinking maybe there wasn't enough cable "push" it to get it past area where it gets suck. I only have about maybe, at most, 1/4 in of gear cable coming out of the control arm attachment. It's really just the tip of the cable. Later today I am going to try the switch adjustment.

Thanks again, I really appreciate your help.

P

 

It worked! I made the adjustment on the switch. So far, so good--knock on wood. Thanks again. I'll still have to get thinking ahead to a perm fix for that botched weld job!

P

 

I've seen one or two which the threaded part breaks off due to corrosion/rust. In each case someone drilled and tapped the shaft and used a fender style washer and lock washer to secure the linkage to the shaft. I've also seen a few weld jobs which looked on par to this setup.