Could a bad shifter linkeage ball cause this much trouble?

[Grangalan]

Well the past few months i've been having nothing but shifter issues. As of 2 days ago basically the shifter is so sloppy that it wont go into 2nd, 4th 6th. And before we say alignment issue , well i've been there before, many hours.

Basically when youre in the upper banks(1,3,5) of gears when you try to take it out of gear the shifter moves back about 2-3 inches before going out of gear into neutral, by that time the shifter is already at the position of the lower bank of gears (2,4,6_ the up down movement seems to be tracked down the shifter linkeage by the tranny. The balljoint is stock and seems its SUPER sloppy in there, to the point to where i can move the linkeage rod back and forth fron underneath and the ball joint just moves along rather than actually shifting. I had my buddy look how much the shifter inside the car moves while i move the rod from underneath and basically 2-3 inches before going into gear.

Also a upate: I had my buddy basically keep it in neutral but move the shifter up and down. The part that bolts onto the transmission moves with the balljoint as it should. but it seems either whatevers inside the transmission, or whatever it connects to, lets the entire thing move around a lot before even thinking of hitting a gear...So the balljoint isnt so much the problem but whatever it connects to, transmission wise.. this sounds serious.

[Grangalan]

Well i have come up with 2 scenarios. Maybe someone can elighten me. Basically the shift linkeage moves but doesnt shift. Either A.. the little metal "bisquit" thats visible inside the right linkeage (pic below) has come out and now its slopping around .. or something in the transmission is busted. When i move the shifter. The linkeage moves but the nut that bolts the likeage to the tranny doesnt, as if the nut is loose and caused the bisquit to fail...

[CONTROL ONE]

Exact same thing happened to me. Shifter linkage popped out of the ball/cup and I could only select 3rd gear (barely at that).

Got the NEW shifter linkage that they redesigned after 2000 MY that is one solid unit and haven't had a hint of the problem since.

The shop even tried to apply pressure to the old ball/cup setup but that lasted exactly 15 mins before popping out again.

The only real solution is the updated part. It was $340 USD and I could only order it from the US. Make sure you get this version and not the old ball/cup style.

[joules]

Jhm has an excellent all-metal linkage for $190, or a stock linkage rebuild kit for $40. I had the same symptoms as you, and initially found that I had lost the metal biscuit. Put it back in place, and still had major problems. It was simply the linkage rod that connects the shifter to the shift linkage that needed adjusted. Go to JHM's website or search this forum for a link to the video on how to properly align you gear shifter. A VERY small change in the adjustment makes a big difference in how things shift. The adjustment to which I am referring is accessed under the shifter boot, slighty to the front and left of the shifter. It takes a 6mm hex with an extension. A couple of times, I thought that my transmission was broken, but slight adjustments here got it working again...

[Grangalan]

been there done that bith the adjustment part. My problem is that the entire linkeage moves. The one that i pictured above. travels when the shifter is moved, but doesnt engage into gear until the shifter glides about 2 inches either way. Almost as if the bisquit is gone and it letting the arm move but not the part that connects to the tranny.