Steering Column Lock Cable.....?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 332
From: Cartersville GA
Steering Column Lock Cable.....?
How tight should the cable be....? I'm not sure if I need a new one or not. After hooking it back up it seems hard to move the shifter to reverse. I took it back off and it seems to slide pretty easy, I think maybe I had installed it in a bind, it was also backwards with the rubber boot at the column instead of at the transmission.
Brian
Brian
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,202
Likes: 4,287
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi Brian,
Typically you shouldn't even get a sense that the cable is there when you shift into and out of reverse.
If the cable slides smoothly in the sheath when you test it, and is installed in a gentle arc between the upper and lower levers, that's about all you can do.
Is the clamp on the transmission bolt still there? Sometimes it's missing and allows the cable to come down to the lever at an odd angle.
Regards,
Alan
Typically you shouldn't even get a sense that the cable is there when you shift into and out of reverse.
If the cable slides smoothly in the sheath when you test it, and is installed in a gentle arc between the upper and lower levers, that's about all you can do.
Is the clamp on the transmission bolt still there? Sometimes it's missing and allows the cable to come down to the lever at an odd angle.
Regards,
Alan
Last edited by Alan 71; Apr 8, 2016 at 07:29 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
IF you disconnect the cable from the lever arm on the steering column (firewall side)....and you can shift your car and the cable moves and the shifter does NOT bind....GREAT...so far.
THEN....while the cable is still disconnected....turn the ignition key on and MANUALLY reach down and grab the lever arm that your cable was attached to and move it up and down and 'feel' for resistance. I have encountered the cable housing was fine...but the problem was inside the steering column where the hub that turns so you can get the key out of the ignition was binding and needed to be taken apart and greased again.
ALSO...IF the crimped end on the cable has bound up and allowed the cable to bend over and kink...so-to-speak....then the cable is SHOT because trying to get the cable to straighten out and still provide the movement that it needs is possible...but usually will fail again if there is ANY binding in the motion of the cable to the column lever arm and inside the column.
DUB
THEN....while the cable is still disconnected....turn the ignition key on and MANUALLY reach down and grab the lever arm that your cable was attached to and move it up and down and 'feel' for resistance. I have encountered the cable housing was fine...but the problem was inside the steering column where the hub that turns so you can get the key out of the ignition was binding and needed to be taken apart and greased again.
ALSO...IF the crimped end on the cable has bound up and allowed the cable to bend over and kink...so-to-speak....then the cable is SHOT because trying to get the cable to straighten out and still provide the movement that it needs is possible...but usually will fail again if there is ANY binding in the motion of the cable to the column lever arm and inside the column.
DUB
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 332
From: Cartersville GA
DUB...Thank you for chiming in....The first thing I checked was the lever on the column....It moves just fine. Even though it's a pain I'm going to hook up the old cable and see if I can get it to work, I would rather use the old one. There doesn't appear to be a kink in the cable anywhere but there is more of a bend in the whole cable on the end that was supposed to be at the column. Maybe between cleaning it up and installing it the right way it will free the movement up.
Brian
Brian
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
The one thing good about this cable is that you can pull back the rubber seal boot and use a syringe and some penetrating oil and inject it in the cable housing and let it work its way down and free up the cable. when I do this I manually move the cable so I get a sense of how it is freeing up and NOT kink the ends.
DUB
DUB
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 332
From: Cartersville GA
I have done that and reinstalled it and still not much better....I'm also still having a problem with getting it far enough up to be able to get the key back in the locked position....It's as if the cable is a little too short. I'll work on it some more tomorrow.
Brian
Brian
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 332
From: Cartersville GA
No luck with the stiff cable...Looks like I'll need a new one....I did however get everything working like a charm now with turning the ignition switch back far enough to easily get the key out....Turns out the bracket that the cable attaches to at the column was just a little loose....Adjusted it and tightened it down, now all works well.
Brian
Brian
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