Hello I have fallen victim to the dreaded shifter cable issue. Does anyone know a good source to find the shifter cable and bushings? And if i buy the cable will it come with the bushings etc? The only supplier in town I can find is charging around $165 for the cable and I am not trying to pay that much if I do not have too. I recall people saying the part was around $70 max before. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

 

I bought my GM shift cable from a dealership. Part number 10352529. Comes complete with bushings ready to install...Depends what year cable you need. Mine was for a 2004 application...around $70...Rock auto was $73...lots of places sell this GM cable...
Hope this helps...

 

huge help thanks! I have seen some on Amazon from 60s to 80s. Mine is for a 2002. Some of the ones on Amazon say they work from years 97-2004 or something like that. Should u avoid any non year specific ones?

 

If you just need the bushings Dorman makes them part #14057
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ift-cable.html

 

I found it for relatively cheap. The cable should Come with the bushings correct? I may buy both separately and if cable is fine I will just return it

 

The new cable should come come complete

 

you are welcome...don't just replace the nylon bushings, they never hold as good as the originally pressed in bushings...before you buy the cable, just check to make sure it is the correct one. Pretty sure the 02-04 is the same cable...whoever you buy it from will be able to tell you for sure...if you have any more questions or trouble...email me directly at.... kennyusa@att.net......i will buy one from the chevy dealer and ship it to you ...well worth it since i can get it wholesale...

 

Just replaced my shift cable in my 98 shift cable. Advance auto,$70. ,was going to do myself but you need a lift! Mechanic only charged me $250.
top bushing went out and I replaced myself. Broke a plastic guide on the old one and wound up having to do the whole cable. Bottom bushing was probably not far off from going bad so
now I’m not worried. If you have access to a lift , easy job.

 

I don't which is the issue. Haha my cable is coming in today and I'll take it Monday to be fixed. They quoted me around $190 for labor originally and around 160 plus shipping for the part for a total of around $460. Not only is that math atrocious, but the cost of the part was about 150% over what I paid as well. Now that I got the part for $63 I will make sure I get it done for $200

 

it is well worth the $200 labor...seriously....

 

Smoken1 is right, like $12 worth of bushing and you are good. I did mine years ago and have not had anymore problems. Good luck with the repair.

 

My experience- I replaced the rear drive in early 2016 at about 105,000 mile and decided at the time to proactively replace the shift cable. Upon examining the old cable and bushings, I discovered that it was fine, the bushings were solid, no cracks and relatively pliable. The bushings on this original cable were dark gray in color, not semi- transparent like on the new cable I put in.

From the above, I am thinking that some OEM shift cables were more durable than others. Take a look at the bushing at the transmission connection on your car to see what's up.

I also noticed that the rear cable attachment to the transmission is just above a very hot exhaust pipe, so I put a HeatShield cover over the exhaust at this location to help shield the rear shift cable bushing from exhaust pipe heat.

 

Ok guys, know it's an older thread, but one that will be seen by many, I think. thought I'd put in my two cents.

Have an '04 Base A4 car, 34k miles. Few weeks back, I felt the shifter come free as I parked the car at home (got lucky). Did the research, believed it was a bushing, most likely. So, first thing was to check on the garage floor under the car. Sure enough, found what was undeniably the last bit of the rear bushing and the end was off the trans. Picked one of the bushings that are always discussed, replaced it easily and seemed to be in business.

That's when I made a crucial error. Decided to go through all the gears before letting the car down, just to be sure it was good. Was working fine/smooth between Park and Drive, both directions, mind you. Anyway, made it into 1st and then when I started back up through the gears, I felt the cable bend (bend turned out to be just in front of the front cable mount, where the plastic sheath had broken as I shifted from 1st). I'm not a burnout guy and hadn't had it in 1st before. Imagine it would have broken the 1st time I shifted out of 1st, no matter what.

I had access to a lift, but 35 miles away, with no way to shift gears on the trip. Could've started in drive and drove it, I suppose, but decided to give it a shot at home. Put the front tires on 4" blocks, and the rears on 8" worth, chocked in both directions. Jacked from each side with two floor jacks. Dropped the driver's muffler (actually just rotated it enough to allow my hand/arm to get to the upper nut of the trans bracket. At that point, remove both nuts from the trans bracket. Both were doable with a with a 3/8" drive, extension/swivel, and 13mm socket (removed a nearby bolt with a wrench first for the bottom one). Easy to pull the staple with the bracket loose.

Wiggled the old cable around until I felt the foam pad near the trans end - it wedges between the rear bellhousing (if you will) and the tunnel. Ripped that foam off of the cable and threw it away - that allows the old cable to slide more freely out the front. Then zip-tied the rear of the old cable to the front of the new. Tied a string to the front of the old cable so that I could still pull it forward if I needed to wiggle it backwards first for anything.

Pulled the console and shifter. Never did see a pic or video on how to unhook the interlock cable, so just hung the shifter by the steering wheel to prevent damaging the interlock cable or shifter. Hardest part of the entire job was the front cable bracket. It's back in the tunnel from the shifter hole 3-4" maybe and against the driver's side of the tunnel. For C5's, '04's have a different bracket in the car and associated plastic lock/mount on the cable from earlier cars. Took quite a while to wiggle the old one loose - can't see it and touch it at once (think the '97-'03 cable would be easier).

Once I got it loose, was able to wiggle the old one out through the shifter hole while pulling the new one with it. Was likewise pretty hard to get the new cable seated in the front bracket. Just took time/effort and a couple of skinned-up thumbs. Only remaining hard part was snapping the front bushing onto the post. Did that by orienting the bushing correctly, maintaining its height (next to torque tube) with weed-eater string and a free hand (can't pull it up very far), then snapping the shifter onto it while it rested against the torque tube.

So, in summary, I didn't drop the exhaust, other than scooting the driver's side muffler out of the way a bit, didn't touch the torque tube cover. Biggest issue I had was easily the front cable bracket (unique on C5 to '04 - same for some or all C6's). If I had to do it over again, don't think I'd take a different approach - the only part I struggled with a bit (front mount) wouldn't have been helped by having the bottom open, I don't think. I didn't want to risk breaking manifold bolts or having exhaust leaks after I was through, and I just felt like this was quicker and less invasive.

I know I've been short and vague here, but hope it helps somebody.

 

yep, about to try this after i pulled up too hard on the front connector while replacing the broken bushing. tons of people are like, "if you dont drop the exhaust and the plate cover you wont get good results." I don't have a lift, and i'll try the zip tie method first. Thanks for the excellent write-up!

 

When it's time to wrestle the front bracket off and then the new one on, use some Duct tape on the outside base of your thumb(s) to avoid the scratches/cuts. Better than a glove bc you can still feel what you're doing a little bit. If you're not sure where to put it, just try it a little without anything and you'll know! Good luck.