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So when I pulled into my driveway yesterday, my shifter came loose and the car would not pull into park.I was in the process of replacing my shifter cable on my 97 A4 when I noticed my old cable doesn’t even look bent or mangled at all. But I did immediately notice the plastic bushing that goes into the slot on the shifter end is in pieces which would explain why I saw my cable just sitting on top of the torque tube, judging by the picture provided, does the cable look fine? Or would I be able to just buy a new bushing insert and just slap it back on. I have a new cable but would rather save that until I’m a little more prepped with better jack stands and some chocks.
Just change the bushing in the cable end.
Be very careful with the cable when replacing the bushing. the outer sleeve is brittle after all the heat cycles the car has been through. Take your time and if you feel frustrated step back from it a bit and it will go ok.
Good advice above. I would slap a bushing in there to get you by in the meantime, but I would order an OEM cable and plan on replacing it in the near future, that sleeve is probably brittle. 90k on my 04 and doing this as a preventive soon
Just replaced my transmission end bushing - originally bought the auto zone - Help card brand - did not like the 'click' when pushed on the shift nipple - so bought the ones from Ecklers (different material) -
the 'click' on the nipple was a big difference - offers more confidence in the repair ...
I took a different approach. I ground off the back of the nipples and removed them. Threaded the hole and put in a bolt in place of the nipples. Put washers in cable ends and nyalock nuts on the bolts. Wish I had pics.
So when I pulled into my driveway yesterday, my shifter came loose and the car would not pull into park.I was in the process of replacing my shifter cable on my 97 A4 when I noticed my old cable doesn’t even look bent or mangled at all. But I did immediately notice the plastic bushing that goes into the slot on the shifter end is in pieces which would explain why I saw my cable just sitting on top of the torque tube, judging by the picture provided, does the cable look fine? Or would I be able to just buy a new bushing insert and just slap it back on. I have a new cable but would rather save that until I’m a little more prepped with better jack stands and some chocks.
The entire cable with the nylon bushing at each end is cheap enough...just replace the whole cable for piece of mind....02 registered
P/n 14055 dorman, I did cable the first time, I fished thru console with shoe string. A month ago all I did replace bushing. All of 20 30 minutes, best of luck.
If you decide to replace the bushing at the shifter end, do not deflect the cable any more than absolutely necessary. If the plastic sheath between the cable bracket and the shifter breaks, the cable must be replaced.
Thanks for all the replies, I forgot I had this thread opened, turns out it was just the rubber bushing that crumbled on the shifter end and while trying to replace it with a new plastic one I accidentally snapped the brittle plastic which bended the cable and ended up tackling the whole replacement myself, by far the toughest job I had to do being a novice “mechanic”. All it cost was 80$ for a replacement cable and a quick trip to the hospital (don’t ask), the shifter is about a 1/4 inch misaligned but it doesn’t bother me, it still shifts perfectly and I’m not sure if it really affects the drivability. I’m open for any info and thank you all again!
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Cable or just a bushing?
