RICH 28

While replacing the shift cable plastic bushing that's under the center console, I broke the cable. I'm going to order a new cable part# 10352529 for my 05 A4. Does anyone have the shop manual repair instructions or pictures on how to replace this cable?

Maybe you did this repair yourself and could give me some pointers? This will be the first time jacking my Vette up to do a repair.

Thanks in advance, Rich.

MikeERWNC

Plan on two hours.
The h-pipe and torque tube cover needs to come off. Then you will have access to the cable front to rear.
The bushing repair is dumbest, common example of how cheap some Corvette owners are.
The cable is 50.00 at your local dealership.
If the bushings fail, the rest of the cable is not far behind.

Mine failed at 100K miles. I keep a spare in the trunk. AAA can pull me to a dealer.
The cable is not a part that dealers keep in stock.

GOLD72

I don't agree with your sentiments. Yes the cable itself is relatively cheap but the entire parts and labor cost is closer to $500 at the GM dealer and a royal PITA for the average DIY if you want to save the labor cost. I have heard of very few actual cable splitting failures reported here on the forum. The vast majority of cable failures is just split plastic grommets and most often the front grommet. The OP broke his cable trying to replace the grommet. The service shop manual warns the cable is very inflexible and subject to breaking if not handled carefully when connecting and disconnecting at the bottom of the shifter lever. The cable has very capability to bend. When I replaced my front grommet, I rotated the rear tranny housing shift lever forward to push the shift cable as far forward as possible to gain more access to the cable eyelet. When I had the new grommet snapped into place, I rotated the rear shifter lever rearward to retract the cable to better line up with the bottom of the console shifter lever grommet pin prior to reconnecting the cable. JMHO

windyC6

Seems like most of the cable related failures are due to the bushings. Replacing the entire cable just to not be "cheap" seems like a....well...we won't go there.....

snuggy

another problem waiting to happen to my 2005 A4!! I do a lot of "manual" shifting and now wonder if this will contribute the premature failure of the cable?

GOLD72

My thinking with your A4 is you are putting more stress cycles into those cheap plastic grommets and hastening their failure.

windyC6

Probably spot on gold. I wonder though if getting any kind of lube on those cheap parts would help them last any longer ??

GOLD72

I doubt it would help any at all. The plastic simply isn't up to the heat it is subjected. It quickly gets brittle due time & temperature. Then it just splits in two.

GOLD72

For the time and effort to reach the front grommet for lubing an old bushing, you just as well replace it with a new one. The very lifting of the shifter module with the cable still attached is going to place a stress on a grommet that may already be getting brittle. You could lube and install a new grommet but over several years of intense heat, I doubt it will slow down the thermal aging of the plastic.

RICH 28

Maybe the plastic neck on the cable I broke was brittle, because I didn't think I pulled it that high for it to snap so easily. My biggest problem now is getting the whole car up high enough for me to work on it.

Bruze

I was curious about all this, so I found a picture of the A6 cable, link here.




Is the yellowish end the one that goes bad first?

RICH 28

The black side goes up top and under the console. It gets very hot in there and that's where most are breaking.

Bruze

I'm assuming the outer black ring is metal, and the yellow thing inside is the plastic grommet that breaks . . . ?

GOLD72

The yellow thing is the plastic grommet insert that splits into two pieces when it breaks. I found one half still attached to the shifter bottom pin and the other half still inside the black cable end eyelet. I wasn't paying attention on my car whether the black cable end eyelet was metal or plastic. My thoughts is that the black end felt like a Bakelite composite material. The new Dorman kit grommets are white. They might yellow as the thermally age and get brittle. The rear grommet is identical to the front grommet.

RICH 28

I have a brand new one in my hand and it feels like the black ring is plastic as well. I just put a magnet on it and it did not stick.

Bruze

That just means it doesn't have any iron in it.

It's always the inner grommet that breaks anyway, right?

When mine goes, I'll make one out of Oilite bushing material.

RICH 28

Yes, just the inner grommet breaks.