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Hi everyone, new guy here. I just bought a C6 last week and have already gotten to experience the dreaded shifter cable grommet failure after 5 days of ownership. Yay me... It stranded me at work, at least it was safe in the parking garage. I took a couple days to hit this forum (which is a treasure trove of knowledge, thanks everyone!) to figure out what the problem is and how to repair it.
I found many, many threads about the problem and how to solve it, but I wanted to offer my update to what part number of grommet to use. For the most part, I kept running across everyone saying to use the Dorman #14041 package of assorted bushings. I bought that one, tried for a little while to get it seated but it never wanted to click into place. I remembered stumbling across a thread where someone used the Dorman #14055 and how it actually clicked into place, so I went today and bought one of those at Autozone. This is the update I wanted to offer - DORMAN #14055 IS THE CORRECT ONE! It comes with only 2 bushings, a white one and a clear one - the clear one clicks right into place with ease and receives the shifter lever **** perfectly with little to no effort.
I jacked up the rear of the car, got underneath and without removing anything or using any tools, was able to stick my hand underneath and reassemble the shift cable. I can't tell you how pleased and relieved I am now. Can I please drive my new car now? LOL. Hope this helps the next guy. Cheers guys!
Thank you very much for the update. I think I bought the 14041, but wasn't going to change them out until this winter hibernation period.
I'll pick up a few Doorman 14055 for the preventive maintenance I am planning.
14041 would have worked well for me. You just have to pick the right one out of the package. I know because I just did this repair a few months ago, and it clicked in nicely. I did accidentally break my shifter cable by pulling it up too high during the bushing installation, but that had nothing to do with the fitment of the new bushing. I ended up replacing the whole shifter cable myself. So now I shouldn't have to worry about it for several years. Mine is a 2005, maybe that matters?
14041 would have worked well for me. You just have to pick the right one out of the package. I know because I just did this repair a few months ago, and it clicked in nicely. I did accidentally break my shifter cable by pulling it up too high during the bushing installation, but that had nothing to do with the fitment of the new bushing. I ended up replacing the whole shifter cable myself. So now I shouldn't have to worry about it for several years. Mine is a 2005, maybe that matters?
I have repaired both ends of mine in the past 2 months. 14041 is the one I used for both ends and it is the second to smallest. According to several members 14055 also seems to contain the same bushing with less parts to throw away in the kit. I am glad the OP was able to get it accomplished, however I am assuming his was the rear bushing as was my first one. My center console bushing lasted another 6 weeks before it went. The first one was on my way to breakfast and broke in D so I could get back home. The second was the console and it broke in Park in my garage.
I am the likely one that originally posted about buying and using Dorman 14055. I used the white in the package of two at the front of the cable. I had also bought the 14041 but didn't use it since the 14055 kit seemed specific to late model GM cars. In the 14041 kit, each grommet has a part number. In the 14041 kit, you need to use #5074045.
Thanks!! With C6 autos aging, forum members are going to continue to see these failures and will need this info if they want to DIY. The archetecture of the C6 exposes the shift cable end plastic grommets to intense heat which thermally ages them making them brittle and easy to eventually split causing the cable end to fall off. I am sure other cars use plastic shifter end grommets but not subject to such intense heat from exhaust lines so near by. Since the C7 archetecture is likely the same as the C6 auto shifter layout, I expect to eventually see these failures with C7 as well.
Thanks!! With C6 autos aging, forum members are going to continue to see these failures and will need this info if they want to DIY. The archetecture of the C6 exposes the shift cable end plastic grommets to intense heat which thermally ages them making them brittle and easy to eventually split causing the cable end to fall off. I am sure other cars use plastic shifter end grommets but not subject to such intense heat from exhaust lines so near by. Since the C7 archetecture is likely the same as the C6 auto shifter layout, I expect to eventually see these failures with C7 as well.
Since most people tend to trace the failures to being heat related, makes me wonder if that's really the cause. Living in the Phoenix area and having very high temperatures along with low humidity, should have made the grommets on my '08 fail long before my current 139K miles of use, if heat was the cause. It would also be a very prevalent problem in desert cities as opposed to most of the rest of the country and I know of no one here who has experienced the problem.
If we knew the type/composition of the material on OEM grommets, we might be able to better understand the cause. We don't know if GM ever changed the material to address the problem or if the material Dorman supplies will be a better solution.
Getting to where every time I move my shifter I get nervous at 129,000 miles!! Seems like a lot post about this failing bushing lately. May just go ahead this winter and change them before they let me down somewhere!
Since most people tend to trace the failures to being heat related, makes me wonder if that's really the cause. Living in the Phoenix area and having very high temperatures along with low humidity, should have made the grommets on my '08 fail long before my current 139K miles of use, if heat was the cause. It would also be a very prevalent problem in desert cities as opposed to most of the rest of the country and I know of no one here who has experienced the problem.
If we knew the type/composition of the material on OEM grommets, we might be able to better understand the cause. We don't know if GM ever changed the material to address the problem or if the material Dorman supplies will be a better solution.
Maybe they switched to better plastic in 08 and made up for the cost difference by switching to cheaper plastic in the fuel pumps.
So I want to clarify something - there are two grommets (one at each end of the cable) that need to be replaced if you are doing this on a preventive basis?
Do you also have to change the shifter cable in addition to the two grommets as I believe they are separate pieces and not part of the shifter cable? Are the shifter cables also breaking?
Is it easy to do the other fix on the A6 shifter (with the twist tie) at the same time as doing the grommet replacement?
09-15-2016, 05:35 PM
Shifter cable grommet part # update!
You just saved your self $550.00 + for repairs.
