Dwnfrce

Hey all, I managed to bungle what was supposed to be a simple job on a high-mileage S2k. The car has just over 145k miles, and once i pulled it apart it was clear it had never been cleaned or greased. After reassembly on the second try, wherein i admittedly forced the shifter down harder than I should have the first time around, I'm able to shift in 1st through 4th, as well as reverse. After pulling the assembly back apart so i could see the linkage receiver, I used a long 3/8" socket extension as a makeshift shifter and confirmed that 1st through 4th and reverse are fine, so I'm assuming on my first attempt at reassembly I somehow jammed the linkage in the depressed position which is why reverse is available but 5the and 6th are not. I hooked a pick under the receiver and tried to pull it back up, but no luck there.

I know there's plenty of "I can't believe you managed to do that" coming, but has anyone heard of this happening? What part would cause the linkage to stick down and how I might go about fixing my mistake? I appreciate the feedback.

EDIT: SOLVED - orientation matters. See @Miloking's comment

Chuck S

(Watching this as I'm about to grease my '06 linkage.)

-- Chuck

Dwnfrce

@Chuck_S for what it's worth, it's pretty straight forward. There are a couple good resources on s2ki. Lesson learned from my problem - if it doesn't feel like it's sliding into place easily, don't force it. I might have had it in 4th gear instead of neutral when i pulled the shifter out, so when i centered the shifter on re-installation, i think the cap at the end caught the edge of the linkage connector instead of sliding into it. I thought it may need to be 'popped' into place, but I was very wrong.

s2000maniac

Yikes!! I seem to be having the same issue on my 2003 s2k. I just got the car and it looks like the previous owner messed around the shifter area. With car off I can shift into 1-4th and reverse but 5-6th are very hard to find. I was gonna pull it apart and see What's going on.

Car Analogy

Its also possible to put the shifter in backwards. Pay attention to how it looks before you remove. It has a tilt to the shaft, and its supposed to lean one way, not the other.

I can't recall which way. When I did my regrease, late at night, dark, and not payimg attention after doing too many service tasks that day, and realized it could go two ways, I googled around for images and found one that showed an S shifter installed without the boot (in state of dissassembly for trans removal iirc), which showed me which way to go.

So maybe if shifter is in backwards, this would be a symptom? Worth checking.

Dwnfrce

Well, I thought I had done it right but it's a possibility so i'll double check. Biggest concern for me is that even when i completely removed the shifter and used a long metal bar into the shift arm, I still couldn't get it to go into 5th or 6th.

Dwnfrce

Sorry for the bump. Hoping someone can provide some guidance before I pull the whole linkage assembly apart.

Chuck S

I reviewed the service manual on this and find no reference to any orientation of the shift lever or putting it in any specific gear to remove/replace.

Please keep us up to date on your fix. I have the photo essay on how to grease this and (despite the service manual being moot on the topic) will be marking the lever before I pull it.

-- Chuck

miloking

not quite true...there is an orientation, the little metal tab above the bushing goes to driver side on LHD

Chuck S

Thanks! Not a hint of this in the service manual.

-- Chuck