need help connecting shift indicator cable

[sychonat]

does any one have a picture or somthing to help me reconnect my shift indicator to the column. I know about where it goes but I can't see it because of the plastic cover on the column.. thank you in advance

[MidnightBlues]

You mean connecting the little wire coming from the indicator?
Then remove the lower (right under the column) plastic cover.There should be a tiny hole in the column (on the right side) to screw in the wire.

[sychonat]

thanks, I'll give it a look. that screw hole is what I can't find..

[Bill W]

that is not always true. My 91 suburban has a little clip instead of screw to hook up the little string or cable or whatever it is to move the shift indicator. The clip is much better and easier to adjust to get it just right.

Bill

[88Jimmy4x4]

Originally Posted by MidnightBlues

You mean connecting the little wire coming from the indicator?
Then remove the lower (right under the column) plastic cover.There should be a tiny hole in the column (on the right side) to screw in the wire.

Really?
Mine didnt have a screw hole, it just kinda clipped/clamped on

[sychonat]

mine has the clip too.I just looked. can you see how and where it clips on?

[mckpaul]

Mine has a clip too. It just clips to the edge of the plastic collar that rotates along with the shifter arm. With the shift indicator in place and the wire passed through the guide, there isn't too many places the clip will reach. You should be able to see small scratches in the plastic where the old clip was slipped on, and it probably left a mark when it was removed. If the needle is off a little after you press it in place, just pull it off and move it up or down a little as needed.

[sychonat]

doesn't anyone hava digital camera to post a pic? I think I might be missing the guide, but I don't know what it looks like.

[MidnightBlues]

Hmmm,I guess mine has been "modified" for some reason.Mine has a clip too,but this clip is screwed into the moving part of the column.So this clip has to go somewhere else.I'll have to check that one of these days.
Yes, if someone has a pic, would help me too.

[mckpaul]

The guide is nothing special, just a little notch kind of built in to the shift indicator assembly on the far right end of it. The pointer slides left and right, and the guide just makes the cable follow the path of travel of the needle so when the end of the cable gets pulled, it's not pulling on the pointer at an angle, it's pulling directly to the right. What may be causing the confusion here is that your guide may be broken off the assembly. It's just a little molded plastic on the end of the assembly, and if it's not there, the length of the cable wouldn't make sense.

If yours is broken, they are easy to change, just two screws into plastic and you can work it around a little and get it out. You do have to remove the whole black plastic cluster cover (bezel) and the plastic cover under the column, and I think the metal cover under the column as well, but all of that comes off removing easily accessable phillips head screws. As far as getting a replacement, they are available out there used, you might find one in a cluster at a junkyard, or you might get one here on the board, just keep in mind there are different variations of them as far as lettering depending on what tranny they are for (P R N D 2 1 part may vary).

I just changed mine a couple of weeks ago because I broke the pointer needle off. I have the old one in the garage. I'll try to get a pic of it so you can see if yours is broken, but will probably be over the weekend.

[mckpaul]

Hmmm... correction... just found a pic on an old post of a shift indicator. Looks like my description of the 'guide' is off a little bit, sorry, slept since I was into mine.

The 'guide' may actually be part of the plastic dash housing, it's still nothing more than some molded plastic, but looking at the pic of the removed shift indicator jogged my memory. The actual shift indicator (if removed) is metal with a plastic pointer, a spring and a small cable, the cable guide isn't part of the actual indicator. I have an old dash cluster in the garage too. I'll take a look at it too and try to get a pic of where the guide is.

[sychonat]

sorry for being or sounding stupid but are you saying that the clip attaches to the black plastic housing that surrounds the column? that doesn't sound right, but I'll go look.

[mckpaul]

Hey, found a couple of pics of clusters here on the board in various threads, copied and modified a couple of them showing the guide. It is part of the light green housing. It just sticks up out of the housing a little, there are two parts to it and there's a slot between them. Could see where the lower one that the cable actually rides on could get broken off. If it breaks off and you want your indicator to work, guess you'ld have to get kind of creative and put something else there for the cable to ride through or find a used cluster to replace yours with.

Hope this helps.

[sychonat]

thats great! that helps alot. thank you. now... I need a pic of where that clip goes. then my quest will be complete.

[88Jimmy4x4]

Another pic

[mckpaul]

Originally Posted by sychonat

thats great! that helps alot. thank you. now... I need a pic of where that clip goes. then my quest will be complete.

Well, that's a horse of a different color. To get a pic of that, the instrument bezel and the plastic and metal covers below the column have to come off. Not sure I'll be getting into that anytime soon, but if you pull your covers off, the spot it connects to is within about 2" of that guide. It's a black plastic sleeve that goes all the way around the steering column and ends right there close to where your shift cable is hanging in that little guide. The whole sleeve, or collar, or whatever you want to call it, rotates when you move the shifter. That clip on the end of that cable attaches to the edge of that sleeve so when you move the shifter out of park and down into a gear, it pulls the cable and moves the needle. On mine, it's not an exact placememt thing with a screw, you just push it on. Then put it in a couple of gears and see if the needle is pointing to the letters close enough for you. If not, pull it off and move it slightly and press it back on. Then replace your bezel and other cover pieces and your done. Just don't forget to make sure the cable is routed through the guide.

I thought it was kind of a cheesy design, but it works. Hope this helps.

[MidnightBlues]

Found out why mine has been screwed on the sleeve.I've got a Caprice steering column.It's like 2 inches shorter than the truck columns.More room behind the wheel.But the edge of the sleeve is to far back to attach the clip.

[sychonat]

figured it out. yep, my cable guide is broke. the piece is completely missing. Im going to need a new cluster if I want to have a shift indicator. thanks guys for all your help.