any mechanics in the house?

[Syrinx]

If so, I've got a question.

I've got a car with an automatic transmission. All of a sudden, the "shifter" (what the heck do you call that thing anyway?) seems real tight. You have to put more pressure to shift from P to D, etc. And the divisions between P, R, D, etc. seem suddenly poorly defined. Though the car managed to get me through the day, it seems something is seriously wrong. I hope it's not the transmission itself.

Anyone care to speculate on what the problem could be, and how much it might cost to repair?

Thanks for any info! I'm not much of a mechanic. ;)

Oh, and the car is a 10-year-old Chevy.

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. Can you elaborate more on 'more pressure'?

Where exactly do you feel the resistance — between gears or getting it out of the gear it's in (like getting it out of the "click")?

Does it happen between all gears or just, say, park and drive or park and reverse?

Was it a gradual thing or did it come on all of a sudden?

Is it a floor or column shift?

[Syrinx]

2. let's see

It's a column shift. It came on all of a sudden. It's between all gears. And there is very little "click" going on. Very little click at all, if any.

Thanks for the help!

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. You mean

it doesn't seem to lock into the gears? Not the transmission itself, but the shifter.

[Syrinx]

4. right

It's like the shifter is analog instead of digital, if that makes sense. It's more of a fluid motion instead of a series of clicks. But the actual transmission seemed to work okay. I hope this makes sense. It's kind of hard to describe.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Okay

It's really hard to do this without getting in there and feeling it, so I'm just guessing. But...

First guess: One of the linkage rods got messed up somehow — bent, perhaps. If that's the case, a good mechanic would spot it in about eight seconds once he got it up on a lift and could conceivably fix it with a small sledgehammer, or by pulling it and bending it true. (Or, it could be in the section of linkage in the steering column, but that's not likely.)

Second guess: One of the servos went out. (A servo is, basically, a part that helps move another part.) That'd be inside the transmission and would require removing it.

Mind you, I'm not a transmission mechanic, nor a real mechanic at all. I've just been working on cars for a long time. You need to get it to a transmission shop; I'd start with a national chain like AAMCO. If you don't like what they tell you, take it to a locally owned transmission shop that's certified.

Good luck. :hi:

[Syrinx]

6. thanks a lot!

I'm going to bookmark your post, so that I can bluff and make it sound like I know what I'm talking about when I take it to the shop. ;)

I hope the first case applies, but in any case, thanks very much for your help! If you were a Republican you would have demanded payment for help.

Thanks so much! :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. I dunno if I'd use it to bluff

Mechanics know a lot more than I do, especially about newer cars. There's liable to be something about that particular transmission or GM trannys from those years that I know nothing about. I'm familiar with cars from the '50s through the '70s — Chevies, mostly — and a lot has changed since then; a lot more stuff's done electronically.

All you really need to know is how much money sounds like A Hell Of A Lot to you. If you hear that, get a second opinion. They can really only rip you off if you're willing to be ripped off.

[Syrinx]

8. again excellent advice!

Thanks! Tomorrow, I either get my car fixed, or get a new used one.

Thanks a lot for your advice. I mean it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. You're very welcome

I like to help whenever I can, but I'm careful not to do more harm than good by taking wild guesses about stuff I don't know. That's why I ask so many questions.

:hi: