In cold weather my shift mechanism arm on the column tightens up in first gear causing a spacing issue between the steering wheel and the shifter arm. The result is a knuckle bruising shift.
The two pictures show the steering wheel shift arm positions. One shows the arm very close to the wheel the other about 2 inches from the wheel. In normal driving the arm drops up and down while you shift it doesn’t stick in the up position. Could this be a lubrication issue with the grease I’m using stiffening in cold weather?
The last picture shows the shift linkage mounted on the steering column in the engine compartment. The 1” long spring which is also about 1” wide maybe just too weak to provide the correct pressure return in cold weather. I assume to remedy the problem I may have to take off the steering wheel and use a thinner lube.
The good news is that after 21 years I finally hooked up my heater so I can enjoy driving the car earlier in the spring and later in the fall.
Thanks, Mike
I noticed this topic was discussed on 3-14-24 under the heading Shift Linkage in the old chat site. 2 pictures showed linkage in the engine area on the steering column with linkage secured in a more stable fashion than in my picture.
If my eyes aren’t deceiving me I can see your bronze bushing behind the spring. If that’s the case then the material that held it in place has deteriorated and the bushing is just dropped down. So your shift arm shaft would have a lot of play there. This is a picture of mine.