Hi. About 6 years ago, I had a precarious situation where I was stuck in the middle of the street in front of my house because my shifter would not shift at all out of reverse or drive, I forget which. It got stuck. A mechanic/neighbor at the time put some grease somewhere that was accessible under the hood. It was on the right side near the front, I believe in the vicinity of the transmission dipstick. I think it was called a linkage or a gear, I forget which. It cured it. Problem-free for 6 years. He said it might need it again one day.

Well, I'm on the verge. The van was very hard to shift last night as I was parking. I don't want to get stuck!

Does someone know the specific part that I need to grease, and how I can locate it? I want to be able to grease this part regularly. Thanks so much!

 

Probably the kickdown linkage.
It runs from the throttle body down to the trans. Otherwise the actual shift cable/linkage is right by that.

 

Thanks, smokesxt, as always. I do have the factory service manual for this van. I will locate those parts that way. I think since we're not sure which linkage it is, I will grease both.

 

I would be willing to bet on the kickdown linkage being the issue.



I've had them cause exactly what you describe on numerous vehicles.
Usually take them apart, clean them, remove any rust, grease them up and problem is solved.
Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for the pic and the red arrow! You are always a big help. I definitely think that's it, because the former neighbor reached in to the right of the transmission dipstick and under the battery. In fact, if the shift cable linkage is not even in the picture, then that is certainly it.

So I should be applying grease to that spring you are pointing at, correct? Maybe hit it with a wire brush first?

And, just in case, is the shift cable/linkage showing in the pic?

Many thanks...

 

Up by the throttle body where all the linkages come together is actually where there's usually issues with binding. It's all held together with clips, so just unclip it carefully from the TB, clean everything up (scotchbrite, or steel wool works well), then grease it, and put it back together.

 

Thanks for showing that as well, smokesxt, and the cleaning tips. I will address the shift cable/linkage if greasing the kickdown linkage doesn't do the trick. It is definitely the kickdown linkage that was tended to last time. Thanks so much!

 

Try a couple of things, Remove the cable from the transmission and try moving from inside the vehicle. If that moves fine, remove the kick down rod. And with cable back on the shifter. See if the transmission comes out of park. The most likely cause is the valve body kick down shaft.

 

Thanks, master tech. A little beyond my capability, but I will pass it along to my mechanic if I can't get this going myself. Thanks!