Dear Forum,

I have an 85 half ton van with an a833 on the floor. One of the linkages became detached from the transmission about a month ago. I was merging onto the highway and the shifter felt odd as i tried to shift from third to fourth. Realizing that something was wrong, i pulled into a rest area to see what was up. I found that the shifter could move freely and go into where 4th and reverse should have been, but the transmission remained in third gear.

I was able to slip the clutch enough to get it rolling again(thank goodness for that 3.90 rear end) and I limped it home. The cold weather and snow prohibited me from looking at it, so it just sat for a few weeks until I was forced to move it by parking enforcement. I put it in my parent's garage(it just barely fit under the door) and upon removal of the doghouse noticed a rod hanging below the transmission.

Sure enough i jacked it up, and the two rods(one fit into the other with no threading or anything) went right back together and the van was back to normal. There was nothing keeping the rods from coming apart again, so i tied a length of an old bike innertube around them.

Is this a common problem? I feel like there should have been an encapsulated nut, or atleast a pin to keep them together. I am fixing the van up to do some extended trips this summer, and am wondering about anything I should keep an eye on in regards to the linkage and transmission.

There is a hole in the end of the rod. Insert the rod into the lever on the transmission or shifter and secure with a spring clip like this:



These clips are used on many makes and models. I searched for "4 speed linkage spring clip" to come up with the photo. EBay is a source as would be any speed shop.

_________________
Joshua

those clips are also available at Brewer's, they also cross to the GM 4 speed clip, if after you install them and the linkage is a little sloppy or droopy, you can install a large outside diameter flat washer under them to spread the clips load out on the shift levers or toggles and take up a little slack.

-D.Idiot