Busted Knuckles

It's a good feeling when you bust up your knuckles...especially if it saves you nearly $500. Today i performed the workaround to the problem that the mechanic found regarding my shifter cable. So, Chrysler designed this POS device...in the first picture, you will see a ring around a pin...yeah, that's not supposed to be like that...i don't know what it supposed to be like. According to the mechanic there is some sort of plastic part that centers that pin in the ring. Well, of course plastic does fatigue...and break. It's not so easy to replace that "plastic" part in the ring...Chrysler doesn't make a part for that...you have to buy the entire shifter cable , which costs about $240. Add in mechanic's labor to replace the entire shifter cable system and you're lookin' at about $450-$500.



So...at first i was a little concerned. The mechanic said that the vehicle would be rendered stranded if this thing broke--which is a true statement...i can't shift gears without it. It sounded as though the part was nearly going to break...that was the concerning part.

I popped the hood and searched around and saw what the mechanic was looking at...and that is something that i noticed probably more than a year ago. At least Chrysler designed it so that the cable wouldn't easily pop off the pin.

A quick search on the internet yielded the $3 solution. I spent roughly 20 minutes on this workaround (and it probably works better than replacing the entire cable anyway). I was so excited that things were going together so smoothly, that i complete forgot to take a picture of the workaround before i replaced the air filter box. Well, i took a picture of the fix after everything was back in place...





I busted my knuckles trying to get to the other cable which is under a bracket that i decided was more trouble removing that what it was worth. At any rate, the cruiser is fixed...and i saved $497. So, i charged myself $497...hmm...i think i'll buy some winter clothes...