Please help, Sidekick is stuck in 4th gear

Mazamat · 06-20-2007, 06:09 PM

First off, thanks for checking out my post. Ok, my '92 Sidekick was at the bottom of a hill. I shifted into 4th because someone was turning in front of me and I needed the power to get up hill. I go to shift into 5th and it won't go so I go back down to 4th and it STILL WON'T GO! Then I realize it is still in 4th but the shifter just moves around like it's in neutral and won't go in or out of any other gear. Thankfully I had enough speed to get over the hill and pull off the road. I took the shift stick out completely and no structural damage to it, so the problem is in the space in the transmission that is manipulated by the end of the shifter. I know nothing about transmissions so I'm screwed as of now. Anyone have any ideas on what may have been the cause of this? And you would be magnificent if you provided any info on how to fix it.

Wuppy · 06-20-2007, 06:59 PM

If I remember correctly from the 92 I had once upon a time, there should be a ball joint at the bottom of that shifter. The male part of the ball joint is built into the bottom of the shifter the female part is attached to the transmission linkage.

The same condition happened to me because that ball joint wore out and popped out of the socket it fits into.

Mazamat · 06-20-2007, 07:46 PM

Thanks for the reply, but the ball joint on the shifter looks fine. It may be the female part but I don't know what it is supposed to look like and can't tell if it is worn out. The shifter seems to fit and move the connection as if it were in neutral but when it gets to a point where it should fall into gear, it just stops like something has it blocked off. It's as if the female part had lost its connection to the transmission and left it in 4th. I can't really say much because, like I said, I don't really know transmissions.

Shconer · 06-20-2007, 08:08 PM

Maybe a shift fork is broken? I dont know much about transmissions either.

tracka96 · 06-20-2007, 10:16 PM