i totally forgot i had this issue - till of course it started to dip into freezing temps.

when car sits (mostly overnight) the next morning it is very hard to put into any gear, after driving and warming it up smooth as silk again.

i am guessing the shift linkage has a crack and accumulated some moisture which then turns to ice and freezes up the cable.

has anyone else had this problem? i am looking into tearing into it, just looking for any good starting points.

thanks.

 

Sounds like a very plausible explanation. The shift cable is not all that difficult to change out although it can be time consuming.

 

ok, i found the problem.

there was a 1/4 wear point where the cable ran by the transfer case and had worn thru the outer rubber.

a quick fix was some electric. heat shrink that would normally be used on wire.

thanks for the second opinion.

 

That would definitely do it. If I were you, I would force some WD40 through the cable to displace the water that is in there to keep it from stiffening up again when it freezes outside. Also, if it is still resting against the transfer case, get a piece of rubber hose, slice it down the length and slip it over the cable.

 

thanks for the ideas.

didnt think of the wd40...good thing i got to this info before weekend fix was done.

thanks again.