Hi,

I’m new to your site, hope someone will be able to answer this question.

I removed the gear shift lever from the steering column on my 70 Chevelle. When I reinstalled it, it doesn’t fit the same as before. The shifter works, but the lever is loose (back and forth) as if a spring or bushing is missing or the lever is not engaging correctly.
Any suggestions?

Thanks

There should be a spring to keep tension on the lever so that you need to pull the lever toward the steering wheel to shift out of park. When you reinstalled the shifter lever the spring must have moved. Remove the lever and look in the hole to see if you can see the spring. The spring should be below the lever. I have seen the spring out of position and causing the problem you have. Also the car may jump out of park if the spring is not correctly installed! DO NOT leave the car running as it may jump into reverse with no warning!
Paul

I looked into the hole, but I didn't see the spring. Can the spring fall out when removing the shifter?

The spring fits into a recess and may be hard to see. It has been a while since I had one apart. Did you try reinstalling the lever? The spring sits near the end toward the inside. When you slide the lever into the hole try to keep the end with the knob slightly toward the dash and when it is all the way in pull gently toward the rim of the steering wheel and you will feel if the spring is against the end of the shifter. It may take a couple of tries. The end of the lever needs to be on top of the spring. If you just push the shifter in straight the end of the shifter will push the spring over instead of sitting on top. Kind of hard to explain but not hard to do. Hope this helps.
Paul

Tim you may have lost it when removing the lever. If you can't find one let me know. I can probably find one in my many boxes of junk.. er I mean good stuff :D

I found the spring, it did fail out. It’s sitting on the bottom of the steering column housing. Once I fish it out, I’ll be in good shape.

Thanks again, for all the great information.

Tim
:)