Last night after grocery shopping with the family I discovered a problem with the brick. It started up fine, but when I went to put it in reverse the shift lever went slack. I tried putting it back in Park, but it was stuck in reverse and the shift lever could just bounce back and forth through the range of gears without any resistance. I pulled the parking brake, shut it off and explored under the car.

A rod hung from underneath the shift lever and after a little exploring I saw that it should have been attached to another lever on the transmission. But there was nothing to hold it in place. I was parked over a sewer grate, so if there had been something that fell of it was gone. Luckily I had just thrown a roll of duct tape into the trunk, so I was able to fasten the levers and drive home.

This morning I removed the duct tape, pulled the mechanism and walked to the local hardware store for a retaining ring and washer. The guy in the nuts and bolts section was clueless when I asked for help. He told me they didn’t have retaining rings, but after a short search on my own I found a drawer with plenty.

Reassembly was easy and now it shifts properly. But the whole shift assembly is loose and sloppy, so someday I may have to go in there and swap out some of the bushings. Right now I’m just glad we were able to get home, and the repair only cost $.75 in parts.