Shifter Issues

I had a small issue with my shift lever. It started to become hard to get into low, then reverse, then any gear change was very difficult. I suspected a shift cable issue at first but wasn't really concerned. By the time the day was over the shift lever was completely loose and I was stuck in high gear, had to lift the box and shift with the linkage on the trans to get into reverse. I removed the front plastic and started to investigate. Found that the pin that secures the lever to the actual shift block, I guess you could call it, had almost completely fallen out. The pin has a groove for a snap ring to secure it but that of course was gone. Just looking at the wear marks on the metal of the shifter, the block, spots where the return spring sits and lack of wear marks in the snap ring groove and the block where the snap ring would ride, I would say that it was not even installed from factory. There is no sign of its existence at all other than a groove for it to fit in. I installed a new E-clip that fit the groove and have had no issues since. I took the plastic off again and did some more looking after running a while with the new snap ring in and as suspected, it has made some rub marks in the metal already, reinforcing my belief that there was no snap ring in place from factory. Not a big issue at all, fix cost $1.07 for 6 E-clips and was done in about 20 minutes but maybe it is a good thing to check if you have your front plastic off, it may save an on trail issue.