The cable on my auto shift to trans arm is very tight. It is a 4T60e swap and the cable bracket was measured and made so that the shifter worked perfectly when the drivetrain was out. It just goes into park now but with too much lever pressure. Short of modifying the bracket, is there any way to adjust the shift cable to give the cable more slack? I guess its into the service manual tonight.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Some of the auto shift cables are adjustable at the transmission end, and some are not. Can you post a picture of the cable that you have? The adjustable part is where it goes into the bracket on the transmission.
Only Cable adjust is a clip in back near the bracket and metal clip. May help but can affect lineup to read shifter gear marks that you see. If bad enough can cause problems w/ shifter gates match the trans and isn't good then. just one click wrong either way and shifter won't drop in P gate right and that causes problems w/ I-switch interlock. See my Cave, Auto Shifter
If that won't work... Have problem only for park or more...
Park only might be In the trans. IOW Park pawl and shifter in the trans may have problems.
Interlock problems or Crap under the shifter can cause same problem. Interlock cable adjust is buried in the console but almost never a cable adjust problem. Can be problems in/on the steering column.
More... 1 big Q is the cable bending tight? Shift cables like many others have minimum bend radius and bind or break when bent too tight.
2 is near the exhaust? If get too hot the cable often need replacing then rerouted and/or heat shield etc installed. I think part of cable goes between OE shield on firewall and firewall for that reason.
Exhaust leaks can melt that along w/ wiring harness and boil brake fluid depending on location(s).
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Ogre, you do know that the Fiero auto shifter is already set up for the 4 speed auto trans internal gating, right?
The Fiero auto shifter with the adjustable auto trans cable will work perfectly with any GM 4 speed auto transmission, as long as the shift arm on the transmission is the proper length and clocked correctly.
Originally posted by olejoedad: Ogre, you do know that the Fiero auto shifter is already set up for the 4 speed auto trans internal gating, right?
The Fiero auto shifter with the adjustable auto trans cable will work perfectly with any GM 4 speed auto transmission, as long as the shift arm on the transmission is the proper length and clocked correctly.
His Shifter will have problems getting into Park as listed above w/ 4Txx same as TH125 and that's assume he made the trans arm and bracket right. Those custom parts made wrong even a little then may never get the rest of shifter parts to work right.
And I'm guessing he remove or used another shifter to test the trans out of car... That changes bending of cable etc and often affect them working out of car vs in the car. You can't trust the test out of car and expect to work in the car w/o minor cable adjustments w/ the plastic clip on the rear of cable at minimum.
The AT shifter has Gates as covered in the cave, the Trans has Detents that just locates a position and each is position so close to identical you can't tell easy, and 2 terms and parts used for them Are Not Interchangeable. In Fact, The Two work together when the shift cable is set right. If cable is maladjusted even a little then the Tran's Detents and Park Pawl can push/pull the cable enough to make Shifter problems going into, or out of, the Park Gate. The rest of the Gates have more tolerance and doesn't care about minor mismatching.
Side Notes: If you have a load on the steering column when parked, because of Interlock cable that can jam the shifter too. When parked on a hill, can jam the park pawl and be hard to shift out of P. (Shifter Going into Park the pawl is spring loaded waiting for the park "rachet" to move to the next slot.)
Yes, Fiero Shifters mostly works w/ 4Txx trans and OE NSS should work too when index is set right.
Mostly works because some Fiero AT shifter has minor problems to reaching 2nd and/or 1st gear w/ 4Txx. Many don't bother fixing that or remarking OD D etc. on the surround. Even a lot of cars came w/ 4Txx have problems reaching lower gears via the shifter even if the shifter shows them or the trans allows 1st gear.
Sorry I don't currently have pics, but I will describe as best I can. I have a 4T60e mated up to a 3800n/a. I used the TH125 cable. I had to make a bracket that mounts on the transmission. It has a pivot mounted on it for 2 reasons. First to get the direction of the linkage right without extreme bends in the cable. 2nd to keep the cable away from the exhaust. As Ogre stated before, going to 2nd or 1st is not happening. Just not enough "through" lenth in the shifter. I made a triangular plate that I welded a tube to it, that bolts to the bracket. Originally I tried to make the through longer in the plate by offsetting the holes for the cable, to be able to get 1st and 2nd, but found it too stressful on the cable. Blew out the first cable I had. One end of the plate is where the shift cable connects away from the engine. The other end, closer to the engine, I used 2 "Heim" joints with a piece of tread all so I can adjust the plate distance to the transmissions shifter paw. The cable I have is adjustable, but I found it better to adjust the Heim joint ends. I had made a "U" shape cut in the bracket to accept the shifter cable. So the cable rest near the TH125 routing. Which is reverse of the direction needed. About once a year I have to take it apart and relube the pivot and Heim joints or it will start to bind. No 1st or 2nd, but works well if kept lubed. I have put over 50,000 miles on this setup.
I support the words of Ogre, the fiero shifter can be modified for a 4 speed but will never be perfect.
Each notch in the gear selector of the transmission must be precisely well aligned and not to the shifter in the car.
Several here in Quebec they decided to keep the fiero shifter for their 4 speed but still had difficulty getting all the speeds, most of them decided not to have 1st speed but the rest is not perfect, me I changed my shifter for that of the GTP 4 speeds is less original but the transmission is well adjusted and at its 4 speeds.
With the proper length shift arm that is reclocked properly, and the correct cable stay bracket, the shifter setup works perfectly using the original Fiero shifter and the adjustable shift cable.
I've done this dozens of times using the 4T60, 4T60E and 4T65E.
These are the instructions I followed when installing the 4t60 and they worked great and have all the gear selections in the proper gate location. For 1st gear it is with the gear shift all the way back below where the original 1st gear location was.
The shift lever needs to be flipped 180* to match the reverse pattern of the Fiero shifter. The lever needs to be flat to allow clearance for the exhaust crossover pipe in most cases. It also needs to be shortened to get the correct ratio for the Fiero shifter. It should be 1-5/8″ from the center of the stud to the center of the hole. The cable mounting bracket is fabricated using pieces of the 4T60 and TH125C brackets. The part of the TH125 bracket where the cable attaches is cut off and welded to a piece of the 4T60 bracket
With the proper length shift arm that is reclocked properly, and the correct cable stay bracket, the shifter setup works perfectly using the original Fiero shifter and the adjustable shift cable.
I've done this dozens of times using the 4T60, 4T60E and 4T65E.
No bellcrank needed.
It's simple math....,
I am working with a nonadjustable shift cable. The shift arm has been re-positioned cut to the correct length and the cable bracket modified to a position where everything worked perfectly BUT it was done while the trans was out of the car. Now with the shifter bolted in place the park position is very tight to shift into. My plan is to move the shifter towards the back 1/4". can't get any good pictures as the bracket and shift arm are under the crossover pipe.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
With the proper length shift arm that is reclocked properly, and the correct cable stay bracket, the shifter setup works perfectly using the original Fiero shifter and the adjustable shift cable.
I've done this dozens of times using the 4T60, 4T60E and 4T65E.
No bellcrank needed.
It's simple math....,
olejoedad Maybe as you mentioned it works for you but your transmission lever in the car never indicates the right position except in the park because the lever is for a 3 speed
The stock Fiero shifter has detents for PRND321 - it is a 4 speed shifter. The shifter location and the console cover are both adjustable, and the indicator on the shift plate can come close, but doesn't line up. But you can get 1st gear starts, and then 2-3-D-N-R-P firmly notched in at the shifter and on the select shaft in the transmission.
I did not say that you are not right , olejoedad because me after reading on the subject and seeing how the lever worked with some friend (but doesn't line up). Sorry I misspoke when I said : because the lever is for a 3 speed, I meant that the shifter plate is for a 3 speed. I decided that the GTP (4 speed) shifter was a better solution for me.
[This message has been edited by claude dalpe (edited 10-17-2021).]
The alignment on the shift plate indicator doesn't bother me, as I have always counted the 'clicks' when putting an auto.atic transmission into Drive or Reverse.
For a very long time that the project is finished, I have driven with it several years without any trouble and this spring I decided to sell it . It was a red Gt86 with a 3800 from a 2004 Impala SS automatic I kept my GT 87 with my 3.5L LX9 5 speed swap that I prefer Thanks for asking.
[This message has been edited by claude dalpe (edited 10-18-2021).]
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I am working with a nonadjustable shift cable. The shift arm has been re-positioned cut to the correct length and the cable bracket modified to a position where everything worked perfectly BUT it was done while the trans was out of the car. Now with the shifter bolted in place the park position is very tight to shift into. My plan is to move the shifter towards the back 1/4". can't get any good pictures as the bracket and shift arm are under the crossover pipe.
And Why did you do that?
4Txx cable bracket and arm to fit Fiero Shift cable was publish years ago by rockcrawl at minimum and likely several copies around here.
