98 ATX Shifter shaft keep freezing

[gromittoo]

I have the classic problem of when you floor the car while merging on a freeway, the shifter pops into neutral, rather than the tranny downshifting for power. The issue is that the tranny has two mechanical inputs, the throttle position, and the shifter position.

Chrysler decided to put one shaft inside the other concentrically. Since these shafts are located under the battery, they occasionally get small amounts of battery acid dripping into them, and freeze together. With the two shafts mechanically frozen together, flooring the gas will cause the shifter to move. You can even cause the shifter to move with the engine turned off.

This tranny was originally designed for the Dodge Omni, and yet the design was never changed. Why couldn't they have put a Teflon sleeve between the shafts? How about a battery tray with a drain line that would route any acid to the ground, rather than to drip on the tranny?

Anyway, I went through the hassle 10 months ago of freeing my shafts. It involves removing the battery tray, which requires removing some very difficult to access bolts. I then sprayed penetrating lubricant into the shafts, and let sit overnight. Problem solved...

Now the problem has come back. My question is, what sort of lubricant should I pour into the shafts, once I have them free again? This is not a job I want to do every 9 months.

[ikeyballz]

if its a shaft, and you want it to be semi-perm, you wont be able to do it with just a 'lubricant' you might want to try use grease, the kind designed for chassis joints, those are 10K miles or so worth? they would prolly stay on longer than oil.

(just my 2 cents..)

[denisond3]

It would be hard to get normal grease to move down along inside the shafts. You could heat some vaseline - it runs like a liquid if left in the sun on a toasty summer day. But then it might be stiff in cold weather. 3-in-1 oil is about a '5' viscosity. Even that might be a little stiff when its below freezing - until the tranny warms up. I have an 87 Dodge Omni on which I have to dribble oil (I use ATF) onto the shifter shaft a few times a year - or it starts to stiffen up.

[gromittoo]

Originally Posted by denisond3

It would be hard to get normal grease to move down along inside the shafts. You could heat some vaseline - it runs like a liquid if left in the sun on a toasty summer day. But then it might be stiff in cold weather. 3-in-1 oil is about a '5' viscosity. Even that might be a little stiff when its below freezing - until the tranny warms up. I have an 87 Dodge Omni on which I have to dribble oil (I use ATF) onto the shifter shaft a few times a year - or it starts to stiffen up.

ATF sounds like a better idea. I am concerned about contaminating the fluid in the tranny, and ATX fluid won't get stiff in the cold (I live in Philly where we get some cold).

I am even concerned about the penatrating lubricant, but I had no choice back in November 06. If only the battery tray wasn't in the way (and so difficult to remove), I wouldn't mind dripping a few drops of ATX-3 into the shafts.