'95 Regal Column Shift

[DBSTTN]

Does Anyone Have Any Information On Why A 95 Regal 3.1 ,,50,000 Miles ,,,column Shifter,,,,when It Gets Cold This Is Almost Impossible To Shift Into Gear,,,,once In Gear It Is Fine,,,,,a Half Hour Of Driving And It Will Shift Normally,,engine Is Up To Temperatire And Sits Fore An Hour And It Will Allso Shift Normally,
Could It Be The Cable Or Something Else That Has To Be Warmed Up.....the Car Has Not Alway Been Like This,,but Got Worse Every Year,,, Now At 15 Below Zero ( Last Week )it Is Almost Impossible To Shift Into Gear,,and It Gets Cold Here All Winter,, Thoughts Of The Shift Lever Breaking Off The Column Came To Mind,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
tHANKS FOR YOUR HELP

[millennium]

Check the transmission's fluid, it may not be the recommended fluid, also it could be some (expensive) problem with the transmission.

On the easy side.. it could be the cable that goes between the shifter and the transmission, it may need cleaning or adjusting, also check the Kickdown cable (i don't know if the '95 has it)

One silly question.. do you park your car in a completely horizontal terrain?¿ When I park my buick in the street (very inclined street) it gets very difficult to get out of Park.

[dwalmop]

This is a common problem. If you look back through all the posts, you'll find some do-it yourself solutions to this. The cable/linkage gets full of crap - basically you have to clean it up.

[DBSTTN]

Originally Posted by millennium

Check the transmission's fluid, it may not be the recommended fluid, also it could be some (expensive) problem with the transmission.

On the easy side.. it could be the cable that goes between the shifter and the transmission, it may need cleaning or adjusting, also check the Kickdown cable (i don't know if the '95 has it)

One silly question.. do you park your car in a completely horizontal terrain?¿ When I park my buick in the street (very inclined street) it gets very difficult to get out of Park.

It is actually the piece under the speedometer, take off the dash face and you will see a triangle with one pivot point and the cable attatched,( (((move shift lever to find this piece)))) a slot nylon ball in it,,,,just a drop of light oil (((3 IN 1 oil)))) on the pivot point and the nylon ball and it works fine,,,the garage wanted $90 just to tell me what was wrong,,,
Your car is hard to get out of park because the gear is holding all the weight of the vehicle,,try setting the brake first,,,,they all come out of park hard at one time or another,,with all that weight

[johnhinnc]

This is a problem on my car as well. It is totally caused by temperature.
That is why after driving a few miles the problem disappears. The cable gets warm. The lubrication in the cable hardens when cold. My solution was to peel back some of the cable insulation and inject some "dry slide"
(light oil with graphite) into the cable.

[DBSTTN]

mine was the sifter,,, right under the speedometer..
just a little oil on the pivot piont