Shifter Problems - Vandalized & damaged

[baron1701]

Hello,

2002 olds alero w/ 2.2 ecotec

I left for a vacation with the wife and kids for a week and let a family member borrow the car. There is a LOT to the story but someone entered the vehicle and destroyed the center vents and tried to damage the shifter. The car was "repaired" before I got home and I would not have noticed but there is no shift interlock between gears now and the vent was off - center. No need to hold the brake and / or push in the shift knob.

The car will shift into all the gears but it will do it anytime, even without a key. I am afraid that I could bump it and end up in reverse or something driving down the road.

Does anyone have a schematic or drawing? I see that there is a release cable for sale on ebay but I am not sure how this works.

-Is there an electrical solenoid that stops the shift regarding the brake?

-Does the shifter assembly simply come out or is it very involved?

-If there is a problem with the cable, how do you access it?

I will know a lot more when I get home and pull the unit apart a little.

[Jmrec100]

go to autozone.com They have repair manuals on line that should help.

[baron1701]

Thank you,
I looked at it after work and it seems that inside the shifter shaft has a white plastic piece that travels up and down.

This white piece is supposed to have something come out of it on the drivers side and connect to a plastic mount which travels with the shifter cable. The white plastic piece is broken and there is nothing connecting the two. It looks repairable if I replace the whole unit. A trip to the boneyard is in order. : )