Silverado loose Shifter Repair (1998-2006) 

I love how old Silverado’s get to be, and how high mileage and yet people are still running them and how people who on them for 25 years are not afraid to tear into them and fix them.

Very clear step-by-step description without any unnecessary "fluff" some guys feel compelled to add. Excellent camera work as well. Thanks very much!

Okay your video by far best short to the point in and out 3 screws. I've seen others like 15 to 25 min disconnect the battery putting jack stands removing ignition switch wtf???? Like Mr obvious says you're a lifesaver thanks 👍

Appreciate the time you took to show us how to repair the shifter. Thank you

Excellent video 👍. Good details, step by step. FYI....I didn't need to go to the dealership. Rockauto had it for $106 & some change.

Thanks for posting this video! Just for those with 04 Tahoe or similar, I had to remove lock cylinder to get cable out. Watch video on this and once removed, take a big flat screwdriver and insert in void from cylinder, put back towards park and it should fall right out. Now just replace with new one and put back into run with screwdriver. Then insert cylinder back in.

Thank you brother. You just save me several hundred bucks.

Wow, that has been on my bucket list on my 2003. Simple and to the point👍👍👍

I have a 2004 Cadillac Deville with this same mechanism and I swear it is possessed by at least one demon. About a week ago, I was leaving work but couldn't because the shifter felt like it was swimming in jello and had no effect on the transmission. It was dark and I was stuck so I turned on my flashlight app and started digging in. When I got the bottom plastic housing piece off, my Tourette's Syndrome went into full "Losing my mind" mode. The thing was broken in half. If my ride hadn't showed at that moment, I would have lit that car on fire and watched it burn. I have the new part but it has taken a week of solid searching to find something that shows me where the included cable snaps in. I don't understand why it wasn't connected or if I was so crazy by then that I disconnected it. Finally! You showed me where it goes. Hopefully I don't have to replace the handle but the traction control cable is also going to need splicing and reconnecting. If anyone knows of a bonfire in need of something to burn, let me know. I think this car would look great in flames.

Replaced shifter assembly and the right cable at the bottom is broken,great video.

My Silverado just did this so you got a subscription from

Thanks for sharing. Same thing just happened to mine on the way home from working out of town. Got home watched this video and sure enough was the exact problem

Best video on this program Thanks

Excellent work.man I need to get a real mechanic to do this.

Thank you bro! My pops and I just took mine off. My kid got frustrated, and broke the fulcrum on the inside. At least I know I took it off correctly!

Thanks for sharing bro...this jusst happened to my brother in laws truck he stock in the parking lot...

Thanks a lot bro! Saved me alot of headache!! Appreciate it!

Wanted to see the old one, to see why it's loose. Thanks

Great video and thanks for posting! It appears your shift cable is either out of adjustment or stretched. If you cannot shift down to #1, check your cable!!

Thanks IT LOOKS IDENTICAL TO MY 1996GMC SEIRA 1500 PICKUP.. GOOD TO KNOW SAME PARTS.. GREAT DETAIL VIDEO GRACIAS...

That was good informative thank you!

You know your stuff. Thank you.

yes the bottoms are t25

Very informative video! Thank you!

Thanks big time vid helped out big time on my 96 1500

Thank you. I like that. Send me some more videos

My high bean light comes on when the truck is off. I wonder if the the column for it is loose and causing a short to ground scenario.

I noticed when you were shifting through the gears both before and after the new part went in the truck in never went into first gear on the column, my truck won’t go into first gear on the column and I’m wondering why and don’t want to spend 140 bucks on the shifting mechanism if it’s not going to fix that problem ( the truck starts off in first gear and shifts through tall the gears fine)

Good video informative to the point good job

Thanks man I will try this on mine

1999 Chevy Silverado 1500 LS AUTO 5.3L 3door cruise control extended cab.....I shifter is loose and I have to push the shift lever back towards the dashboard to pull out the key. I removed the shrouds and noticed there is a spring that has broken in half. Will replacing the spring fix the problem. or do I need to purchase the entire part you installed. I noticed that there was no spring on it. Appreciate any help. Thanks You Sir.

How did u determaine the loose lever wasnt the screw on the lever jus may hve been loose. jus seeing uf that is possible as a quick fix or do you hve to replace whole assembly??

So i changed my cable and my shifter assembly and i cant get mine to shift correctly. When its in lark the indicator doesnt show its in park and i cant shift past drive into the lower gears. How doni fet it to shift correctly after putting the new parts on

Dorman 905-120 is the after market replacement part

So that black cable that goes in the ignition cylinder is stuck bad. Tried multiple positions to get it out. Now I’ve busted some of the plastic and it still does not release. Ignition cylinder is stuck in on position. I threw a wrench across the street. That helped emotionally but the cable is still stuck. Any ideas? I hope I don’t have to pull the cylinder mount as that looks like it’s a steering wheel off situation.

My name is Ron Finley and I just changed the booster in my truck cuz they don't want bad I had to take some screws up and underneath the steering wheel area and holds the steering wheel to give it some slack where my hand can get in there and pull the pin from the pedal I got everything back together I got the old booster out then I put the new one in I got everything put back together and put the screws back in and put the screws back into the steering underneath the dash bleed brakes and everything and then when I got in the truck it was hard for me to put the truck in drive going in park is okay but I couldn't put it in drive I had to kind of force it to I think I had to lift order for it to go into drive what do I need to do to fix this problem

Handy, dandy video. I will keep this info, for later.

I have a 2001 Chevy Silverado 4×4 that will go in reverse, neutral, n park but NOT in drive and other lower gears...... The transmission was rebuilt like 4.5-5 yrs ago n has less than 1,000 miles on transfer

Cannot get the lock for the shifter to release, that little wire harness, we've tried to lever it all kinds of ways with flathead and whatnot

Everybody doing the shifter replacement don’t mention that it’s a good time to swap out your defective gauge cluster on GMT 800s while everything is apart here.

Just go get a .45 cent spring. Just did mine feels like new

So it's just the right side of mine that is broke. Can I just skip it on and off without taking all that off?

The bottoms are t25 btw guys

What if the gear shift want go in gear

I just went thru this whole debacle. DO NOT buy the Dorman 95-101. It is JUNK. Sloppy and built to break. Within a week I had to replace it. Go with the OEM. The one he's replacing with here is part 26091246. You need to check your parts for compatibility though.

Thank, very helpful

My 05 Chevy has a orange wire hooked up to the gear shift, I’m assuming it’s for the tow feature. How do I go about getting that off

so was your truck not falling into gear or when you hit a bump you could hear the shifter drop into place

Does this work for a 07 Silverado Classic?

So when it happened did it just slide past the gears and feel like they weren't there?

This just happened to my dads 00’ silverado. Shifter came loose or a cable let go. Seems to only go all the way to top, or all the way to the bottom. Gotta change the assembly tomorrow.

Just replace the broken spring… GM 7812853 cut it to 3/4”. Install 😉🤓

Yes thank you great help

What is the part number to order from Chevy dealer?

My gear shift is stuck in drive my truck will not start and the gear shift will only move up and down but will not shift into any other gear would that possibly be the gearshift gone out or something else

This is a common problem since it is made out of cast aluminum and sees a lot of use and abuse. ButI had a hard time getting the outer cover off of the top of the column. Mine doesn't simply lift off once I've removed the bottom screws. I have found them in the aftermarket arena, between 100 and $160, and used from $30 up to $80.

Exellent video 👍👍

Thanks Aaron.. Great job... do you have another video on how to replace the cable itself that goes down to the tranny?

Thank you

Well has it been a year already. Ok so now I'm thinking to replace this shifter. I had to pull the lock cylinder since the battery kept going dead only because the key could be removed while running.

I have a question. The whole gear shift assembly fell off in my hands while trying to put the truck. What and how much needs to be replaced? 1997 cev silverado. One time we found similiar parts. Ended up with no horn and hard to shift. Where can we get parts(very limited budget). Prices etc,...???

Do you know if the same fix can be used for a shifter that is frozen?

Mine was not loose it broke at the bottom bolt and could not shift gears. 1999 Chevy Tahoe 4WD 5.7 Litre 306,458 miles on it : Hoorah ( orignal engine and have not been in it yet) Part number as of today is 905-101 and it seems Dorman is the only Manufacturer, that being said it doesnt matter who you buy it from ,AutoZone to NAPA all the same. But prices vary so shop around and not a normally stocked item, I was lucky Oriellys had one a little higher in price but THEY had it. Cost was $172.24 for part ,unfortunately my labor is not billable. LOL

My 13’ has a sloppy shifter. Just replaced the shifter but still sloppy. I’m assuming I’ll have to replace some parts. Haven’t found anything OEM. Dorman sells lots of parts but I’ve heard they are garbage . Tips?

I have a 2000 chevy my key doesn't turn nothing it was stuck on 2 managed it to go back to parking it does let me go all the way up but its still stuck on 2 I turned it off but its stuck won't even let me turn on my truck if anything please answer

Thanks where is the link for parts no

I ordered the #7812853 spring, cut it at 7 rings, then fish out the broken spring and manipulate the new spring into place with 2 flathead screwdrivers.

This may be a dumb question but why did you have to change it ? Was it not shifting ? Or just because it was loose ? Reason I'm asking is because my 01 GMC sierra sometimes won't catch the forward (drive) gear , so I put in reverse then back to drive then it catches.

Thanks for the video, very helpful

Thanks big dog

Theres like a white tube holding my cable on and wont release any ideas?

So my 04 chevy Tahoe recently took a shifter shiter. She goes into park, neutral, and reverse but can't seem to find drive, 3, 2, or 1. The whole shifter feels loose too. Would this be the correct fix?

Do you have something for a sierra 2012 same part the shift hand turn completely loose it's move free up dawn like is noting attach to it any help be appreciated

Mine is a 97 and it feels like it is not connected to anything to shifter shifts from top to bottom but it feels like it's not connected to anything could this is the problem?

Why didn't you turn the truck on after

my gear shifter actually broke will that still work to replace that part and I can still use the same gear shifter

I have a 95 Silverado transmission shifts through all the gears fine but I can’t pull it into first gear on the Column if I replaced that part do you think that would solve my issue

So my transmission slipped a bit a couple times in OD. I put it in 3rd and kept rolling. The gear indicator light showed up in 1st tho, even tho i know the shifter and transmission were in 3rd. The tranny never left 3rd gear either when i came to a couple of stops. It took off still in 3rd. I left work knowing these things and went straight to 3rd. The tranny was then going thru 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. At one point when it downshifted the rpm and speedometer both dropped to 0 as i was still doing around 20 mph coming to a stop. When I took off things were normal again. My shifter has been loose for a while now. I'm hoping that this is the issue. I'm hoping that its just not accurately telling the transmission what to do. Is this a possibility?

What happens when you put everything back together with a new one shifter mechanism and the truck doesn't want to engage the starter when trying to turn on the engine? What did i do wrong? Does my engine think its not in park?

I have a 1996 Chevrolet and the gear shift selector is broke away from the column how do i replace it

Thank you

What Year was this truck?

Thank you

Where do l get the part? And what is that thing called?

Cool 😎 no problem thanks

He didn’t show it actually broken. I want to make sure it’s the right issue

Anyone know what that rod on the passenger side is called/for mine wont stay hooked on so need to replace it but can't find out what it's called to find on parts sites

What’s the part number? To order it.

It “helpeth”😂 me alot

Is this a fix if the shifter is not necessarily loose, but has like 2 shift points for drive?

And could I go to the junkyard and pull one off of another vehicle instead of spending the hundred and seventy something dollars for a new 1

I need to figure this out cuz I parked on a curb and now truck won’t go past n after driving for a while it used to be p r n d 3 but now I can’t get it past n to drive the damn thing 😅😩 Edit had to rip it down off the curb and broke it

I tried removing the wiring harness (even with the brake down) but it appears to be stuck. Any ideas why this may be?

nice!!

I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 LS 5.3 new body and the shift control is not the same. The only difference is the cable connects into the ignition switch and hides behind it.The cable tip piece extends and that’s where I’m stuck..can’t figure out how to get behind the ignition switch housing.

I mean this is a nice video but, my shifter cable isn't loose but it is hard to move coming out of park into reverse every other gear is fine and I don't know why it's rough? Can someone help me on this?

Mines not shifting right would this fix problem???

What is name off the part

My shifter is loose, wont go into park, and if lucky, in reverse, could this be the same problem?

I replaced this shifter with the Dorman 905-120 the shifter doesn't go into Low and the wheel lock cable won't engage. Iv got the 04 Silverado 4 speed automatic. Did I order the wrong part?