Difficulty Shifting into Gear

[bloc]

The stealership confirmed the bad news from the indy about the "stiff" shifting.

It's not:
MAF sensor
the shifter
the shifter linkage
the shifter rod
the shifter bushing
the shifter cable

No, it is the neutral safety switch that plugs directly into the transmission. It's about a $900 repair and that is not the issue.

The issue is the actual removal of the switch. The bolt that goes into the transmission that supports the NSS is the critical design flaw. These bolts are known to fail.

IF THE BOLT BREAKS YOU WILL NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION

Then they told me it's a 12 to 25 hour job to swap out the transmission, total labor cost $2000 to $3,300 give or take a few hundred. Throw in another $3K for a transmission and I will be all set.

I am in the pit of misery on this one, I am thinking about going back to the independent repair facility where they will let me watch them remove that bolt and if it breaks then I will see it with my own eyes.

Has anyone pulled a transmission out of a 200 series, if so, was really that hard???

Does anyone have a part number for a 2009 Neutral Safety Switch? I tried but could not find one -

Thanks for the support!

So just the bolt that holds the NSS onto the side of the case? That breaks and that requires a whole transmission?

Or are you talking about the switch getting stuck to the shift shaft?

 

[linuxgod]

The flat rate manual says replacement of the transmission is a 5.7 hour job. It's only 12 hours if they overhaul the existing transmission.

 

[linuxgod]

FYI the instructions in the FSM for neutral safety switch replacement are really simple. I'm not doubting it might not be an expensive job if that bolt is seized and/or breaks, but $900 for replacement sounds insane to me... as you saw the part is <$200 and I can't imagine it's more than an hour of labor if things go right.

Assuming you're sure there's rust, personally I'd probably start with hitting that bolt/nut with Kroil multiple times per day for a few days to see if you can help it break free.

 

[linuxgod]

Adding the NSS adjustment and test/inspection procedure for reference, in case you want to try to confirm the switch itself is in fact failing as opposed to an issue with the neutral position switch just being out of alignment or the shifter linkage being bent slightly.

 

[campoj2]

That shaft that goes into the transmission does not get replaced for there is no replacement part that shaft. Once that breaks you have no means to secure and synchronize the NSS.