Little Unplanned Nissan Project

[xrocketengineer]

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment and on my way home stopped for lunch. When I got back in my 2008 Nissan Titan and shifted into reverse, the shifter felt "funny". So, I backed up a bit and realized that the transmission was stuck in reverse. Fortunately, the parking lot was empty and I managed to make "reverse U turn" into the closest parking slot. I set the parking brake and turn off the engine. This had happened previously last August when a plastic bushing that connects the shifter to a push-pull cable for the transmission came apart and the cable got disconnected. Luckily, the console (as I learned previously) came apart with no tools and I saw the problem. The bushing that I had bought from Amazon, and paid around $30 just over 6 months earlier, had disintegrated. I manually shifted the car to start and then Drive and went home. The dealer does not sell the bushing, only the whole cable. Apparently the only aftermarket part advertised to fit, is POS.
I had taken the measurements on the Amazon part before I installed last time and the O.D. was 0.438 in., the I.D was 0.303 in. and the width 0.127 in.
Looking in the interweb found a Dorman 14797 bushing for a Jeep that seem to have the right O.D. and I.D for about $13. So, I went to Advanced Auto Parts and got it.
After trimming the length of the bushing a bit, it was a perfect fit! Nice and tight in place. This fix should work with several Nissan models.
In addition to the new bushing, I used a small piece of an "L" shaped aluminum sheet as "belt and suspenders" scheme to keep the cable lined up with the shifter pin in case of another bushing failure. With that, the shifter would still work but with a lot of slop.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Nice job., I’m sure this would help out on the Nissan forum also. Do you happen to be on the Clubfrontier forum, if not there’s a poser over there or two xrocketengineers on the lose!

 

[xrocketengineer]

Nice job., I’m sure this would help out on the Nissan forum also. Do you happen to be on the Clubfrontier forum, if not there’s a poser over there or two xrocketengineers on the lose!

Thanks. No, I am not on any Nissan forums. The only other forum I am on is the Miniforum in the UK for classic minis.

 

[PaulR]

Not bad for a rocket engineer.
My daughters Grand Cherokee has a similar shift linkage that has failed and I've band-aided, I think you've given me some new ideas on a fix.

 

[Tooljunkie]

I remember doing something in a saturn years ago. -30 and buddy’s wife couldnt get car to move. That one broke a clip. So if i recall i made a sheet metal clip and fixed it permanently.

 

[armylifer]

My wife's pickup is a 2010 Nissan Frontier. One day a few months ago she went out to drive it and it would not shift into drive. It would go to reverse and neutral but would not go into drive at all. I went out and literally forced the shifter into drive. As I did that something in the shifter console "popped" and the shifter went into all the gears. I have no idea what was wrong but forcing it into drive seemed to have fixed the problem. She has not had any problems since. Everything is working properly now. It seems that sometimes a bigger hammer is the cure.

 

[xrocketengineer]

My wife's pickup is a 2010 Nissan Frontier. One day a few months ago she went out to drive it and it would not shift into drive. It would go to reverse and neutral but would not go into drive at all. I went out and literally forced the shifter into drive. As I did that something in the shifter console "popped" and the shifter went into all the gears. I have no idea what was wrong but forcing it into drive seemed to have fixed the problem. She has not had any problems since. Everything is working properly now. It seems that sometimes a bigger hammer is the cure.

Supposedly, the Nissan Frontier has the same setup. However, it is possible that the cable alignment might be better with the shifter. If that is the case, and the bushing failed, the shifter would "feel sloppy" moving back and forth but it would still work. The problem with the Titan is that the cable comes up through the floor on the left side of the console with a cable sheath retainer that tries to straighten the cable to line up with the console back and forth motion and connect to the shifter pin. But the cable is so stiff, that the rod end still tries to be to the right away from the pin. So, the bushing is doing two functions, allowing the back and forth motion of the shifter and also retaining the cable end on the pin by preventing it from coming off and jumping away.

 

[OrangeKrush]

My wife's pickup is a 2010 Nissan Frontier. One day a few months ago she went out to drive it and it would not shift into drive. It would go to reverse and neutral but would not go into drive at all. I went out and literally forced the shifter into drive. As I did that something in the shifter console "popped" and the shifter went into all the gears. I have no idea what was wrong but forcing it into drive seemed to have fixed the problem. She has not had any problems since. Everything is working properly now. It seems that sometimes a bigger hammer is the cure.

Some of the frontiers have had that problem, I can’t remember what it is exactly but something comes lose and blocks it from shifting into forward gears. Usually you have to pull the console and have a look and fix. Before any long drives you may want to check it out to be safe.

 

[armylifer]

Some of the frontiers have had that problem, I can’t remember what it is exactly but something comes lose and blocks it from shifting into forward gears. Usually you have to pull the console and have a look and fix. Before any long drives you may want to check it out to be safe.

Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion. Since it has been working well for several months I am not in a hurry to check it. Her truck is not used for any long distance drives. I know that I eventually will have to check it but I will probably wait until it exhibits some abnormal symptom again. It is not laziness, I just have so many projects going on right now that I think are more important. In this case, it is the most immediate need that gets my attention first. That is not a complaint, it is really a blessing. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion. Since it has been working well for several months I am not in a hurry to check it. Her truck is not used for any long distance drives. I know that I eventually will have to check it but I will probably wait until it exhibits some abnormal symptom again. It is not laziness, I just have so many projects going on right now that I think are more important. In this case, it is the most immediate need that gets my attention first. That is not a complaint, it is really a blessing. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

I gotcha, it’s working!

 

[lugbolt]

neighbor just had his 17 titan towed off. Dunno what was/is ailing it. There is a Ford sitting there in it's place now; though I don't know if it's a rental, courtesy vehicle, or what.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Find an old machinest or young kid with a lathe, hand him a rod of Delrin or Teflon, and let him make a few.
With thos 'odd ball' dimension, I have to assume it's metirc....
Super easy job, maybe 1/2hr .