Transmission problem

[buck20]

new here! I have a 1995 base beretta, 3.1 engine with 171,000. I had this car over 10 year.
This morning got into my car get last min christmas shopping done..lol
I put the car into drive or shift in 1st or overdrive do not work, only parking gear works. Day before
it was shift good!

Transmission went bad? need help thanks

[Money pit Beretta]

Check your shift cable, just look under the master cylinder(toward you and to the left). There will be a little "arm" with a cable attached to it(in your case there may not be anymore). It could have come off at the shifter if it is still on the "arm". In that case you will have to take the console off.

[Rettax3]

Also check your transmission fluid level. When it is warm and happy, the fluid is expanded ALOT and can shift fine, but after it has cooled-off and the fluid volume has contracted, it may be insufficient to engage the tranny at all. That would be the first thing I would check.

To get an accurate fluid-level reading, your tranny needs to be warm (15 minutes of stop-and-go driving is usually enough) and in 'Park' with the engine running, but if it won't engage at all, you can't really warm it up, can you? So, start the engine, leave the car in 'Park' and check the tranny dip-stick a couple of times (car as close to level as you can safely get it), and see if it is even showing any fluid. If there isn't, add a little bit of fluid (maybe 1/2 of a quart at most at first), and see if it will engage after that. Then, so long as it is engaging correctly, drive it gently for a bit to warm it up, and recheck the fluid level, and fill to the correct level...

Good luck.

[buck20]

thanks you.. my shift cable think is broke by the spring .The junkard 1995 chevy Corsica shift cable would that fit?

[3X00-Modified]

Yes that will fit.

[Money pit Beretta]

Tell us how the repair goes.

[Rettax3]

Check your shift cable, just look under the master cylinder(toward you and to the left). There will be a little "arm" with a cable attached to it(in your case there may not be anymore). It could have come off at the shifter if it is still on the "arm". In that case you will have to take the console off.

Good call, Money pit. Did you have a similar experience? I don't think I've had an auto shift-cable break on me yet...

[Money pit Beretta]

Thanks. No never on a Beretta, but the GF's 97 Z24's bushing went bad on the trans end of the cable. Always fun to get a call and hear "my transmission won't go into park and is stuck in drive". Another fun thing is I had to buy a 40 buck cable just because a 20 cent bushing went bad.
I really must think about getting one for the Beretta just incase.

[Rettax3]

...Quite a while ago, I was breaking the clutch-pedal bushings in my cars -they were just reaching that age, I guess. I couldn't find a replacement for the '90 turbo 'Retta (this was before the parts stores started carrying them in the 'Help!' section with the bunch of totally unnecessary bushings), so I used a snap-ring. I had plans on replacing what was left of the broken plastic bushing with a real bronze bushing, but then the stores started carrying the replacements, and it was just cheaper to put the right part back in...

[Money pit Beretta]

Man you are lucky. The auto bushings are not the same as the 5spd. I had thoughts of using an E clip but there was not enough length on the post for that. GM did a great job of using just enough to hold the end of the cable.