As you may know, the GM OE cable has been discontinued. AFAIK there are 3 aftermarket options available:

Dorman part# 04260 : 29.312 in
ATP part# Y240 : 29.500 in
Pioneer part# CA-1110: 29.310 in

I've had the ATP housing separate at the console (plastic) mount. I've seen other posts with the identical problem. I've read complaints about the Pioneer having cheap mounting tabs and the stud mount at the transmission not holding up. Anecdotally I haven't heard quite as much complaining about the Dorman cable. None of these are particularly good but I'm leaning towards a Dorman this time round and may just buy 2 for a spare. Comments?

(My application is an 84 Firebird, V6, 700R4, all stock)

Related: Anybody have any luck 'beefing up' one of these cables? Better lubricate? Careful routing to avoid undue resistance in cable movement?

thanks

 

Ive been pulling GM spares off of cars in the junk yard.

 

I have only gotten ATP they are garbage I am nursing my new one I got the other day they have very bad crimps where the cable meets the housing

 

Thanks for the replies.

I am going to try a Balkamp from NAPA which I think is made by Dorman.

I've gone thru 2 ATPs in the last few months - they are not holding up obviously.

I am going to try and add some lubricant to the housing to see if that helps any (maybe some 'wet' graphite spray) and also try and be extra careful in routing the cable - though ultimately it still has to make a basic 'S' curve to get from A to B.

QUESTION: As for cables off junkers - What year range interchanges with '84? I assume it starts w/ '82 but not sure where it ends...? Beyond the loss of time to hunt down a cable - I'm not too optimistic about this approach: Better though the OE cables were - they too wear and are now quite old, worn and possibly replaced as well on junkyard fbodies...

thanks again for the comments.

 

Let me know how the napa one works because my new ATP cable is acting up when its hot it is starting to slide out of the crimp. I hate you ATP I now need a center consel top I broke by the ashtray the last time I took it apart to replace your crappy cable.

 

I picked up a Balkamp from NAPA. When I got it home and compared it - it was identical in every detail to the ATP currently on the car. So I'd say it was an ATP. Put it on anyway. I need something to get the car drivable again until I can find the time to scrounge local yards...

Well the new Balkamp lasted a whopping day - tabs snapped off up at the console just like the previous ATP. I fixed the previous one w/ a hose clamp but the cable housing clamp eventually popped out of the plastic housing up at the shifter console.

I've noted on both ATPs that while they start out w/ easy sliding motion - when under compression (pushing the transmission up to P) they develop binding inside the cable housing somewhere and they stay that way - the condition becomes permanent and when pushing on the cable the interface between it and the housing causes the pressure to transfer to the housing. That in turn causes the clips and/or clamp to break. It's like the cables weren't design to 'push' very well and don't handle that...?

Under the car I can move the shift lever coming out of the tranny fairly easily by hand. It's not real easy but nor does it require a tool to move it.

I'm not clear if there's any difference between ATP and Dorman but then retailers change up suppliers so who knows.

I may try the Pioneer from Autozone just to see if I can get the car on the road for a few weeks until I can find some time next month to scrounge junkyards for a good OE cable. Otherwise my Firebird will have to stay parked for a while...

Hope this helps others...

 

Any recommendations for a source such as an online fbody parts car dismantler w/ a good reputation who can supply me w/ a 'usable' genuine OE cable off a parts car?

According to my research the same cable was used on all fbodies from 82-92.

thanks again

 

Amen brother, amen! I've pulled several original ones from the boneyard since I noticed they're now discontinued! I really wouldn't worry too much about a junkyard one being too worn out to use. As long as the cable hasn't been stretched or abused, they usually last for years and years. As far as 82-92 cables being identical, I don't think that's necessarily the case. I was looking at the cable in an f-body in the junkyard the other day, I think it was somewhere between an 84-87 model, can't remember the exact year, but i noticed the end that hooks up inside the car was a bit different from the stock cable in my 89. The way it clipped into the metal base of the shifter assembly and the clip that attached it to the shifter both looked a bit different from mine. That's not to say it actually wouldn't work in a newer one, but it did differ slightly. As far as a cheap and easy source for a used original, just look on ebay. I see them listed on there all the time for 5 to 10 bucks. That may change once ebay sellers become aware of the fact they're discontinued now!

 

Short Answer: Pioneer (Autozone) (vs ATP) but it is important that it's properly adjusted and trimmed

Long Answer (for the archives):
==========
Sorry - no pix but if you've done this before - hopefully the following description will make sense...?

Several months ago I installed an ATP from a shop that generally carries ACDelco parts. I didn't even bother to check and put it on. It was problematic from the get-go - could not ever get it adjusted just right so that it could make into park and also make it into OD without hitting the stop detent in the shifter or really pushing hard on it or whatever. Playing around with adjusting it - the clips on the shifter snapped off. A 'reinforced' home made mount using a hose clamp secured it but then the crimp on the cable up on the shifter popped off and it was game over.

After realizing that the part I had bought was in fact an ATP and learing that GM discontinued this cable I started searching for more options... On these forums learned there were 3 other options: used, Dorman and Pioneer. I don't have a reasonably convenient source of used parts (last few were hauled to the crusher) and nobody online was offering/selling a used cable - I started looking into Pioneer vs Dorman.

According to 1 thread here, Napa's Belkin is made by Dorman so I went that route since I generally don't like buying hard parts from Autozone. Newsflash: The Napa Belkin cable is an ATP despite using a Dorman part #. I installed it anyway. Lasted less than a day! Again the tabs snapped.

So I tried the Pioneer from Autozone for about $25. The Pioneer is made in Israel, has a white plastic stud mount for the transmission and a softer more pliant plastic for it's clip mounts. I had to trim the plastic a bit to allow the plastic clips to fully expand after being inserted in their metal mounts. I also had to squeeze those metal mounts to reduce their diameter ensure a tight fit on both ends as the Pioneer was a tad smallish.

Finally I bent the metal clip mount tab on the shift tunnel FORWARD to where there was about 1/2" to 3/4" gap between it and the clip mount tab for the transmission lock cable. Previously there was only about 1/4" gap difference between the 2. The lock cable tab is perpendicular to the tunnel and in this case, the transmission cable mount tab is tilted forward maybe 10 or 20 degrees or so. This was important because when the shift selector is more or less perpendicular (think N, D, OD...) the cable is at it's highest point and puts a lot of upward pressure on the cable relative to the angle it exits the plastic housing. Making this adjustment allows the cable to easily slide back and forth fully before I hooked it up to the transmission below. Look at the cable after mounting the clips but before hooking the rod to the shifter - pull up on it and note how far you can lift it before it stops. If the linkage rod doesn't easily reach the shifter pin - it needs to be adjusted!

I also removed the metal mount tab on the bottom of the transmission and slotted the mount holes using a dremel to give me additional adjustment. I don't really think this was absolutely necessary but in the end my ball stud now sits in the middle of adjustment slot instead of at the very end.

I put the tranmission and shifter in N, slid the transmission cable mount forward (w/ newly slotted mount holes), attached the stud mount and it worked perfectly right off. Each shifter position is properly aligned and each detent in the shifter is perfectly aligned.

A couple of possible problems w/ the ATP. First the plastic on the mounts is a hard plastic and thus more brittle and prone to snapping. Also the length of the ATP may not be correct. Technically any length will do - you could put a 50 foot cable on there. But I think the problem is the relationship between the metal rods not being properly sized to length on the ATP cables and interfering with the plastic mount when under compression or even 'buckling' because it was over extended. With 2 different ATPs, I could never get things to properly adjust to allow for a clean easy shift to P and to OD. Either I could get it set to go into P but then it could't go into OD w/o pushing the button to get it past the detent. Or vice versa if I got it to cleanly drop into OD at the detent, it would no longer make it back into P. And all the 'stress' exerted in trying to get those shift to happen stress the clip and crimps and they break. If you search the forum, there are many threads discussing cable adjustment issues but none of them mention slotting the mount and using the Pioneer cable specifically.

Steps:
1) Carefully trim Pioneer plastic expansion tabs to ensure they clear the thickness of the metal mounts
2) Compress the diameters of the metal mounts (if necessary) to ensure they are tight enough for the tabs (Pioneer mounts seem a tad smallish)
3) Mount the Pioneer up in the shifter (but not @ the trans) and ensure it moves EASILY through the entire range of movement. Watch the plastic tabs at the metal mount CAREFULLY to ensure there is not too much upward force. If there is - push the metal mount further foward so that the angle of the cable is better alligned w/ the shifter.
4) Mount the transmission end using the standard technique (Neutral etc...) documented elsewhere.

5) If you need further adjustment than the built in slot allows on the transmission - slot the 2 holes on the cable mount on the bottom of the pan.

FWIW the original cable that failed months ago also had a white plastic stud mount. It may very well have been a Pioneer though I don't have it anymore to compare. If so - it lasted over 10, maybe 15 years. The current Pioneer has been on there going on 2 months (wanted to wait before making this post) and so far so good. It shifts easily and properly into each gear and if it's easy, I'm hoping it will last.

 

luckily I have not had to replace mine yet.. glad I read this thread first. BTW...might not be a bad idea (if you have time) to let the manufacturers know their product is junk...maybe, just maybe, they'll improve it.

Good info...thanks. Hopefully the Pioneer will last.........