squeak when shifting?

[ajc64]

I have a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire with a manual transmission. It has less than 40k miles on it. Yesterday when sitting in traffic, I put my car into neutral and noticed that when moving the stick back and forth from left to right and right to left it makes a squeaking noise. I stopped a place on my way home just to ask the family mechanic what could cause this, and he told me that I probably either have bad bushings that need replaced, or that they need greased. Would this be the problem? and if so, where are these bushings and how can i access them? thank you in advanced

[fa22raptorf22]

It is probably accessible underneath the shifter boot / console.

Its most likely the linkage that is in the shifter box. The bushings and such in there may have to be lubricated.

[ajc64]

i have no idea

[ajc64]

if the linkage is the problem, how bad of a problem would that be?

[Rope-Pusher]

You have a shifter mechanism in the center console that operates a set of gearshift cables. When you move the shift knob cross-car (side-to-side), one of the cables is actuated and when you move the shift knob fore-aft (front-to-back), the other cable is actuated. You may be able to lift the shifter boot up, out of the center console, and squirt some white lithium grease down onto the pivot points of the shifter mechanism. If the boot is fastened to the console from underneath, you will have to take some screws out of the console to be able to pull it up far enough to spray the lube onto the shifter pivots from below the side panels of the console. Depending on what bushings were used for the gearshift cable attachments to the shifter, it might be UNWISE to spray the lubricant onto them. Some rubber or urethane bushings are designed to be dry and will swell and split if you lubricate them.

[theholycow]

Depending on what bushings were used for the gearshift cable attachments to the shifter, it might be UNWISE to spray the lubricant onto them. Some rubber or urethane bushings are designed to be dry and will swell and split if you lubricate them.

I wonder if dry graphite powder lubricant, usually used on door locks, can be used successfully to eliminate squeaking from that type of bushing?

[Rope-Pusher]

^ powdered graphite should work. Need to get it into the interface between the bushing and the pin/ball. Teflon-coated pins work, too, but practical only for production, not service.