Today my 1990 240/auto shift lever started making funny noises. The
first thing I noticed was that when depressing the release button and
selecting a gear, the shifter rattles across the shift positions.
Sounds like poker chips clanking. At 65 mph there starts to be a
rattle, again sounding much like poker chips being shaken. If I pull
back or push forward gently on any part of the shift lever, the rattling
stops. There is also a loose feeling to the lever. The lever- thus
far- continues to select gears correctly. The OD button on the shift
knob works properly. It kicks down correctly when passing.

Any idea what's wrong? Loose linkage? Something broken? Thanks!

there are some rubber pieces in the shift linkage that tend to wear and rot
over time, evenually falling apart. This increases the "play" in the
linkage, as well as allowing metal-to-metal contact, which is probably the
source of the rattle you hear. I had to replace them on my '89 240 wagon
about a year ago... cheap (around $5, although considering what I got, even
that was overpriced!), and relatively easy to reach and install.

m9876c at yahoo dot com

Tim McNamara wrote:
>
> Today my 1990 240/auto shift lever started making funny noises. The
> first thing I noticed was that when depressing the release button and
> selecting a gear, the shifter rattles across the shift positions.
> Sounds like poker chips clanking. At 65 mph there starts to be a
> rattle, again sounding much like poker chips being shaken. If I pull
> back or push forward gently on any part of the shift lever, the rattling
> stops. There is also a loose feeling to the lever. The lever- thus
> far- continues to select gears correctly. The OD button on the shift
> knob works properly. It kicks down correctly when passing.
>
> Any idea what's wrong? Loose linkage? Something broken? Thanks!

There are plastic/rubber bushings in the linkage under the car. One has
probably gone south.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

Thanks!