hey all, my 77Z admittedly has a bit (a lot) of slop in the gear selection handle. sometimes when i turn the car off it fails to start. dead. i move the selector to 'P' or into 'N' once or twice and she'll turn right over. i suspect it would be an electrical contact down there..... i read in the service manual to check the inhibitor switch or gear selector linkage. however, i don't have any experience with automatics. good advice is always appreciated. thanks !!

It isn't supposed to start in any gear but "p" Its a safety deal. If it does then their are other issues

You say there's 'slop' in the linkage. That would rule out the inhibitor switch. There is an adjustment procedure for the linkage. Doing it improperly can lead to other problems. If you don't have experience with adjusting the linkage I think a trip to a trans shop would be money well spent.

And probably not too costly. At least less than a new transmission if other problems arise from the one you have.

You need to check and adjust the linkage and inhibitor switch.

Not at all difficult.

I can't upload any pics. for some reason, I'll try later.

First , before you do anything else. Check the linkage. There is supposed to be plastic or nylon bushings on the pivot points of the linkage. with out them the linkage is sloppy. The engine should be able to start in Park and neural But NOT in any gear. I recommend that you don't adjust anything until you install new bushings. Nissan still has them. One thing , there are two types , one for manual transmissions and another for automatic . If you have the club's C D on parts you are likely to find the correct ones by part number. Plus the parts guy at the dealer will be able to find what you need. Without part numbers many of the parts guys don't want to bother with this ''old stuff'' an will just tell you it is no longer available. But with the part number it makes it simple for him to find the parts. Sign of the times. Gary

Here is the info. I couldn't post earlier, too may pixels it turns out:finger:

thanks for the help guys Ralph at 'thezconnexion' has the new bushings for like two $...i'll do that first.

i'll keep you guys in the loop

While you are at it you might want to check all three motor mounts.

I don't know if this applies to Z cars, but I used to have a Volvo with an automatic that no matter how many times I adjusted the linkage, the locations of the gears kept changing. I took it to a transmission shop and they found that I had one (or more) broken motor mounts. The engine and transmission were shifting around, causing the transmission linkage to get out of adjustment.

While you are at it you might want to check all three motor mounts.

I don't know if this applies to Z cars, but I used to have a Volvo with an automatic that no matter how many times I adjusted the linkage, the locations of the gears kept changing. I took it to a transmission shop and they found that I had one (or more) broken motor mounts. The engine and transmission were shifting around, causing the transmission linkage to get out of adjustment.

I thought of that , but he said the shift linkage was loose and sloppy. this is why I said to look for missing or broken bushings. they are only plastic.

hey guys...so i climbed under the car and found the OBVIOUS problem. the linkage arm bushings are SHOT. ALL the slop is there. the handle bushings (under the console-interior) are fine. the trans upshifts and kicks down properly and always has. the slop was only fore and aft along the gear selection movement. inhibitor switch and armature is tight.

since it's sunday, i may as well ask. anyone have a part# or alternate suppliers out there.

thanks again

Hopefully these are clear enough. If not, let me know.