Chevrolet Repair: Gear shift indicator, needle nose pliers, 1978 chevy malibu

Question
Curtis, I have a 1978 chevy malibu and the gear shift indicator on the steering column does not work. the car shifts into gear fine but the indicator does not move. Any help doing this repair would be appreciated. Thanks

Answer
The indicator is connected to the shifter on the column by a short wire and spring. Usually they don't break, just get dirty and stuck. You need to pull your gauge cluster cover off and look at the base of the column. There should be a clear plastic cover over the indicator, sometimes you cant take that off but if you can, see if the wire or spring is broke or disconnected, if they are you will need a pair of needle-nose pliers to fix. If it is dirty, carefully blow it out with a can of air duster, a lubrication really isn't preferred because it will attract more dust and dirt. Hope that helped.