Nissan Repair: 1992 nissan shifter control rod, nissan sentra, ended car

Question
QUESTION: 92 nissan shifter wont move,feels jammed.stuck in 2nd,took off rod, does the front part of rod move up and down where it conects to tranny? seems froze up,Don't think rod is bent.

ANSWER: Chris,

I will assume it is front wheel drive?  You do not mention the model in the post.  Anyway, remove the linkage and move the shifter on the transmission manually to see if the transmission is stuck or if the linkage itself is binding.  Usually a pivot point or bushing is the culpret.  If you need more email me back.

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QUESTION: 92 nissan sentra shifter binding, checked trans, it shifts. think its shifter rod but cant find no good picture to see if where it connects to shifter is bent, no bushing problem. shifter just wont move.

Answer
Chris,

Remove the shifter and run it through its paces.  If someone has bang shifted the transmission or the car has been in a wreck the shifter will be bent internally.  You will need to remove it and put it on a bench with the rods attached to see what is going on.  There is not much room under the car to examine the internals of the shifter.  I know it sucks.  I have done several and more than once I have bought a wrecking yard transmission shifter to correct the problem.  Oh, make sure, if you go the wrecking yard route, that you get one from a car that has not been hit in the front.  That usually messes up the shifter.  A rear ended car seems to be fine since no energy has been forced through the shifter.