2007 XK

I'm replacing my center console.(lid broke and trim had some bad spots) I have everything disconnected but I can't get the gear selector up. I know I need to release it from the cable. My shop manual is confusing me. At one point it says disconnect the selector cable ball joint and shows a picture. It looks like it's just coming straight out. But then a few sentences below it says Release the gear selector cable at the abutment. Loosen lock nut.

What the heck do I do on this? I don't want to screw anything up and cost myself more money.

 

Page 3371 of the service manual? Abutment is the cable sheath flange. Ball is the cable itself. Four torx bits hols the shifter to the trans hump.

Looks like get the bolts out, pull back on the shift lever so the front comes up first and then walk the shifter forward to expose the abutment. Remove cable and set the shifter aside.

The sides of my console look like a dog chewed on them. Dang women drivers...

 

3371 is exactly the page I'm looking at. On the picture it shows the cable with an arrow out. Even if I pull back on the shift lever I can't pick the front up because that little connection(where the pic shows an arrow coming out) blocks it.

It looks like the bottom of my shifter has a ball on it, instead of screw end and the cable just pops off of the ball. Am I wrong?

 

I think so since it says to carefully remove the cable ball joint. makes me think it's just plastic cup on the lever holding onto a plastic ball. I've not been this far into it though. Can you post pics of what you've gotten so far?

 

When I took my console out to fix the ash tray cover, I recall loosening that lock nut holding the cable to that flange, so it gives the cable room to move, and then pop the plastic end of the cable off the ball on the lever going into the shifter. Thought I as was going to break the dang thing, takes quite a bit of pressure to get it to pop off.

 

I also recall reading, in the manual or someplace, to mark the nuts on both sides of the flange, so you can get them back to the same position, probably so it doesn’t affect the cable position for the shifter.

 

I got it. I didn't see the detail enough in the manual. I didn't see what it was saying about loosening the nuts. I didn't know which nut it was talking about but in the manual it visually shows you. Once you loosen that you have to give it a good pull but you pull the end of the cable off of the gear selector ball.

I appreciate the help guys. Now I just need a new gear selector piece because the black on mine is coming off and it looks horrible.