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The girlfriend's having trouble shifting into 5th gear on her 07 Aveo5. Something loosened up and it seems like the entire gear pattern has shifted to the right, so 3rd and 5th are very close together.
There's been several threads on this exact problem, but no solutions posted. Anyone have any answers?
I'll be checking the shift linkage adjustment tomorrow anyhow.
the problem is most likely on the pivot on the engine side. the adjustment is on the lowest point of the firewall where the rod comes through, it is a shaft with a bolt and a pinched shaft to continue. IF every other pivot is in ok condition, (plastic cups may wear out) you put the car in first gear, the loosen the pinch bolt, and move the shifter to where you want it. and then tighten the nut, then try all the gears
a bad engine mount could also cause gear location loss.
look at my short shifter install thread to see a detailed description.
Readjusting the shifter at the firewall did solve the issue. At first I tried the alignment procedure from the manual, but without the proper size pins to lock the shifter arm in place at the transmission I kept having trouble getting 2nd gear. With some trial and error lining things up with first gear was the way to go.
glad it worked out, when I did it I had more trouble getting reverse to be somewhere I was totally happy with, but it was also because i shortened the throw about 30% and needed to adjust for that as well.
Figures I got the 5mm pin punches I ordered from McMaster Carr in the mail the day after I fixed it. If it loosens up again I'll try the service manual method one more time.