# Cannot shift....unless I **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** cutlass, oldsmobile\ **Created:** [July 24, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cannot-shift-unless-i/52410 "2010-07-24T23:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anthonydeiter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@anthonydeiter](https://community.cartalk.com/u/anthonydeiter)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cannot-shift-unless-i/52410/1 "2010-07-24T23:31:38Z")
1984 Cutlass Ciera LS…automatic…4 cyl…I was driving to the store like usual…and I shifted into park…did my errands… came back …not able to shift into reverse drive neutral etc…unless…I now get under the car and shift (linkage ?) manually…could see a cable hanging down beside the shifter…do I need to buy a shift kit or do I just need a simple part? ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cannot-shift-unless-i/52410/2 "2010-07-25T13:06:14Z")
A cable just hanging down is what we mechanics commonly call a “clue”. This is most likely your shifter cable. Did it come off its mount because of a broken bolt/pin? Or is the cable itself broken? Either of these conditions dictate what part to replace.