Hello. I have a 2006 Chevy Suburban 2500 8.1. I was at a Jiffy lube when the gear shift in the cab stopped working. I could not shift gears. One of the techs looked at it and said the shifting linkage had slipped off and that there should be a clip to keep it on. He was able to slip the linkage back on so I could get to a shop. I am new in my town of Aiken, SC and took it to a place that is recommended by my neighbor. The auto tech looked at my car and has said that the spot where this connection is is badly rusted and he is afraid to do anything because it could cause me to have to get a new transmission. He also says that my fuel lines are badly rusted and need to be replaced. I am going to the shop on Monday morning to meet with the tech so he can show me what he sees. Does this sound right? I would think that a connection would be easy to repair/replace without replacing my transmission! Since I have never used the shop, and before I see what they see, my first reaction to what he said is to get a second opinion. What do you think? Simple fix or not? Second opinion or not? The shop is a family owned general auto and tire shop - general shop or transmission specialist? Thanks for your help!
A judgment can’t be made unless you can provide an image of the rusted components.
Tester
If you can from a norther salt-belt state, then sure this could be a problem. I’ve experienced the rusted fuel line on my 04, but not a rusted shift linkage.
Have the shop look carefully at your brake lines, too… although your 06 might have coated lines preventing the bad rust.
I’d think the linkage could be repaired or replaced without a new transmission being needed. Rusted out brake lines, like Mustang said, are pretty common on GM vehicles in the salt belt. I’d get a second opinion if I wasn’t convinced after seeing the issues Monday. If the brake lines are rusty, go ahead and get them replaced. I might ask a few trans shops about the linkage, though. I imagine they’ve dealt with the issue more and may have a cheaper fix.
Edit-Sorry, I got confused on what lines were rusted. GM had some issues with brake lines rusting. I haven’t heard of issues with the fuel lines, but it’s certainly a possibility. If you aren’t sure they need replaced after you see them, a second opinion won’t hurt anything.
It as my son’s experience that Florida mechanics recoiled in horror at the normal rusting of Western NY cars, claiming " Nobody could work on that" because of all the rust while our own mechanics up here fix them all the time and consider nuts , bolts and studs to be disposable items. fuel and brake lines don’t usually fail unless they are crusty looking, surface rust is normal.
In Florida cars used to rust from the top down.