My shift lever is stiff when it's hot! (Dodge Grand Caravan)

Okay, get your minds outta the gutter, I’m serious.



2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, front wheel drive only, 3.8 engine, 3-speed automatic transmission.



If the car is in stop and go traffic, idling awhile at a drive-thru, or just idling while waiting for my wife to get shoes, the shift lever becomes very difficult to move. It’s very tight and makes a creak when it’s moved from Park to Drive, or from any position to any other position. I fear that someday it will become impossible to move at all.



I tried spraying hi-temp lubricant onto the linkage that I could see under the hood, but it made no difference.



I have a Haynes manual and it mentions a shift cable, but does not say how to replace it if that is the issue. Why would a cable be any more difficult to move when it gets hot, anyway?



Thanks for any insight you guys and gals may have!

well the very first line of your post shot a big hole in my reply. dang.