DIY Transmission Stuck In Park Repair - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

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DIY Transmission Stuck In Park Repair - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

The gear shifter in our 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 broke and was stuck in Park. Here's how we fixed it.

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miata52

Is the new part different in any way or is this going to happen again?

kirkhilles1

I'm sorry, is that a METAL part replacing a cheap plastic part for $17? Oh man, Dodge, come on.

cromagnum_man

I had to do this same repair on my Magnum. The replacement is made out of metal instead of plastic so it should never break again.

longtimelurker

Very good work - you stuck with it, consulted more videos and did more research rather than trying to press on with not enough info. You displayed the right attitude to do this kind of work.

But yeah...you're going to need to obtain some deep metric sockets. That's pretty basic.

bankerdanny

I wish you guys would DIY simple repairs to your out of warranty vehicles more often. You have spent a boatload of money paying pros for things like brake jobs that could easily have been done yourself.

YouTube is probably the greatest boon to the DIY'er since the invention of the ratcheting socket and hydraulic floor jack. I do very few projects these days without consulting YouTube first and even have a video there myself on removing the wiper arms on older S-10 Blazers. You Tube has helped my through probably a dozen car and motorcycle repairs that has saved me hundred of dollars if not thousands.

[Deleted User]

Nice job, Brent!

darthbimmer

Did you get an estimate from a dealer or independent mechanic? I'm curious what a shop would have charged for this. E.g., same $17 part, or $85 for a cheap plastic OEM one? One hour of labor at $120/hr? Two?

misterfusion

I haven't seen the Dorman name in over 20 years. So Dorman still exists as a supplier, even though the Dorman Auto Parts retail chain sold-out to Kragen (which was later bought by O'Reilly)?

s197gt

is it just me or after working on your own car for awhile you learn to appreciate the convenience of paying someone else to do it? sure, at first you are like, "man, i can do this for so much cheaper!" and when everything goes all right, yeah, it's all high fives and smiles. but if you have worked on your car enough you know of times when things took way longer than they should have and the hassle just was not worth it. remember, when things go wrong at the shop and it takes longer than book time to do something, you still only get charged book time.

anyway, good work. 5 hrs is a long time, though. and whatever the reason it took that long it still took 5 hrs. i could get a lot of other things done in 5 hrs. at my age and means i think a lot more about how much my time is worth.

allthingshonda

Totally off topic but the LT Charger has the best auto climate controls I've ever used. All knobs. Want automatic operation just turn the fan and mode knob to auto, set your temperature and you're done. It's basic design is pretty similar to the manual system so manually controlling it is also a breeze. My friend's old Grand Cherokee was similar except it had a digital readout for the single zone temperature. Why Chrysler abandoned this design is beyond me.

gslippy

What a pain to have to fix this on a 9-year-old car.

desmolicious

Excellent work Brent.

hoseclamp

Finally, you guys are fixing things yourself again - great job!! Now it's time to start using that lift again.

bromans

@darthbimmer I did call my local dealer and the service adviser said it would be $130 for the initial diagnostic, and then whatever else on top of that. I stopped there. But I'm not sure what the exact repair price would be at a dealer. -- Brent

longtimelurker

s197gt said:

is it just me or after working on your own car for awhile you learn to appreciate the convenience of paying someone else to do it? sure, at first you are like, "man, i can do this for so much cheaper!" and when everything goes all right, yeah, it's all high fives and smiles. but if you have worked on your car enough you know of times when things took way longer than they should have and the hassle just was not worth it. remember, when things go wrong at the shop and it takes longer than book time to do something, you still only get charged book time.

anyway, good work. 5 hrs is a long time, though. and whatever the reason it took that long it still took 5 hrs. i could get a lot of other things done in 5 hrs. at my age and means i think a lot more about how much my time is worth.

There is one other thing operational here...I can just about guarantee it's done right if I do it. You can threaten to withhold payment, [non-permissible content removed] and moan, make a scene, put a bad Yelp review online, whatever...but you cannot MAKE a shop do it right if they don't have the inclination AND the ability to do so.

I want it to be done right first, and be done and off my plate second. They want it done, paid for and off their plate first and foremost, and if it gets done right, that's icing on the cake, but not absolutely essential.