I just went through this same problem and resolved it. First, take out the shifting box, and clean it out and put new grease in it, making sure it is well lubricated. Refer to the Chevy manual to make all necessary adjustments from the column shifter on down through the system. I took my shifter apart, and rebuilt that. The spring that held the two small locking pins was broken, allowing slop there. There's another adjusting point where the shifter rod meets the shifting box rod down by the clutch in the cab. A sleeve with two bolts will allow you to slide the shift box up and down on the steering column to fine tune it, and get the proper clearance from the hand shift rod to the steering column. The shift rod holder (the one on the steering column just below the steering wheel with the two screws) is threaded and you screw and adjust the collar for the shift handle there. There's a gap of, I think, 1/8th inch where the hand shifter moves around where it meets the column. Get these set properly. Next check to see that the "gates" line up inside the shifting box when it's in neutral. You'll have to play around with the linkage rod adjustments on the two arms. I found this adjustment to be critical. As little as 1/4" slide made a difference in that locking up problem you describe. New rubber grommets, and lubrication of all the moving shift points stopped the problem for me. It does take a lot of messing around with...but you'll get to know the system intimately! Best of luck, and hope it's fixed for 2010!
Last edited by Jivermo; 12/30/2009 1:31 PM.
