'02 Loose Shifter

[DrummerDude70]

Ok, so I had my gear shifter in my '02 Z71 come loose a couple of months ago, real loose. Have NEVER had that happen. I opened everything up to find that the bolt that holds it in place had backed off a good bit. I put some blue Loctite on it, tightened it up real good and didn't think much else of it. Now, after about a month, the thing had backed off again, so same thing with the Loctite, just more of it this time and let it sit for a couple of hours before reassembling everything to allow it to set up. Now, it has backed off for the 3rd time. Anyone else have this issue? Were you able to resolve it?

 

[noodlesandsam2]

any pics possible? did you just get this truck? I've never had this issue - make sure that is the right bolt - do the threads match the other part?

 

[DrummerDude70]

I've owned the truck for 18 years. It is the original factory bolt, I just removed, added Loctite and reinstalled. As far as pics go, there's not much to see. It's an allen head bolt.

 

[Doubeleive]

I've owned the truck for 18 years. It is the original factory bolt, I just removed, added Loctite and reinstalled. As far as pics go, there's not much to see. It's an allen head bolt.

use red loctite then

 

[DrummerDude70]

I had considered using the red, but if I ever needed to replace the gear shifter, I might be up the Proverbial creek!

 

[Fless]

Use orange, then.

 

[Rocket Man]

I had considered using the red, but if I ever needed to replace the gear shifter, I might be up the Proverbial creek!

You can use heat to loosen the red stuff if you need to remove it later.

 

[adventurenali92]

Weird. I’ve had my shifter apart multiple times cuz I first went with a 2010 Escalade shift handle then a 2020 Escalade shifter with no chrome on the end and tan leather. The first time I pulled the factory bolt I used a heat gun to loosen up the factory loctite on the bolt. Never used loctite when reassembling and it hadn’t backed itself out ever. Though I haven’t disassembled the shift handle since putting the 2020 shift handle in, I believe that was in 2020 lol. And it’s still snug and hasn't moved. I wonder why your bolt isn’t staying snug in its threads with loctite holding it in.

 

[DrummerDude70]

Ok, that's kind of what I was thinking, so guess I'll have to go that route. Thx everyone! Cheers

 

[Rocket Man]

Ok, that's kind of what I was thinking, so guess I'll have to go that route. Thx everyone! Cheers

I mean, they come with the red Loctite on them from the factory for some reason. I also had to heat mine when removing it but like @adventurenali92 I didn’t use any when reinstalling it and it hasn’t loosened up.

 

[DrummerDude70]

I mean, they come with the red Loctite on them from the factory for some reason. I also had to heat mine when removing it but like @adventurenali92 I didn’t use any when reinstalling it and it hasn’t loosened up.

Mine had blue from the factory. Hmmm...

 

[Rocket Man]

Mine had blue from the factory. Hmmm...

Mine had red but it really doesnt matter. They might have used whatever they had on hand or maybe they had issues with one or the other. Mine was definitely difficult to remove and I had to heat it up. Red can be loosened with a small amount of heat. Also, the T27 bolt is supposed to be torqued to 15 ft/lbs but I’m pretty sure nobody checks that. Did you use a ratchet to reinstall it or just a screwdriver with a T27 bit? If you did, there’s no way you’re going to get near the torque needed. I used no loctite, just left the stuff that was on it but I did use a 3/8” ratchet and a socket T27 bit; I have a set of 3/8 drive torx bits. You’re asking for help so I’m just trying to offer suggestions. Mine hasn’t loosened up and I’m confident it never will.

 

[DrummerDude70]

Mine had red but it really doesnt matter. They might have used whatever they had on hand or maybe they had issues with one or the other. Mine was definitely difficult to remove and I had to heat it up. Red can be loosened with a small amount of heat. Also, the T27 bolt is supposed to be torqued to 15 ft/lbs but I’m pretty sure nobody checks that. Did you use a ratchet to reinstall it or just a screwdriver with a T27 bit? If you did, there’s no way you’re going to get near the torque needed. I used no loctite, just left the stuff that was on it but I did use a 3/8” ratchet and a socket T27 bit; I have a set of 3/8 drive torx bits. You’re asking for help so I’m just trying to offer suggestions. Mine hasn’t loosened up and I’m confident it never will.

I used an allen wrench to retighten. Guess what I'll do is to reapply the loctite and torque it. Surely won't hurt. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[ScottyBoy]

If you have a loud stereo system with big subwoofers, the constant vibrations can cause bolts to come loose. I had that problem with the steering column on a Cutlass that I used to own. I had three 10" subs on a big Kicker amp beating up rhe block knocking pictures of the walls. The screws in the column for the tilt steering mechanism came loose three separate times because of the bass. The Locksmith who took apart the steering column to fix it told me after the 2nd time, that it was the bass. He said "You got big subs in here?" He told me sees this a lot on cars with loud bass. Then he had to do it a THIRD time, and that's when he decided to use loctite. After putting red loctite on it, I didn't have them come loose again.