BIG problem after racing

[OneLethal87GN]

While racing a friend yesterday I lost all gears except first. The tranny has been slipping more and more recently so it was just a matter of time anyways. After launching I went to manually shift into second and the shift lever went straight to Park. The tranny was still in first though. You can move the shifter back and forth very freely. If you look under the car while someone else shifts through the gears you can see the shift cable moving but it isn't moving the lever on the side of the tranny that actually changes the gears. I had to reach under and manually put it in Park to get the keys out of the ignition. While in Park the car rolls freely though as if it's in Neutral. You can put it in gear with the shifter but only in O/D I think. Even then all I have is First gear. I had to drive all the way home in First. This was about a 20 minute drive going regular speed limits so you can imagine how long it took going 30 mph and taching about 4 grand. I almost overheated the engine trying to get it home.What could the problem be? I first thought maybe the shift cable had stretched or broken but why wouldn't I have all gears if I manually put it in O/D?

 

[OneLethal87GN]

BTW the car is an 87 GN with a rebuilt 85 GN tranny with better 2nd gear band and one of Bruce's shift kits.

 

[87buick3825]

shift cable

RD

 

[3point8]

Shift cable

I had a similar thing happen to me just normal driving. The system depends on the cable sheath being firmly attached to the bracket . If the retainer falls out its a cheap fix but if the sheathing parts company with the notched end piece that is fixed to the bracket on the transmission end its time for a new cable.
Now if its neither of the two above mentioned scenarios then its internal and sounds even more expensive to repair.
Peter

 

[OneLethal87GN]

By "sheathing" do you mean the part that looks like an accordian and is made of rubber? It attaches right where the shifter cable meets the gear lever on the side of the tranny. I see this piece on my cable has come apart in more than one place. The ends of the cable are still attached where they should be and I haven't found any broken parts in the cable but the part I think you are referring to is completely deteriorated on my car. I was going to order a new cable from Kirban's tomorrow anyways. I can put the car in gear with the shifter, but only one gear. When I try to put it back in Park or any other gear nothing happens. I had the car cranked a while ago while I refilled the radiator and the car jumped into Reverse by itself and started rolling. At least I hope it's just the cable gone bad. The only thing that worries me is that the tranny has been slipping some lately especially going from 1st to 2nd gear. It used to bang into gear but recently it just wants to slide or gently shift to the next gear. Could a bad cable cause these symptoms too?