So yesterday, I took Maximilian on a whopping 2.2 mile trip, and when backing into my driveway, I heard a sound that wasn't quite right. My initial thought was perhaps I didn't shift fully into Reverse (R5M21 5-sp tranny). Once I parked, I checked the movement of the shifter, and next thing I know, a mushy clunk and then my shift knob would virtually go anywhere, and I was stuck in some gear instead of neutral...

I had to go to work last night, so I took my '87 LeSabre, and this morning I dug out my Chilton's and started scratching my head. I originally thought the issue was a defective shift cable (had the exact same problem in my '94 Cavalier some years back) but then I discovered there was no shift cable. Mmmmkay, let's get into the shift selector...

I popped off the shift boot, and immediately saw the issue. The shift selector bolts had loosened up, one bolt was missing completely, one barely had the threads engaged, and the third was simply loose. I pulled the bolts, cleaned up the mounting plates, and reassembled it to check that I didn't need to search for another transmission... And voila! The transmission shifts in and out of every gear perfectly, and what I thought was average play in the shift mechanism is completely gone! So basically, in the 25K miles I've put on this little guy since he was gifted to me, and for who knows how long beforehand, the shift lever has been loose.

Two questions for you experts here. I have not much experience with these vehicles, as I have been a loyal GM guy for 20 years. Either I can order a full tranny gasket set (just to replace the ruined gasket where the shift selector bolts to the top of the tranny) and, while the gasket set is cheap enough, the shipping is not. Is it possible that I can do the cheap fix, using gear oil-specific RTV? I originally bought the RTV to solve the slight rear end leak, so I already have it on hand.

Also: obviously I need the third missing bolt, well I could get by without it probably, but I'd rather fix it the right way once than have to come back and do it all over again. I have been unable to locate the bolts through any search of anything I find on the 'Net. Should I go to a Mitsu dealership and try to source them that way? Or would it be OK to pull a bolt out and try to match it at the local hardware store? Should I just torque them to specs when I change them, or would you guys recommend using Loctite on the bolts?

The truck is totally worth fixing the "Right Way." The previous two owners lived in a coastal town in CT and, amazingly, the frame has not rotted out. The first owner was your stereotypical elderly man, the second owner used the truck for scrapping (which is where all the body dents came from), and as of two years ago it only had 110,000 miles. It's in remarkably good condition, runs very well (despite that darned expensive idle speed control that's bad). I drive primarily back roads and secondary roads, and I average about 24 mpg. This truck continues to amaze and impress me, I brought home a loaded bed of wet mulch two weeks ago and could barely tell the weight was back there. But I don't need to tell you guys how amazing these little trucks are...