Sticky coloumn shifter

[94twodoor]

I have the 94 2wd 4 cyl, it seems that in the extreme cold the shifter and the steering wheel are really hard to engage. I am afraid that I am going to break the shifter by putting too much pressure on it. Is there anyway to fix this issue?? The employee at Autozone said his exploder used to do it and it was gummed up...Not sure if there is any truth to this claim. Please advise..

 

[SMTGREG]

Up under the dash look where the shift cable connects to the shift arm.Pop that connection loose with a screwdriver then try the shifter again. If it moves freely your problem is porbaly in the shifter cable itself. I just replaced a shift cable last week in a ranger.

 

[94twodoor]

If it was the shift cable wouldnt it happen in any climate? Its just extreme cold that it hangs up??