ah man not AGAIN....

[thefatguy]

so i went to reverse into our driveway and the column shifter went 'limp' in my hand. no reverse, no park, cant even get the key out. i am SO sick of this truck breaking on me-its been one thing after another, almost everytime i drive it. anyone got any ideas what went wrong? the one saving grace has been this forum and all the peeps that help a brother out. thanks guys.........

 

[I-HFreak]

so i went to reverse into our driveway and the column shifter went 'limp' in my hand. no reverse, no park, cant even get the key out. i am SO sick of this truck breaking on me-its been one thing after another, almost everytime i drive it. anyone got any ideas what went wrong? the one saving grace has been this forum and all the peeps that help a brother out. thanks guys.........

put a standerd in it , but i dont know any thing about the colums, but if it was mine a would rip that auto out

 

[Agnem]

My first guess would be something simple... like the linkage popped out of the lever on the transmission. It's only held in with a simple plastic push pin kind of deal. Just crawl under and take a look.

 

[thefatguy]

linkage ok, after partially pulling column apart there seems to be too much 'play' in the metal tube where gear selector handle goes in...

 

[Russ]

the shifter tube is a common failure part. I had to replace the one in my 92. The pot metal they are made of is garbage. Ford only part . Not hard to change.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Steering-Column-Repair-2047/2009/4/92-ford-column-shifter.htm

 

[towcat]

if the truck is 92 and up, the shifter tube is a common breakage item. Most of the time this occurs when the driver attempts to "strongarm" past the shift interlock. I usually disable the shift interlock to keep the problem from reoccurring.

 

[trackspeeder]

if the truck is 92 and up, the shifter tube is a common breakage item. Most of the time this occurs when the driver attempts to "strongarm" past the shift interlock. I usually disable the shift interlock to keep the problem from reoccurring.

I had a guy show up with that part last weekend. He did just that.
He using the cable for his shifter now.

 

[thefatguy]

thanks to all who helped- it was indeed the shift tube and inner rod. pain in the a $$ to change ( im 6 foot 2 and damn near 300lbs...not sayin which side of 300lbs, but near it ! ) so me plus dashboard plus tight spaces plus steering column work equals AAAAAUGH !!!! but i got it done in around 2 and a half hours,start to finish. and now i know what to do on the next p.o.s. ford that has the same problem ! thanks again guys-lifesavers !!!!!!!! p.s. our local dealer ( honolulu ford ) wanted $540.00 labor..........NOPE.

 

[icanfixall]

Nothing feels better than doing it yourself.... Plus the money you saved just puts a cherry on top of all this.....

 

[oldmisterbill]

I'm 6 ft and just got under 300 lbs,used to be a good bit over 300 when I was doing more work on my truck.When I would climb out from under the dash I would be pleased that I could shove that much flesh in such a small locker!!!!

 

[zpd307]

crawling around under the dash sucks! i did a lot of that recenctly, while doing the zf swap. by the way, i am 6ft and 190..........

 

[Fishin76]

Ya, under dash work sucks. Just replaced the multi-function stick on my father -in-law's 2000 cheby 1/2 ton. getting the part off was ok, but the wiring was way up under the steering column. fun.

PO's dog chewed on the stick, bad dog.

 

[argve]

I'm with ya Bill.... I'm with ya.... As I have always said grab the butter I'm going in.... But I actually like working in cramped quarters - I know I'm weird....

 

[thefatguy]

hah hah hah -- "grab the butter, im goin in ! " i will pirate that phrase and add it to my own personal arsenal, if you dont mind.....it goes well with the stickers i have on the f350 crew 4x4 turbodiesel-- " ONCE YOU GO FAT YOU'LL NEVER GO BACK" ............

 

[Russ]

I'm with ya Bill.... I'm with ya.... As I have always said grab the butter I'm going in.... But I actually like working in cramped quarters - I know I'm weird....

Trav, is Heath looking for an assistant?