Gear Shift Lever, jumped a position....
#1
06-16-2004, 02:34 AM
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Gear Shift Lever, jumped a position....
I usually post on another part of this site, but have run into an unusual problem on another F-150 I own. This is an awesome site & am grateful for any advice that someone may have!
I have a '99 F-150 Lariat SuperCab and today it almost left me stranded!
It has 118K miles on it, a 5.4 and Auto trans - I had the trans re-built by a reputable shop about 3 weeks ago (nothing special done to it, except for R&R), but don't think that is causing the problem:
I parked the truck this afternoon and when I came back 10 min later, put the key in the ignition & couldn't turn it. Looked at the gear shift indicater & noticed that it was stuck 1/2 way between P & R. Grabbed the lever and tried to put it into P, but it wouldn't budge, it would move slightly down, but not past R. Checked the wheel to see if it was locked hard on a stop, but it moved freely. Re-inserted the key several times, but the lock wouldn't budge, acted like the key wasn't even in it. Had the driver's door open (can't roll down power windows without the key in some position other than lock) and the chime was telling me a key was in the ignition (so at least there was some power running through it).
I checked under the truck to see if I could see anything obviously wrong, nope - checked under the hood to see if I spot anything, nope. Walked back around, stuck the key in 1 more time and it turned and fired right up. Hopped in, found that the gear shift had 'jumped' a position, everything had gone 1 position to the right (N was R, D was N, 2 was D).
When I got back to the shop, I put a jack under it & slid under to see what was up. Found the gear shift cable, popped it off it's connection to the trans & could ratchet the bracket it attaches to easily (on the trans). Went back to the interior, put my foot on the brake, put the key in and turned the ignition on (not starting motor) and found that the shift lever will move freely through it's range, but won't go past the 1/2 way mark between P & R. I pulled the key back out and checked as best as I could under the dash. I thought something may be binding the column somewhere, but didn't see or feel anything out of place.
I'm out of ideas, short of pulling the column I'm not sure of what to do.
Anyone run into this before?
Thanks,
Robert
I have a '99 F-150 Lariat SuperCab and today it almost left me stranded!
It has 118K miles on it, a 5.4 and Auto trans - I had the trans re-built by a reputable shop about 3 weeks ago (nothing special done to it, except for R&R), but don't think that is causing the problem:
I parked the truck this afternoon and when I came back 10 min later, put the key in the ignition & couldn't turn it. Looked at the gear shift indicater & noticed that it was stuck 1/2 way between P & R. Grabbed the lever and tried to put it into P, but it wouldn't budge, it would move slightly down, but not past R. Checked the wheel to see if it was locked hard on a stop, but it moved freely. Re-inserted the key several times, but the lock wouldn't budge, acted like the key wasn't even in it. Had the driver's door open (can't roll down power windows without the key in some position other than lock) and the chime was telling me a key was in the ignition (so at least there was some power running through it).
I checked under the truck to see if I could see anything obviously wrong, nope - checked under the hood to see if I spot anything, nope. Walked back around, stuck the key in 1 more time and it turned and fired right up. Hopped in, found that the gear shift had 'jumped' a position, everything had gone 1 position to the right (N was R, D was N, 2 was D).
When I got back to the shop, I put a jack under it & slid under to see what was up. Found the gear shift cable, popped it off it's connection to the trans & could ratchet the bracket it attaches to easily (on the trans). Went back to the interior, put my foot on the brake, put the key in and turned the ignition on (not starting motor) and found that the shift lever will move freely through it's range, but won't go past the 1/2 way mark between P & R. I pulled the key back out and checked as best as I could under the dash. I thought something may be binding the column somewhere, but didn't see or feel anything out of place.
I'm out of ideas, short of pulling the column I'm not sure of what to do.
Anyone run into this before?
Thanks,
Robert
#2
09-09-2004, 01:57 PM
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#3
09-20-2004, 08:04 PM
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#4
10-07-2004, 06:23 AM
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Well, there have been a bunch of hits on this issue, but no answers...
Does anyone have a good knowledge of the shift linkage? I'm thinking it slipped at some attachment point, as the tranny doesn't seem to be affected at all.
I'm avoiding taking it in and paying the shop to fix this. I have the sense I should be able to do this at home.
peace, Dennis
Does anyone have a good knowledge of the shift linkage? I'm thinking it slipped at some attachment point, as the tranny doesn't seem to be affected at all.
I'm avoiding taking it in and paying the shop to fix this. I have the sense I should be able to do this at home.
peace, Dennis
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10-07-2004, 07:24 AM
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Dennis,
You are so right, it seems we should be able to fix this problem without paying a mechanic big bucks to make an adjustment. I have a post on the same subject under the "other drivetrain section" of the board but no firm answers. I've checked with the local Ford dealer here and other shops that have told me that there's a cable behind the dash that has to be adjusted or replaced. What I can not figure out at this time is how to remove the dash as the shop mechanic told me he would have to do. According to this guy, it's a one of two hour job costing between $70-150 depending on the shop hourly rate and what they find. And depending on what they FIND, it may be more. I suppose $100-$200 bucks is not that much in most guys' opinon but the more I learn about my truck and how to fix minor problems, the better I feel. If the fix is simply a matter of labor, I want it to be my labor and not a mechanic that can do the job in 20 minutes, but will apply a 2 hour shop rate because that is what his book calls for the job.
You are so right, it seems we should be able to fix this problem without paying a mechanic big bucks to make an adjustment. I have a post on the same subject under the "other drivetrain section" of the board but no firm answers. I've checked with the local Ford dealer here and other shops that have told me that there's a cable behind the dash that has to be adjusted or replaced. What I can not figure out at this time is how to remove the dash as the shop mechanic told me he would have to do. According to this guy, it's a one of two hour job costing between $70-150 depending on the shop hourly rate and what they find. And depending on what they FIND, it may be more. I suppose $100-$200 bucks is not that much in most guys' opinon but the more I learn about my truck and how to fix minor problems, the better I feel. If the fix is simply a matter of labor, I want it to be my labor and not a mechanic that can do the job in 20 minutes, but will apply a 2 hour shop rate because that is what his book calls for the job.
Last edited by crain; 10-07-2004 at 07:27 AM.
#6
10-22-2004, 05:47 PM
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Hi, did you figure this out yet?
I know some people have posted that the indicator is attached to a small cable with an adjustment wheel, but that isn't what happened to mine. I can't get down to '1' because there isn't enough range left.
I wonder if any of the shop manuals talk about linkage in relation to doing a trans repair?
Peace, Dennis
I know some people have posted that the indicator is attached to a small cable with an adjustment wheel, but that isn't what happened to mine. I can't get down to '1' because there isn't enough range left.
I wonder if any of the shop manuals talk about linkage in relation to doing a trans repair?
Peace, Dennis
#7
10-22-2004, 06:36 PM
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Dennis,
This worked for me, hopefully it will work for you all as well. I posted this reply under another section of the board (other drive train) last week. Good luck.
---------------------------------------
I found the little black wheel threaded around the thin cable that keeps the shift indicator in place. It is not as easy to get to as one might think. First, I had to disconnect the battery cables, remove the key cylinder by turning the switch to the "run" position and putting a pinch or a small screw driver through the second small hole on the bottom steering column housing assemble to press in the release button on the key cylinder. I then removed the key cylinder, followed by the steering column housing assemble, the lower kick panel, and the plastic housing just above the steering column and dash.
I discovered that the shift indcator cable was in tack and noticed the little black plastic wheel that had a small strip of plastic above it and below. These strips of plastic appeared to serve no purpose to me at first. After playing with the cable and the shift indicator for a while, I concluded the the small plastic strips above and below the black plastic wheel apparently where connected at one point to hold the cable in place as adjustments were made by turning the wheel; because without it, you can not adjust the shift indicator at all by turning the little wheel.
I ended up using the soft metal cylinder from a skill craft ink pen, cutting it in half, and wrapping it with electrical tape around the plastic screw that the little black wheel is on, under the bottom of the little black wheel. The plastic screw that the little wheel is on is flared out at the end of it, thus allowing the ink pen cylinder or strip to remain in place to hold the adjustment. I ran through the gears a couple of the times and the shift indicator was back to normal.
Based on what I was quoted, I suppose the Ford dealer would have charged me around $200-$300 to replace the cable and the small housing that goes above and below the plastic wheel.
Sorry guys for the long post, but I tried to be detailed enough in hopes that this will help someone else with this problem. If the shift indicator cable is not broke, it is not worth paying someone, at least in my opinon, to fix this.
This worked for me, hopefully it will work for you all as well. I posted this reply under another section of the board (other drive train) last week. Good luck.
---------------------------------------
I found the little black wheel threaded around the thin cable that keeps the shift indicator in place. It is not as easy to get to as one might think. First, I had to disconnect the battery cables, remove the key cylinder by turning the switch to the "run" position and putting a pinch or a small screw driver through the second small hole on the bottom steering column housing assemble to press in the release button on the key cylinder. I then removed the key cylinder, followed by the steering column housing assemble, the lower kick panel, and the plastic housing just above the steering column and dash.
I discovered that the shift indcator cable was in tack and noticed the little black plastic wheel that had a small strip of plastic above it and below. These strips of plastic appeared to serve no purpose to me at first. After playing with the cable and the shift indicator for a while, I concluded the the small plastic strips above and below the black plastic wheel apparently where connected at one point to hold the cable in place as adjustments were made by turning the wheel; because without it, you can not adjust the shift indicator at all by turning the little wheel.
I ended up using the soft metal cylinder from a skill craft ink pen, cutting it in half, and wrapping it with electrical tape around the plastic screw that the little black wheel is on, under the bottom of the little black wheel. The plastic screw that the little wheel is on is flared out at the end of it, thus allowing the ink pen cylinder or strip to remain in place to hold the adjustment. I ran through the gears a couple of the times and the shift indicator was back to normal.
Based on what I was quoted, I suppose the Ford dealer would have charged me around $200-$300 to replace the cable and the small housing that goes above and below the plastic wheel.
Sorry guys for the long post, but I tried to be detailed enough in hopes that this will help someone else with this problem. If the shift indicator cable is not broke, it is not worth paying someone, at least in my opinon, to fix this.
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#8
10-22-2004, 07:44 PM
Dennis, try this-- disconnect the shift cable at the transmission, then try the shifter & see if it shifts through all the ranges properly. If it still don't shift right, the shift cable could be stretched & binding. I've replaced a few shift cables on the late model F150 with shifting problems. Also, the cable is adjustable at the transmission.
#9
11-13-2004, 06:24 PM
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I don't know if anyone is still paying attention to this thread, but I think I have the fix. If anyone has this problem in the future, I hope this helps avoid some grief and $$$ at the dealer.
Crain, you had part of it right. The white nylon housing with the little black adjusting wheel had broken. But that alone didn't line up the indicator or allow me to shift all the way down to first.
I wasn't sure how the shift linkage attached to the trans, so with my wife shifting and me underneath (brake set, wheels blocked) I found the linkage. At the end of the link, there is a black plastic rectangle. This fits over a yellow plastic clip thing that has a slide on it. When you move the slide up (I had to tap it with a screwdriver) the black rectangle slides along the link to the trans. After a bit of trial and error, we found the right place to lock the yellow clip. Apparently this slipped somehow, causing the problem in the first place.
Once the linkage was adjusted, I got under the dash and fiddled with the black adjusting wheel while wife told me when to stop. Then I wrapped a twist tie around the threaded end to keep it in place.
I hope this saves someone time, money and aggravation.
Peace, Dennis
Crain, you had part of it right. The white nylon housing with the little black adjusting wheel had broken. But that alone didn't line up the indicator or allow me to shift all the way down to first.
I wasn't sure how the shift linkage attached to the trans, so with my wife shifting and me underneath (brake set, wheels blocked) I found the linkage. At the end of the link, there is a black plastic rectangle. This fits over a yellow plastic clip thing that has a slide on it. When you move the slide up (I had to tap it with a screwdriver) the black rectangle slides along the link to the trans. After a bit of trial and error, we found the right place to lock the yellow clip. Apparently this slipped somehow, causing the problem in the first place.
Once the linkage was adjusted, I got under the dash and fiddled with the black adjusting wheel while wife told me when to stop. Then I wrapped a twist tie around the threaded end to keep it in place.
I hope this saves someone time, money and aggravation.
Peace, Dennis