at a stop light shifted to 1st and felt something give . now the shift lever has a 1/4 turn twist to it . make getting 1st without going into the instrument council impossible . took the dust cover off and reversed the nut on the bolt holding the shaft on . way tight . hit it with some penetrating oil . will try it again tomorrow. if no go with a helper on the wrench should i hit it with heat? could this area be the problem , or do i need to dig deeper in the trans..? my manual (haynes i think) just tells ya to take it to a trans shop for any maintenance. any help from experienced folks appreciated. should i be fearing a piece of metal dropping in the moving parts. or can i drive it skipping 1st til diagnosed and fixed?

 

Sounds like the shift tower has come loose from the tranny case top cover. There are 3 T30 bolts that should be holding it to the top of the opening. Are they all there? If not, it's unlikely but possible that one of them could have fallen down into the works. This would not be a good thing.

If they are there and they are are all tight then you have a much more serious problem. You could pull the top cover (10 bolts, M12 wrench) and take a look at the shift rail assembly on the underside of the cover but unless you know what you're looking for, it may be pointless. DO NOT tear into the shift rail assembly without a Ford shop manual. Half of the stuff in there is spring-loaded and will disappear across the room if you do it wrong.

 

all three of the t30 are there and in place. crap . looks like the haynes manual steered me straight as you. Thanks. Hello Integrity Transmission good bye paycheck.

 

I pick up 4x2 M5OD-R2 trannys for 250ish bucks from the junkyard when I see 'em. 4x4 models fetch a little bit more.

Adrianspeeder

 

went in to give them the low down and see when they could take a look at the truck. told to remove the three t30's and remove the round ball has plastic pegs that are designed to wear out. no big deal pull it and bring it in they would hook me up. sound right? if so customer loyalty and family biz pays off in spades again. these guys have been spot on with my push-button 727 problems , but that's mopar.

 

It could be that simple and it sure can't hurt to try

 

yep they nailed it . the sprung blue plastic ring that keeps the ball on the two pins was cracked and deteriorating. think all the pieces were still there but going to drain the trans and vac it out. nappa here i come.