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Shifter Play/Now can't get into any gear

A

allstyle12

CEG'er
Joined
May 5, 2006
Messages
329
Location
Sunny San Diego California
Well I was driving home this evening and I downshifted to pass a car and now I can't get into any gear. My cables are connected so now I am assuming that I possibly sheard a bolt in my shift tower. I attached a picture of what I believe to be the shift tower. Is this correct and how hard is this to remove? From what I understand from searching is that I don't have to remove my tranny to accomplish this.

Thanks all!

Allstyle
 

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Yes, that is the shift tower. As for removal, is your car stuck in neutral, or in gear!?!? If it is in neutral it will make it 100% easier! Sometimes it is possible to remove the shift tower even if the car is stuck in gear, but sometimes it isn't. Hopefully you don't have to pull the trans. You can send your shift tower off to Terry Haines to get the keyed shift tower mod so that this will never happen again, or you can go a higher grade steel bolt, or the stocker bolt from Ford which I wouldn't recommend. Just make sure you get all the peices of the bolt that sheared off. Get a magnetic stick and fish around getting all the pieces. If you can't find them all, you must pull your trans or risk breaking something in their! I believe I have heard of the broken bolt blowing through the trans case when it wasn't removed when the new one was put in. That sounds crazy to me, but I do know that you must remove the broken bolt!!! Luckily mine was stuck in neutral.



Good luck and post your results.

Jeff
 
Reebs said:
Yes, that is the shift tower. As for removal, is your car stuck in neutral, or in gear!?!? If it is in neutral it will make it 100% easier! Sometimes it is possible to remove the shift tower even if the car is stuck in gear, but sometimes it isn't. Hopefully you don't have to pull the trans. You can send your shift tower off to Terry Haines to get the keyed shift tower mod so that this will never happen again, or you can go a higher grade steel bolt, or the stocker bolt from Ford which I wouldn't recommend. Just make sure you get all the peices of the bolt that sheared off. Get a magnetic stick and fish around getting all the pieces. If you can't find them all, you must pull your trans or risk breaking something in their! I believe I have heard of the broken bolt blowing through the trans case when it wasn't removed when the new one was put in. That sounds crazy to me, but I do know that you must remove the broken bolt!!! Luckily mine was stuck in neutral.



Good luck and post your results.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Thank you. Yes it is in gear. I ordered the part from Ford and it should be here tomorrow. I will post my results and some pictures when I am finished. Thanks again.
 
All of this is assuming that you checked BOTH ENDS of BOTH cables (interior shifter boot and the shift tower) for solid movement.

If so, then the above is applicable
 
Ray said:
All of this is assuming that you checked BOTH ENDS of BOTH cables (interior shifter boot and the shift tower) for solid movement.

If so, then the above is applicable
Click to expand...


Good point Ray, I thought he had mentioned that he checked for that though. :shrug:


Reebs

Edit: Nope, your right. He only mentioned that his shift cables are connected to the tranny. Good catch.
 
Nothing more than an underpaid legal secretary. Covering all the bases is all.


:D
 
my bolt didnt even break, it came out, and fell into the bottom. i just put it back in with locktite and a lockwasher. my car was in 4th when this happenned. you will know if that is even your problem by moving the shifter. you will not be able to define what gear is what, it'll just flop all around. if it is stuck in a gear, you could have a shift fork that is frozen up, or the shift tower bolt did fall out and it got wedged somewhere.
 
Ray said:
All of this is assuming that you checked BOTH ENDS of BOTH cables (interior shifter boot and the shift tower) for solid movement.

If so, then the above is applicable
Click to expand...

Thank you. Yes, I did check both the cables on the tranny and both the cables under the shifter boot inside the vehicle and all are attached. I am outside right now and I am having a hell of a time trying to wiggle that thing out. Any suggestions?
 
allstyle12 said:
Thank you. Yes, I did check both the cables on the tranny and both the cables under the shifter boot inside the vehicle and all are attached. I am outside right now and I am having a hell of a time trying to wiggle that thing out. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I got it out! And here is the culprit!!!

I am lovin this new Powershot A630 I got for xmas.

Now I am just waiting for that part to come in so I can get her running again. Thanks all!

Symptoms before my shift tower bolt broke:
1. Too much shifter play
2. Popping out of gear
3. Hard shifting
 

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Is the bolt missing or did it break off ... either way, it's in the transmission ... DO NOT RUN THE CAR IN GEAR until you find what broke off. Reason being it can get lodged in the diff and will completely screw up the trans to the tune of $2K+ to fix.
 
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fastcougar said:
Is the bolt missing or did it break off ... either way, it's in the transmission ... DO NOT RUN THE CAR IN GEAR until you find what broke off. Reason being it can get lodged in the diff and will completely screw up the trans to the tune of $2K+ to fix.
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Oh I found the other end of the bolt right away. I will take pictures of it later.
 
Back on the road...

Back on the road...

She is all back together now and shifting is 100 times better. It might have something to do with that Royal Purple fluid change I did before I put it back together. Thanks for your help...everyone!

By the way, I think it was stuck in 2nd gear.
 
so how did you get the shifter tower out with it being in gear?Just wanted to know because my car is at the shop now getting this done btw.Did you just shake it back and forth or what? thanxs in advance.Mine is also stuck in second gear.

Good job getting it back on the road so fast! It has been about 7 months since I last drove mine :(
 
Here's what happens if you don't get all the pieces out:

ProjectF13_2.jpg


And my Royal Purple Synchromax undercoating:
ProjectF13_1.jpg


Miraculously I was able to drive probably 30 or more miles after this happened. I didn't realize what had happened at first (I thought a tool had been accidentaly left in the engine bay and fell out). The last 5 miles or so had me on pins and needles though, I was just limping home...
 
BrandonSVT99 said:
so how did you get the shifter tower out with it being in gear?Just wanted to know because my car is at the shop now getting this done btw.Did you just shake it back and forth or what? thanxs in advance.Mine is also stuck in second gear.

Good job getting it back on the road so fast! It has been about 7 months since I last drove mine :(
Click to expand...

I was shaking it back and forth but that did not work. So I pulled it up and towards the front of the car and it came out. I was quite surprised I got it out. BTW, how much is the shop charging you?
 
Dude that sucks!I'm Def. going to make sure the shop gets all the pieces out of mine!Did you use a magnet to get the remaining bits of metal out?

The shop qouted me 1,000+ for it.But that was for pulling the trans. out, I then gave them directions on how to pull it out from the shifter tower and haven't gotten a qoute back yet.
 
$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$

BrandonSVT99 said:
Dude that sucks!I'm Def. going to make sure the shop gets all the pieces out of mine!Did you use a magnet to get the remaining bits of metal out?

The shop qouted me 1,000+ for it.But that was for pulling the trans. out, I then gave them directions on how to pull it out from the shifter tower and haven't gotten a qoute back yet.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a lot of dough. They don't need to pull the transmission out to fix it. Sorry man. I am certainly glad that I am mechanically inclined.
 
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