• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Looking for someone to help me diagnose shifting problem

I went out there and checked it out, it turned out the shift cables are all kinds of messed up, ive never seen messed up shift cables before, but they didnt look normal.
 
Thanks Alias I appreciate your help!

The ends of the cables look really worn out and have a ton of slop.

Woo Hoo! looks like I won't have to drop the tranny!

Now who is the guy that is best source for parts?
 
my_black99svt said:
Thanks Alias I appreciate your help!

The ends of the cables look really worn out and have a ton of slop.

Woo Hoo! looks like I won't have to drop the tranny!

Now who is the guy that is best source for parts?
Click to expand...

Steve
Tousley Ford
White Bear Lake, MN
1-800-328-9552
(Mention SVT plan for LARGE discount.(from 30-60%!) Don't need an SVT to use this plan.)


Steve is another guy that gives discounts to CEG'ers I told you about Bill Jenkins, whom is really nice to deal with, but you probably will get a better price from Steve.
 
If he has the 99+ style he'll have to order new cables. Can not get just the ends like the 98's.
 
I just went through the problems with the ends on my 99. Stealerships say you can only get the entire cable for ~$110 each. There was nothing wrong with mine but for the grommets so I made some rubber bushings from hose, got some washers that fit and put a clip over the end of it to hold it all in place. If the ends are really messed up this wont help you but it still jsut went from a trans to 200 dollars in parts!
 
hotrod88 said:
I just went through the problems with the ends on my 99. Stealerships say you can only get the entire cable for ~$110 each. There was nothing wrong with mine but for the grommets so I made some rubber bushings from hose, got some washers that fit and put a clip over the end of it to hold it all in place. If the ends are really messed up this wont help you but it still jsut went from a trans to 200 dollars in parts!
Click to expand...

thats what it looked like when I looked at it, just at the end there was a bit of metal exposed on the cable and you could just see the cable trying to move the shift tower, but all it would do is wiggle it a little.
 
hotrod88 said:
but it still jsut went from a trans to 200 dollars in parts!
Click to expand...

ya, no kidding! I am real excited about that.

So reading up it appears I can't just buy the cable ends for the 99. But it sounds like I can buy the cable ends for the 98 then push out the bushing and put it into the cables already in my car. Has anybody tried that?

I wish I had some time to work on the car. The list of things I want to do to it seems to be growing at an insane rate!
 
On 99's up, can't you just punch out the bushing and replace it. I know I have swapped the bushings on my 98's with keeping the same cable end. The shift cables are a PITA to swap out and so I hope he doesn't have to go that route just because the bushings are sloppy! I just can't imagine the bushings causing the problem that he is having. Sounds more like something in the shift tower to me.

Got a pic of the shift cable ends?
 
I finally got a hold of Bill Jenkins. According to him the 98 style cables were used through April '99. My car was built in Feb 99 so I should be able to use the 98 cables.

I think my problem is more severe then just cable ends though. I am not able to shift the tower by hand. It feels like something inside is bound up.

Any idea what I should look at now? :help:
 
I pulled the intake off and moved some hoses and wires around to get to the shift tower. I pulled the 4 bolts that I think are holding it down and tried to pull it off. No go. Is there any tricks to pull it off? Do I need to get something between the tranny and shift tower to pry it up?
 
Yep Todros!

I think that was the problem. I came back here and saw some pictures. I still have two other bolts to take off! :blackeye:

Okay here is something interesting. I can't get the tranny in neutral. I can get into 1st, 2nd, and reverse fully. I can't get 3rd, 4th, or 5th at all. And when I am in neutral when I let off the clutch I here a grinding and the car tries to move forward, but it slips a lot. Obviously I didn't try this very many times.

Well that was it for my free time for at least another week. Next week I'll get those other two bolts and see what I have.
 
I pulled the shift tower this morning. It is fine.

Looked into the tranny. Everything looks good. I can't move the shift forks by hand. I'm not sure how much force is needed to move them.

I reach down to the bottom of the case to feel the oil for particles. THERE IS NO OIL! :nonono:

So that could explain what went wrong. Driving at 75 mph from Novi to Ypsi with no transmission oil. :shocked:

I guess my next step is to pull the tranny. :cry:

My gf has a garage I could use. Todras did you send the repair CD to me yet? I sent you pay pal a few days ago. I think I can borrow an engine hoist. Any special tools that I will need?

Lets see what other smileys can I use.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
:help:
 
First of all, figure out where the transaxle fluid went! Did the drain plug fall out? Or even the fill plug which it all could have splashed out. Did you try refilling the trans? If you do need a new trans, I have a few so shoot me a pm. I also have a hoist and I can do it for you at a good price. Let me know if you need anything.




Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top