Sloppy shifter

[SVT_Fan]

I have significant play in the shifter when it's in gear. I was surprised to see how loose the upper mechanism is.....to the point that the little standoff in the corner is spinning around. Can someone confirm what orientation the stand off should be in? Th

anks

 

[SVT_Fan]

That little mechanism is apparently the reverse gear interlock. It's keyed to fit in the hole. I've fixed and tightened it as well as the other fastener in the upper left corner. What's a shifter bushing swap look like? Tough job or easy?

 

[CSVT#49]

Slop most likely will be coming from the transmission side of the shift cables. The bushings in the connector ends wear over time and can even cause the cable to disconnect from the shift tower on the transmission. Although that is odd with the bolts on the shifter being loose like that. Someone had to of messed with it before.

The ends are fairly easy to swap out, but I'm not sure if they are still available from Ford. I believe the Focus still uses the style that your car should have IIRC, so that helps. First thing first... get under the car and check the connections on the shift tower. When you replace them you'll have to adjust the cables to ensure your shifter still gets into all the gears as it should. There is a tool for that, but I typically just use two vise grips up by the shifter to prevent the cables from moving while I change out the ends.

 

[B3NN3TT]

I've seen many instances of slop from the shifter itself as well.

Pull the boot and make sure the retaining screws that hold the shift lever pivot ball into the base are nice and snug.

There are lots of points of failure to inspect before you even start thinking about the transaxle's internals.