Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Broke the shift linkage

I broke the shift linkage last night downshifting into 3rd. Looked at it today, the little ball/socket pin that connects that cable to the bottom of the shift lever broke. I went to ford today to try to get a new bushin/pin assembly and they said that they only sell it as a cable assembly for $70. Also did a quick search on here and found that a couple people just welded it back together, does that hold up? how else can I go about fixing this without spending all the money for the entire assembly when all i need is that pin, thanks for the help

if you're talking about the stock shift lever, this is the first one I heard of breaking. It's steel, so if you still have the parts it can be welded easily. If its a B&M or other aftermarket lever, it's may be aluminum and would be more difficult to weld properly. There are probably a lot of people around with a stock shifter sitting in their garage who would want to get rid of it, just ask.

Yeah I know which linkage you are talking about. The plastic piece that the shifter ball connects into wore out on mine from taking shifters out and putting them in so often. I have one coming and Im not sure what it takes to install one. Any ideas? Its the linkage that connects to the shifter and goes back under the dash and to the tranny I assume. Not sure exactly how it works. Dont know how it will be to intall. Anyone tried it?

yeah, no the part that broke is where the cable actually attaches to the shift lever(it is a B&M shifter) so the shifter itself is still fine, just the pin/connector that connects the cable to the shift lever broke. Of the two cables that come out of the firewall into the shift lever, its the one that is closer to the driver and underneath the lever itself. If i hold it together with my hand I can shift it, I drove home 2 miles in first gear, so Im pretty sure the cables which I guess attach to the trans and everything else in the trans is fine, its just the damn connector that broke, couldnt be more than a $5 part and ford wants 70 for the whole cable assembly which I dont even need, i guess I'll check around with a few salvage yards and see if they would sell just that piece

Pin breakage is somewhat common woth the MTX 75....I suggest you purchase the Forcus Shifter tower and assembly. It uses larger pins and balls to keep your shifter linkage connected and it will bolt directly to your trans. I did that to mine, rebuilt my trans and have a quaife and fidanza combo.....and it shifts great!!! I hard shift all the time, and about onece every 2 weeks i insepct everything on my car, and the shifter linkage has shown no signs of ware.



true the focus towrer is expensive, but it would be better in the long run than replacing the pins with stoc or from a junk yard....you don;t know how the other person drove it, you could get something that will only last a day, maybe a year.


All in all i understand you need to fix it right now, even if its a temp fix, but down the road i reconmend getting the Focus shifting tower assembly. Its better and you will save money in the long run, than replacing the pins every time it breaks.

Roz, couple quick questions for you, if I get the focus shifter assembly, will it still accept my B&M shifter and just to clarify, the balls and pins/bushings that connect the linkage come with the shifter tower assembly or with the cable assembly? I went to two dealerships and neither could tell me for sure. Thanks for the help.

E-mail Terry haines secondline@ameritech.net

He has the complete towers sitting at his shop. And yest the B&M will fit. mine did when I put it on. Remember the Focus toweres were made for the MTX 75. There basicly beefy versions of ours.


But talk to terry, he got mine cheaper than the dealer.

You may have to wait a littel while for a resonse because he runs his shop around this time. He's located in Michigan.


Roz

Thats what I'll do then, thanks so much for the help

Good Luck! Glad to help.


Roz

how much for the focus shift tower? ballpark