Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting HELP -- Car won't shift - no "gearbox"

I've got a problem w/ my transmission and wanted to get some opinions before I bring it in to get it serviced (I drive a '98 Contour w/manual trans). I was driving home the other day and went to shift gears when all of a sudden - there weren't ANY gears -- what I mean is not only would the car not shift, but there wasn't even as shift pattern. I could actually take the stick and move it in a circular motion without anything interfering. I got it towed home and immediately thought I broke the shift linkage/cable. But when I checked it out, everything was still intact. Obviously I know I've got to go and get it looked at by some sort of Trans professional, but wanted to get some feedback before I do so -- I don't want to get screwed over by whomever fixes it. Has anyone had a similar problem? Does anyone know how much something like this might cost me?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Have you checking inside the car, by removing the center console (or pulling up the leather boot cover) and seeing if anything funny is going on in there?

Might also have a friend sit in car and play with shifter while you look underneath? Sounds like a simple fix (broken linkage compared to whole transmission)

if you are able to move the shifter in circles and were not able to before now i would say that your h pad is loose. you say you cant shift into any gear will it even make a grinding noise if you try to shift into it without the clutch pressed. also does it make the sound that most cars do when you try and put it in reverse?? check everything under the car before taking it in also check the FAQ for common complaints there is something in there about difficulty shifting

Thanks, gearhead98 for getting back to me. Actually, there is NO grinding or anything! I don't even have to engage the clutch to get the stick to move in circles. Clutch in or out, it doesn't make a difference. It's almost as though nothing is there at all! Reverse doesn't work either an there is no noise associated with it! I'm really at a loss, don't know what to think the problem is.

you've got to be disconnected underneath somewhere. either at the transmission connection, or where the linkage goes into the cabin. Movement with no clutch or grinding can only be that. Your transmission innards didn't turn to mush so it can't be that.

That's the first time I've ever seen this problem by the way! Keep us FYI'd!!!

check shift tower bolts, make sure they're tight, then check the lower part of shift lever, cable snaps onto a ball stud. some aftermarket shifters break at this welded area. haven't heard about a stock one breaking, but anything's possible. after this I'm clueless.

ALright, I just had this happen to me on Monday. I pulled into a fast food resteraunt and was waiting in line, when my gearbox went out too, I was stuck in first gear. I thought I broke something in the elbow joint of the shifter. When you start to look at everything, you will notice that the shifter is still moving the cables that leave it and go into the transmission. The problem you ask, a bolt worht probably a quarter, but after labor costed me some bucks. It's inside the transmission, my bolt was actually cut in half. The guy at the trans shop spent some time looking for the other half and eventually found it. Now here is the kicker, he gave me the bolt, and I started to examine it, know what I found. THE DANG THING LOOKS LIKE IT HOLLOW.....anyone ever heard of this before or know why Ford would do such a thing??

Dan