Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Early model rod shifter parts are obsolete!

I'm doing my second rod shifter transaxle swap and having a terrible time getting the rod mechanism seperated from the output shaft at the rr of the trans. Tons of rust on the U joint and it's totally frozen. Might explain the hard shifting.

Eventually, I get p*ssed off and get out the hacksaw. I figure that the U joint is the easiest thing to cut due to access issues and it won't be too hard to replace the whole assembly. So I cut it in half, get the trans out and call the local Ford dealer. Pretty surprised to hear that it's now an obsolete part! I thought that manufacturers were req'd to keep parts on hand for at least 10 yrs.

Car is barely 10 yrs. old and there are almost zero MTX cars in the wreckers locally. Not only that but the ones I've seen are even more rusty than this one. When I did the 95 3 yrs. ago it was in better shape than this "lower mileage" car and never had this issue.

Anyone else with this problem can contact me for the fix shortly. I have a racing type U joint on order and it's got to improve the shifting quality of a frozen U joint! Of course, there will be some custom machining req'd to make it adapt.

I've seen too many great looking Contours in the wrecking yard due to s**t like this. Blown head gasket-scrap it. Trans rebuild-scrap it. Clutch req'd-scrap it. And on and on...

Thanks for the great parts support, Ford!

You may be surprised to learn that there is no ten year rule, at least not in the US. It's just a common practice, not a legal obligation.

You might see if Terry Haines has some spare parts. I'll bet he does.

The Borgeson U joint that I got is much improved over the stock piece of crap. I'll bet it improves the shift quality although I won't know for sure until it's together and running.

I may have tried TH if I couldn't do my own machining, but seeing as how I can, this will work better than stock. Plus I'll never run into this problem again as it comes with a rubber boot to totally enclose the U joint.

I just recently Bought a 95 Contour SE(Two months ago) and the first thing I noticed was the incredibly hard shifting. Like first, second, fifth and reverse. Is this universal what causes this? I have already had to replace the little box that the shift rod sits in.. it cracked in two causing me to lose 2nd 4th and reverse..

Spencer

It could be many things. One of the common problems was poor fluid. I would suggest changing the fluid. Use ATF+3 or ATF+4 which has more friction modifier than the stock Mercon fluid and see what happens. If it makes a big difference, you may want to consider using a synthetic fluid such as Ford Honey, Royal Purple, or Torco. Stay away from RedLine MTL.

Sure sounds like an actuating problem. If the car is a MI vehicle with winters very similiar to here, I'd start checking the mechanism. There are actually 2 U joints and the second 1 is under one of the aluminum covers.

JIM: Hopefully, people can read the label/manual and realize that our trannies need ATF, not manual gearbox oil. I've used Redline ATF in my transaxles for many yrs. w/out a problem.