I'm kind of working your question backwords, but bare with me.

Originally posted by SVTake2:

Quote:

I used two vise grippers to hold the cables in place



was this done in the interior?



Yes, it was done inside underneath the shifter boot. It kept the cables as well as the shifter in the neutral position while I did the adjustment at the shift tower.

Originally posted by SVTake2:
Mine seems to be the same length But my ends didn't fit the new shift tower, they were the thinner old style.



Did the part numbers match the numbers I gave in this how-to? I'm not sure if the ends came with your cables as an assembly or if you purchased them seperately. Also I did post a picture of the cable ends I used, do yours match with that picture?

Originally posted by SVTake2:
Im pretty sure the part number of the cable i got was a focus # as well.



Hmmm. Not sure on this one. I had 98 cables, and I thought the only way you could use the shifter ends that I referenced was to use the 98 shift cables. However your saying these are the actually focus shift cables, so naturally one would think they would fit no problem.


One final thought on all of this would be to put the shifter in third gear. Use the vise grips method to hold it there. Disconnect the shifter ends from the tower and check to see if it is all the way into third gear.

Good luck.

-Mike 98 Contour SVT Toreador Red #49 of 6535 Built on 3/25/97 WR Headers, Borla Cat-Back, Torsen T2 LSD, K&N Short Ram, S-AFC and Focus Shift Tower 85 Camaro 1969 358ci, 97 TA interior, 91 Z28 GrdEfx and Aero Wing 255rwhp