Cable Shifter Help plz!

[phreaksho]

ok so i may have diagnosed this myself but i need more opinions, i backed into my driveway and 20 mins later i go to put it into first and it goes in but seems extremly sloppy*the cable can move all the way to the 5th position when its suppose to be in first. then i try to move and the car stalls. i start it up agian and it will barely moves so i conclude that its in third. i put it in reverse and get it in the garage jack it up and take a look at the linkage and i find i have a missing bushing and a bracket thats lose i get a new bushing and tighten the bracket down put the car down and its still not going into first jack it up agian but this time i rip apart the console to get to the other part of the shifter. * i noticed that you could manually put it in first at least i think it was first if you moved the linkage by hand i take a look at what cables are moving when the linkage is pulled and i notice when you pull the left cable underneath that the shifter does not move. i also noticed that you hear a sound of metal clinking toghther when u pull and push on the cable so i think that the inside of the cable is snapped into. i really hope this is it and that i dont have to rip the tranny out since i had it out 2000 miles ago for a clutch and if anyone has any cable shifter they wanna sell or even a rod shifter for sale plz help in concluding that that is the problem thanx guys

 

[dvincent]

If you can still find a cable they are very expensive, watch *-bay and do a rod shifter upgrade, there are at least 2 of them on there right now, i just won one on friday and waiting for it to be delivered next week, if you find a dealer that has a cable there anywhere from $250-$300, the upgrade can be done for at most half that. Darrin

 

[phreaksho]

yeah i was hopin not to do the rod shifter upgrade cuz i can pick one up for 100 bucks i really was likin my cable even tho everyone says rod is better but whatever if it comes down to it i will switch it but yeah... what if its not even broken?

 

[thecrew2999]

if its not broken swap it anyways, you say you can get one for 100 its best to do it now because when you need one maybe you wouldnt be able to find it.. i got a rod shifter in mine and its smooth as silk.

 

[rangerj]

Before you buy a used shifter cable PM TYSHO and get a price on a NEW OEM Ford shifter cable. I did and I got a new cable for a very reasonable price.

 

[dpsutphin]

I got a new OEM shifter cable about a year and a half ago for $135. It took a while to find it though. They will be even more rare now. And probably more expensive. It can also be a real PIA to install.

If you have the ability to do the rod shift conversion, it is a good thing to do, and can be done for about the same cost. If you just like the feel of the cable, and don't do too many hard shifts, you will be ok with just replacing the cable.

One of the problems with the OEM cable shifter is that there is a plastic piece that attaches the cable to the shifter. Since it is plastic and not metal, it has a tendency to break if you slam it too hard, or it just wears out over time with repeated regular shifting.

Another great example of the American concept of planned obselesense (hope I spelled that right...lol).

 

[phreaksho]

yeah i do have many occasional hard shifts and im guessing thats why it broke. but ok if i did go with a rod shifter what kind of stuff would i need to convert because it doesnt seem like it would just bolt on right up to anything down there unless im completly missing to notice how it would go on

 

[dpsutphin]

Just do a search here under rod shift conversion. You will get plenty of information, and/or links to how to do it, and what extra parts are needed.

 

[DemonNeno]

I had a similar problem. Turned out my cable was unhooking itself from the shifter assembly.

 

[green91SHOPlus]

Yeah, haha. Those cable shifters are complete crap, really. I've got that mopar clip on the cockpit side of the cable set, and I've got about the most hideous setup on the transmission side, haha. The cable that twists the little arm on the transmission between the three rows of gears kept coming off. The first day I got my SHO on the road after I completed the engine swap, all I had was third and fourth gear. So I pulled into a construction site, parked over a little ravine in the gravel, asked for some wire, and went to work. It was a right handed job because of the limit of the ravine, and I'm left handed, haha. Fifteen minutes later and two pair of pliars later underneath a hot exhaust system, and it's fixed! I have a rod shifter from my gutted 91 Plus, and want to do the upgrade, but I don't want to do any cutting, nor do I want to mess with the exhaust system at this time. It's alot of work that I'm too lazy to do, but I know it's well worth it to get the rod shifter on. The weight really does help the shifts seem a bit less...forced.