Shifter problems -Help!!

[cantgetright]

First things first... Awsome site!! But my problem is, my shifter came loose on its own and now the thing feels sloppy in gear (moves side to side in gear) and after an hour of playing around with it, the thing will hit a forward gear when placed in reverse now .. I am new to the whole SHO thing (had Mustangs before) and I need help with it.. Any help is great..


-Carlos

 

[Gez89SHO]

What kinda shifter do you have? There are 2 kinds with these cars, a cable and a rod shifter, they both break differently. And both can be fixed.

 

[cantgetright]

i think they are rods. they dont look like cales. theres two rods right next to each other. like i said, im new to this. thanks

-Calros

 

[Gez89SHO]

To be sure, you can tell by what year your car is. After around 5/91, Ford put rod shifters in. Some, like me, have converted their earlier cars so it still could have a rod shifter. There are pics of the rod shifter setup here:
url:http://gzim.freeservers.com/shifter.html
Since side to side failure for a rod shifter is rare, I guess you have a cable shifter. The problem is in the cable end connections. Check them in the car (caefully pop off the plastic cover and unscrew leather boot) or under the car at trans end. If one has slipped off, it's possible to just pop it back in.
Now, for a rod shifter, the side to side motion is controlled by a plastic sliding block at the end of the assembly, behind the shifter and under the car. If its broken, you would need a new block or bracket or both.