will a rod shifter cure my cable problems?

[midnightSHOt300]

Well my dad was coming back from dropping a guy off to pick up his tanker truck and the SHO's shifter went to the center when he was driving. When he got back to the office he pulled the shifter top part off and found that the eye bushing for the passenger side cable had snapped and the cable popped off the shifter.We wen to the local ford dealer and found that you cant just buy the bushing you have to buy the whole cable, you can still buy the cable but it is $200! I would like to know if a rod shifter conversion will fix this problem and who may have one for sale and for how much. My car is a 1990.My dad and one of his buddies decided they could make a bushing out of a hard plastic and I think they are realizing that it is a very bad idea. Also the shifter in my SHO seems abnormaly stiff and kind of hard to move compared to other vehicles, like my jeep cherokee.Is it simply because it isnt bolted directly onto the transaxle? Thanks for any help.

 

[TYSHO]

Well my dad was coming back from dropping a guy off to pick up his tanker truck and the SHO's shifter went to the center when he was driving. When he got back to the office he pulled the shifter top part off and found that the eye bushing for the passenger side cable had snapped and the cable popped off the shifter.We wen to the local ford dealer and found that you cant just buy the bushing you have to buy the whole cable, you can still buy the cable but it is $200! I would like to know if a rod shifter conversion will fix this problem and who may have one for sale and for how much. My car is a 1990.My dad and one of his buddies decided they could make a bushing out of a hard plastic and I think they are realizing that it is a very bad idea. Also the shifter in my SHO seems abnormaly stiff and kind of hard to move compared to other vehicles, like my jeep cherokee.Is it simply because it isnt bolted directly onto the transaxle? Thanks for any help.

You actually can make one or buy one. I can remove mine and take a pic if need be. I have never had 1 problem with the 3 years I've had that bushing. It is hard rubber, though.

Edit: To answer the original question, yes a rod shifter would fix that, but when you buy one you will need the mounting brackets and the rod shifter catback bend, plus you have to cut a hole in the floor board for the shifter to go up in.

 

[midnightSHOt300]

Yeah we cut it out an old caster off of a BBQ grill which is a very hard and durable rubber. But the hard part is forming it exactly like the old one and getting it to fit in there correctly.

 

[TYSHO]

Don't know how the original looked, but mine looks like a bushing you see in a suspension kit for Mustangs, just smaller.

 

[wheel-zuhn]

I picked up one of these clips and used it for a couple months before I got my rod shifter in. It is not what I'd call a long term solution, and I think I also used a couple of cable ties to hold it in place.
http://www.shoclub.com/SHO History/shifterrepair.html


regarding the rod shifter:
The shifter cost me $175 on ebay (important: make sure it has all the parts!)
To have that installed cost me $135, and then to drive it (with muffler disconnected) to a nearby exhaust place, and for $50 got the connector made and installed.

 

[CiscOsys311]

How do you like the ROD Shifter? How is it compared to the Cable shifter.

You car must have been LOUD with an open exhaust! I may have to drive mine open, I dont have any welding equipment....

Let me know about the Rod shifter, I`m trying to get one soon

ML

 

[TYSHO]

I always had a cable shifter, but then bought a SHO with the rod shifter. When going back to the cable SHO, the shift linkage felt elastic and the gears were further apart.

As about which will leave you stranded on the side of the road for good, the rod shifter will. If and when it breaks, you're screwed. As for the cable linkage, if it comes apart, you can get in there and fix it with zip ties or utility wire, then be on your way! That's the only up side to having cables.

 

[SHOtime2511]

cable shifter and rod shifter are night and day,
when i did mine it felt like a total diffrent car....in a good way!

 

[SHO--ripper]

A rod shifter will cure your problem.
As far as which one is better the rod shifter is.