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Ford F250 Column Shifter Woes

RedMF40

RedMF40

Well-known Member
1999 F250 SuperDuty


Truck runs fine, shifts fine. Auction truck, doesnt owe me anything. Been driving it for about four years, maybe a little more. Hauls whatever I need, pulls whatever I need pulled. Good truck.

Column-shifter has always been a big ker-fuzzled. Drive position is in practice2.
Reverse is somewhere to the left.

Can no longer get it into park, so now I have to do something. Problem is not at the transmissionIve checked. Its the linkage coming from the steering column.

Ive done some research, got feedback from a man on the Ford Trucks forum who went in and reworked the whole mess so that it all functions correctly. You can buy the parts, whatevers necessary to get it all tight and working again. Main culprit, from my understanding, is a bracket or maybe more than one that lets go and then everything starts flopping around. Ive verified that something under there doesnt look exactly right.

I know this job wont be easy. Working under the steering column is never fun, but was wondering if anyone has direct experience with this and knows of any shortcuts to make it maybe a bit more tolerable. I appreciate any info or comments or whatever before I dive in and start taking it apart.

Also: I wrote this in a word document as a test to see if it goes through the YT Word Mangler that takes written text and tries to turn it into a new language. Here goes nothing.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Gerrit in Maryland
 
Everything came through here ok as far as the wording goes.
I know between the phones and the compukers If the phone
adds any punctuation to a post or headline or throws a
wrench right into the gears
 
three bolts in the column under the wheel. I took mine to a lock smith,around a hundred bucks.
 
(quoted from post at 13:51:54 06/15/20) Everything came through here ok as far as the wording goes.
I know between the phones and the compukers If the phone
adds any punctuation to a post or headline or throws a
wrench right into the gears
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks.

I see it's missing a few punctuation marks, nothing too terrible bad. Also I made some typos with the original so that's on me but it's mostly understandable.

Gerrit
 
There are about 10 or so shifter kits to put it on the floor. From about 120 to 350. bucks. Frustration with the column shift fix is clearly in
the sites I looked at.
kits
 
Make sure to disconnect the battery for at least 10 minutes before you disconnect anything especially if removing the airbag or it can set the airbag off.
 
Yes sir, I'm very familiar with that. My 97 F250 is in process right now. I don't know if yours is the same as mine but here goes. There is a Z shaped bracket that bolts to the end of the shifter rod with, I
think, two torx screws. Those have worked loose and need tightened up. Hire an intelligent monkey and have him get under the dash on the floor, bent up into a wad and he can get to them. Actually, I did them
myself and I'm 75, so it's possible.
There's also two plastic bushings that need replaced on the shifter rod. The part number of them is Bushing F3TZ7L278A. I got mine online from dealersalessolutions for $10.79 tax included. There's a video on
u-tube that shows how to get to them better than I can describe it. You have to take plastic parts off to get to the one closest to you, and drop the steering wheel down to get to the back one on. I don't have
mine completed yet. After I tightened the bracket up, I could drive it and have been putting off the rest till I get time to do it.
I think it sounds worse than it actually is, give it a try. Getting a good light under the dash is really necessary..
Irv
 
For what it is worth, I agree put up with mine for months figuring it was a major issue. Turned out it was the two loose screws got under there and tightened them. All fixed and I am only 68:)
 
Check the three screws at the bottom end of the shifter shaft. They go in from the front and are a real bear to get a wrench on, torx type screw. They hold a bracket that pulls the cable and can get loose. Mine always shifted hard but a couple years ago it got almost impossible. The plastic switch was the problem and I never would have believed it could cause that much drag. It actually caused the shaft to break at the screws, twice till I figured out with help here to replace the switch.
 

Go get it there is nuttin there that,s gonna bite ya... If you go after the shift tube take the gear indicator cable off... Its easy money and all the parts are available aftermarket...
 
I've got a '98 F250 that's had the same problem. My best guesstimate is that you've got some bushings wore out or there's a couple of screws loose.
On my truck, one day a screw actually fell out and hit me on the leg. Odds are, you'll see the problem when you look up inside the column.
 
(quoted from post at 14:22:13 06/15/20) There are about 10 or so shifter kits to put it on the floor. From about 120 to 350. bucks. Frustration with the column shift fix is clearly in
the sites I looked at.

Might be a good way to go. I also have an E350 Ford with about 50K miles on it. Shifter seems very delicate. I hold my breath every time I have to select a gear. Thanks for the suggestion,
Gerrit
Click to expand...
 
(quoted from post at 14:25:55 06/15/20) Make sure to disconnect the battery for at least 10 minutes before you disconnect anything especially if removing the airbag or it can set the airbag off.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will do. I'll look over the repair for this, make sure nothing blows up that can be prevented.
 
(quoted from post at 14:47:39 06/15/20) Yes sir, I'm very familiar with that. My 97 F250 is in process right now. I don't know if yours is the same as mine but here goes. There is a Z shaped bracket that bolts to the end of the shifter rod with, I
think, two torx screws. Those have worked loose and need tightened up. Hire an intelligent monkey and have him get under the dash on the floor, bent up into a wad and he can get to them. Actually, I did them
myself and I'm 75, so it's possible.
There's also two plastic bushings that need replaced on the shifter rod. The part number of them is Bushing F3TZ7L278A. I got mine online from dealersalessolutions for $10.79 tax included. There's a video on
u-tube that shows how to get to them better than I can describe it. You have to take plastic parts off to get to the one closest to you, and drop the steering wheel down to get to the back one on. I don't have
mine completed yet. After I tightened the bracket up, I could drive it and have been putting off the rest till I get time to do it.
I think it sounds worse than it actually is, give it a try. Getting a good light under the dash is really necessary..
Irv
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look at it again because it's been awhile. There are some differences between the '97 and my '99 but I don't know if the shifter is basically the same. They all seem kind of fragile on these trucks. Good to get into it with the right attitude and just see it through.
 
(quoted from post at 15:33:37 06/15/20) For what it is worth, I agree put up with mine for months figuring it was a major issue. Turned out it was the two loose screws got under there and tightened them. All fixed and I am only 68:)
Click to expand...

I checked quite awhile ago, and something was out of whack that re-tightening wasn't going to fix. But it may be as simple as getting the new fastener in there because it may in fact be missing. My continuing to drive it like that probably didn't help matters any.
 
(quoted from post at 17:11:21 06/15/20)
Go get it there is nuttin there that,s gonna bite ya... If you go after the shift tube take the gear indicator cable off... Its easy money and all the parts are available aftermarket...
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the confidence-booster! Yes, the parts all look reasonable, and it would be nice to get it all working to OEM specs again. It's been well over a year, but I'll check again to see exactly what it needs.
 
(quoted from post at 16:44:27 06/15/20) Check the three screws at the bottom end of the shifter shaft. They go in from the front and are a real bear to get a wrench on, torx type screw. They hold a bracket that pulls the cable and can get loose. Mine always shifted hard but a couple years ago it got almost impossible. The plastic switch was the problem and I never would have believed it could cause that much drag. It actually caused the shaft to break at the screws, twice till I figured out with help here to replace the switch.
Click to expand...

Thanks, from what I remember it's those screws and bracket that are the problem. Just need to get the right parts and fix it. Hope I didn't already order them and forgot. That happens.
 
I have a 99 Navigator and have cursed that cheap pos column shifter for
quite a few years. I put more time into making it work than all the
vehicles i've had put together before it. Ford was sure building some
chit back in the 90's. I just got done changing all the parts in the
column because I thought it had a broken shift tube. Nope, wasn't the
problem. Must be the torx bits on the bottom of the tube that hold the
bracket. Nope wasn't the problem. The problem was the cheap shift cable.
It has an adjuster on the end of it where it hooks on the transmission
that you can slide back and forth and lock into place when you get it
all lined up. Such as truck in park and indicator in park. Lock the lock
down and you're all set. Problem with the lock is they can slip and get
the results you're getting. It will always go back into park because
you're pulling it to the end of the adjustment. Problem is when you try
to "push" it into reverse or drive and the adjustment will "slip" and it
has to go further so that's why your drive is in second and reverse is
in neutral. Get under the truck and see if you can lock the adjuster in.
It's yellow in color and you have to pull down on the locking mechanism
to lock it. I put a new cable on mine. Turned out it was just unlocked
and in good shape. I have my original one on the shelf. The new one cost
me $65 bucks on ebay. Was for a 4100 model. You will have to find out
which transmission you have. There are two. I will try to put a pic on
here but not sure if I can figure it out. I used to all the time and
they changed it and last time I tried I gave up on it. Take a good thing
and overcomplicate it. Kind of like a cheap ford adjustable shift cable.
I think if you check that you will be back in business. Good luck.
cvphoto47430.jpg


cvphoto47431.jpg
 
Here is the shift tube I assumed was broken but mine looked like brand new. I ordered a new one anyway with new bushings and put it in. It's not that bad to take the steering column down. You can do everything without pulling it completely out. To take the key switch out you have to shove a nail up into the hole in the bottome of the switch and turn it to accessory I think and it pulls out easily. That lets you get the column trim off and get the ball rolling. I was very glad to get mine working good again. I didn't want to own a vehicle that needed special instructions to drive it!!!
cvphoto47433.png


cvphoto47434.png


cvphoto47435.jpg


cvphoto47436.png


cvphoto47437.jpg
 
Here is a shot of the steering column when I had it out to change the $25
dollar blend door that breaks off so your heater won't work. This was way
back in about 2007 or so. That was fun too. Ford wanted $1000 to change
it. I did it myself for $25 and a lot of cussing. The quality of this
vehicle "as in bad" was staggering. But I bought it and have soldiered
through it and still am.
cvphoto47438.jpg


cvphoto47439.jpg
 
By far the most common problem is the bracket the the shift cable hooks to on the steering column comes loose. Theres 2 screws that back out for some reason. Takes a t30 torx with a 6" extension and 5 minutes of your time to fix it.
 

davpal,

Thanks--I've looked at that cable that goes to the transmission. Everything looks good on that end but I'll double check to make sure it has not slipped out of adjustment.

Main problem is under the dash. Very loose, the whole shifter mechanism. I have the parts ordered, may be able to knock it out today. Thanks again for the reply.

Gerrit
 
(quoted from post at 04:36:59 06/16/20)
Add two new clamps for the bushing life will be good...
Click to expand...

Thanks, local NAPA has them. $20 each. That sound right? Even if it is high I'll go ahead and get them, need to get this fixed.
 
If you get it all together and tight again but the dive indicator doesn't
line up there is a little wire under the steering column that pulls that
into place. It's a spring loaded mechanism with a wire that pulls it over.
If it doesn't line up like it's supposed to there is a star wheel under
there that you turn to bring it back into the correct location.
 
(quoted from post at 11:54:58 06/16/20) If you get it all together and tight again but the dive indicator doesn't
line up there is a little wire under the steering column that pulls that
into place. It's a spring loaded mechanism with a wire that pulls it over.
If it doesn't line up like it's supposed to there is a star wheel under
there that you turn to bring it back into the correct location.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know what you're talking about. I did tighten down the two torx screws which is good enough for now since I don't have time at the moment to take the whole assembly apart.

I can now shift into PARK which was the main problem. Parking brake needs adjustment as well but that's for another day.

I appreciate your help. Overall the truck has been good--the things that make it go, engine and transmission have been trouble-free. Everything else seems to be falling apart.

Gerrit
 
(quoted from post at 20:58:33 06/15/20) By far the most common problem is the bracket the the shift cable hooks to on the steering column comes loose. Theres 2 screws that back out for some reason. Takes a t30 torx with a 6" extension and 5 minutes of your time to fix it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that did the trick. Still need to do some more work under there but that took care of the problem for now.

Gerrit
 
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