shift drive selector indicator

[Tavycal]

What is the routing for the cable from the indicator? I see the thumb wheel. How does the cable attach to it?

 

[pumpkin]

What is the routing for the cable from the indicator? I see the thumb wheel. How does the cable attach to it?

The cable has a loop at the end that connects to the "metal hook" looking thing right above it. You can see part of it behind the yellow sleeve in the 3rd picture I took.

 

[Tavycal]

That "lever". Mine doesnt have an eyelet. I cant see the end of yours. Does it just ride up agaist that lever then hook to the end of the adjusting screw? How do I attach it to the adjusting screw. It looks like in your picture the copper wire goes inside of the adjustment screw. If so what keeps it inside of the screw? How do I route it down from the indicater above? Thanks for responding. My daughter doesnt like driving it with the indicator not working. lol

 

[pumpkin]

The cable doesn't attach to the adjusting piece, it goes through it. I'm sure the '97 is similar to the '99. Maybe the eyelet (loop) broke and you have to tie it in a knot or replace it. The setup is almost like the cable brakes on a bicycle where moving the shifter lever pulls the cable to move the indicator (P,R,D,2,1). The only thing is, I don't know to get to the other end of the cable. I haven't taken it apart that far.

 

[Tavycal]

Copper cable.

When I took the indicator apart, one end of the copper wire was attached(by a loop) to the spring inside of the indicator but broken( I repaired the wire), the other end was just laying up inside on the steering colume/wire etc. The cable is approx 12 inchs long. I hooked the copper wire back onto the spring inside the indicator and if I pull the wire it moves the selector. The adjusting screw has a hole down the center but It doesnt go all the way through, so I can push it into the hole but nothing to keep it in the screw. At the bottom of the adjuster there is a black cable with a white plastic piece on the end about 10 inchs long. I found the white end laying underneath of the inst cluster. What is that?

I know this has nothing to do with the operation of the car but its aggravating not being able to correct.

 

[pumpkin]

I'm not familiar with that. You have taken yours apart much farther than I did mine. I only had the fix the adjusting screw/wheel piece under the steering column and didn't have to deal with the top section. Hopefully someone who has done this before will chime in soon. If you can, post some pics.

 

[Tavycal]

copper wire should be inside of the black cable.

Afetr talking with a friend I found out that when the copper wire broke it slipped out of the black tube shown in your picture at the bottom of the adjuster. Long story short it attaches to that lever in your picture with a loop. It then runs throught that black tube to the indicator. Sad thing is once the copper wire comes out of that black tube you have to replace the whole tube and cable.

 

[wineslob]

Hi all. I have the same problem with my wife's 95 Exploder. Maybe. The indicator is off, actually the shifter itself seems sloppy, and the starter switch sometimes will not work in park, so you can't start the car. I checked the linkage at the tranny and all seems OK.
I'm not sure, but this may not be the same problem? It started suddenly.

 

[BrianDye]

When I got my explorer, I noticed this too (In park it showed "R", Drive, shows "2" etc, and I tried adjusting the little screw both ways, and it would only get worse than what it really was.


My previous 95 was off, and this little trick fixed it perfectly though

 

[Tavycal]

Your sounds mechanical, mine was a simple cable. Someone will help here they always do. I know I read a thread about your problem cant seem to find it now.

 

[wineslob]

Well, I found the problem. The plastic cable adjuster at the trans had popped up (it's horseshoe shaped) so that the cable was not locked in position.
Reset the cable, and all is fine.
Since I tried the under dash "fix" first, I now know how to adjust the indicator.

 

[bikeboy]

#10-24 nut fix...for broken selector needle

I have a 99 EXP Sport. Heard a popping sound under the dash yesterday as I was shifting into 'R'. My truck only has 52k miles on her. At that moment I realized the same thing everyone on this thread has described...misaligned selector needle!
I used the #10-24 nut fix on mine. S U P E R B idea. Thanks to whomever came up with that one...sorry, as I cannot remember who in the long list of postings?
This site has bailed me out on numerous occasions. The internet is a wonderful thing, and you people that bother to take the time to explain in detail the "how to's" of all of the Exploder quirks, are to be commended!
Cheers, Bikeboy

 

[tv235]

thanks pumkin for the photos, they helped me with my problem with the shift indicator

 

[99EBEXP]

Quick note. If you want to replace the plastic part that holds the adjustment wheel it takes a 5.5mm socket. Another reason to love Ford engineers!

Sweet!! With the 5.5mm socket to replace the plastic part, and my 10-24 nut, this is a super cheap fix compared to the alternative of replacing the entire piece, and having to take apart the dash!!!

I have a 99 EXP Sport. Heard a popping sound under the dash yesterday as I was shifting into 'R'. My truck only has 52k miles on her. At that moment I realized the same thing everyone on this thread has described...misaligned selector needle!
I used the #10-24 nut fix on mine. S U P E R B idea. Thanks to whomever came up with that one...sorry, as I cannot remember who in the long list of postings?
This site has bailed me out on numerous occasions. The internet is a wonderful thing, and you people that bother to take the time to explain in detail the "how to's" of all of the Exploder quirks, are to be commended!
Cheers, Bikeboy

Yup that was my idea. I'm glad it worked well for you!!

 

[Tavycal]

Power steering pump

Can you direct me to some help on replacing a power steering pump on a 1997 Explorer? Thanks.

 

[bear1959]

Hi guys Thanks

This is great. I love the site so far. I was changing water pumps and alternators in cars in the yard as a teenager. My dad was a big believer in girls knowing how to do things on vehicles and farm equipment too, so I do know how to use tools. Vehicles are different now and a lot harder to work on yourself so when I wanted to know how to do this fix and went searching here on the net, I was glad to see that the answer was there. Sounds like an easy fix. You have given me a fairly detailed approach to this.

 

[davbol]

loose/sloppy cable, found torx screw, where to put it?

also you might wanna check the 2 torx bolts at the end of the shift mech, wayyyyy down towards the bottom of the colum. lay on your back, put your head on the brake pedal, shine a flashlight straight up, and while you lay there looking at a big mess, wiggle the shift lever and you will see the shift cable that attaches to a flat bracket (on top of the colum the 2 bolts that hold the bracket to the rotating tube, come loose making a sloppy shifter and sometimes misalignment of the indicator. i think they are a t-35 maybe

i realize the op is 3yo, but..
i have a 2000 Ranger that's just developed a "sloppy" column shifter - it's not only a bit off in indicator position (slightly "right" of the gear it should point to) but is also difficult to get into park completely.

it's like the indicator itself is correct, showing 1/4 the way towards R when you try to put it in P, even though you've thrown the shifter as far as it will travel - it ACTS as indicated, "only partially in park". and in fact, the truck will roll backwards when in this "partial park, partial reverse" position.

P   R   N   D   2   1
 |   -- where indicator IS
| -- where it used to be/should be

it's a dangerous situation, and i need to be religious about using the parking brake now. it's close enough to park that the ignition isn't locked out, but not close enough to actually park the transmission.

anyway, i just happened to find a large torx screw sitting on the floor a while back, didn't know what it was at the time, but started watching for problems, sooo.... stumbled across this post while googing combinations of ford/shifter/torx words, am wondering if i might have a similar thing.

if that plate is loose, would it cause the type of "slop" described? if so, can anyone give me better instructions to finding this plate on a ranger? is it a similar configuration to explorer? i've definately found a "big mess" down there, like the op referred to, but as yet haven't seen where this screw might have come from.

thanks for any help

 

[Tavycal]

dav, do a search for that problem. There was a thread about your problem, and it was an easy fix. Mine was a cable to the shift selector. You have a diffrent problem.

 

[kenya]

Thanks so much for this thread......... I replaced my cable today with the help from this forum. You guys rock !!

 

[bikeboy]

I am glad that WE have all been able to help, Kenya!!

Keep this site close to the vest. As your Xploder gets older, you will inevitably need it more often.

BIKEBOY