Gear Shift Broke Off in Hands!!!

[eduatexplore]

hi rfardonk,
1) As Pete stated, you do not need to remove the airbag, nor the column. In order to have access to make the job, You just need to remove the plastic covers (unscrewing up and down) and pulling out the rubber that surrounds the shiftleverage itself (now hunging) and where the key entry.
2) If you bought the part suggested, youll receive one bracket that makes the job.
Note: A Little mirrow ( any woman arround you will have one! ) will be very handy to deal with unfitting the old bracket, and fitting the new one, with the new part.
3) the top micro-switch has the function of releasing the vehicle's ignition key after turning off the engine. So, Verify the ignition key in and out functioning after replacing the main part.
If it doesnt make the right contact, you still will be able to turn on/off the engine, but not to pull out the ignition vehicle key, since the ignition key cillinder will not make the complete turn to the "off" position.
You will need a very small electrician plier and a fine screwdriver to try to twist/streighten the little metal. To figure it out which is the right position the little metal must have, taking a look to the bottom micro-switch might serve you as a guide( assuming that it is not also out of work..). Also, you can use the screwdriver to play with the little metal, forcing it/twisting/streighten it, to make contact while trying to turn the ignition key to off position and pulling out the ignition key, will help you to understand the functioning and the position that the little metal must have.
.
.
Take your time, and it will work around.

 

[rfardonk]

Here's to whom don't follow Pete's instructions!!!

Once you get your Dorman 905-104 part... to my front door for $45.00...
Make sure you follow EVERY SINGLE step!!!

Well, I didnt...and IT COST ME !!!!
I was all exicted that i received the part so i decided to start working on it.
Just when i figured out that i didnt had a Dremel.... but... How difficult can it
be to remove the metal seal that hold the old part in place..? I ask myself...

Well i tried to remove it using a screwdriver.....
And here is what happened!!! I broke the lever handle that attaches to the coupler!!! STUPID of me!!! all i needed to do was to buy a freakin dremel....

Well it cost me $300 for an old steering column, $50 for the dremel and i was able to remove the broken lever and place it on my steering column in less than 10 minutes!!!!

SO... if you are new to this problem and reading this reply..... BUY THE DREMEL!!!!!! I ended up spending $400 for something that could be fixed for $100 ($50 for the dorman 905-104 and $50 for the dremel)

Sorry Pete, I should had follow your instructions!!!!

By the way... does anyone know if that part is available too???
I tried to insert a picture of it ...but i just didnt know how to....
At the yunk yard they told me that part is often asked for too....
So i was wondering....making a complete package ...and sell it
to all others having a similar problem...LOL

 

[Explorer Pete]

rfardonk, It sucks when you make a job harder then it should be, but glad you fixed it. Not sure of the part you are refering to, if you take a picture of it and download it to your computer, put it on your desktop, then you add it using the ( add attachment ), and then hit on the ( browse ), you can go to your desktop and add the picture. This should add it to your post. This is the way I self learned ( this 63 year old man ), how to use this computer. maybe not the fastest or easy way, but it worked. would like to see the part you are talking about. Pete

 

[rfardonk]

A simple part that cost lots of money!!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150350486764590&l=ae6fbfbba4

Can't find the Add Attachment ...so I went the hard way....Once Again...lol

 

[rfardonk]

I just figured out that im not allowed to post attachments....LOL ....

 

[BustedKnuckles24]

Holy Cow! That was easier than it looked!

Guys, thanks a bunch for the tips! A friend's 2002 gear shifter broke and he needed it fixed ASAP. I took the Dorman part number around, and Advance Auto managed to get the part next day in my hands for $56.00!!

I didn't need to pull the steering wheel, although I did remove the airbag for safety reasons. Good thing, too. I couldn't find pull holes on this wheel to use a standard puller.

However, I did need to 'tweak' the end of the gear shift lever with my Dremel to get it to work smoothly with the indention plate. The Dorman part is visibly beefier than the Ford original, and I believe it relocated the gear shift lever slightly towards the steering wheel. I had to strongly manipulate it to get it out of park, and it refused to drop all the way to first gear. It just didn't have enough clearance to get around the indent plate at Park or 1st gear. By shaving some metal off the end of the gear shift lever, it now works smoothly through all the gears.

Again, thanks guys. This was a huge help!!!

 

[chillywillyb]

hey just wanted to thank all the people who posted the solutions to this problem. my girlfriend got into her car to goto work and the gearshifter broke in her hand. talk about a pain in the butt. and then i freaked out too at the price of replacing the whole steering column. its a shame ford wont offer a recall on this problem bc obviously it is a common problem. im glad i could get the replacement part for so cheap. going to get the part now again thanx guys.

 

[incubitabus]

Hey guys. Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but after reading the whole thread, I am a bit foggy on one of the details: I see a lot of places where people say that they had to use a Dremel to get the old cylinder out, and I think I'm missing how to get it out.

Is one of these arrows the piece that is holding the cylinder in place?

Thanks!

 

[BustedKnuckles24]

incubitabus, the green arrow is pointing to a retainer ring that holds the cylinder to the shift adapter. Use the dremel and a screwdriver to pop that loose to release the cylinder. The new piece uses a c-clip (e-clip?) as a retainer. Much easier to replace. Just be careful not to do too much damage to the shift adapter. You need to re-use it.

 

[Explorer Pete]

incubitabus, at the tip of the green arrow is where you need to use the dremel to cut the shaft, then you use an edge to pry off the keeper ring to free up the ring paw, this is used with the new dorman part. pre fit the ring paw on the dorman part to make sure you can get the spring clip in place without any problem. Pete

 

[incubitabus]

Thanks, guys. The Dorman replacement arrives on Tuesday, and I'll do the replacement then. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[incubitabus]

So the part arrived late in the day today. I managed to get the old part out (the dremel proved useful, as suggested). After getting it in, I attempted to switch gears, but the arm didn't clear the guide, so I took the dremel to it, too, much like NewTek did on his, to cut out some clearance.

After remounting, I was close - I had park, reverse, neutral and drive, but not first or second gear, so I went to take the lever back out, only to have the snap ring pop off the end of the barrel! I'm looking at having to modify the replacement part with the dremel (tomorrow, since I needed to recharge it) to extend the groove for the snap ring far enough for it to drop in place when I remount the part.

Day 2, and the Dremel is proving to be invaluable.

 

[Marcus86]

Dead thread bump... Mine broke off tonight while trying to get home. Managed to get underneath and get it into drive but not a fan of crawling under my car while the E-brake is on and hoping it doesn't run me over once I push it into gear.

Anyway someone mentioned shifting by hand in the actual column. Could anyone give an explanation as to how I actually do that?!?! And any new tips on the dorman replacement
part I just ordered would be appreciated.

Thanks guys... I don't post much but always search here first when it comes to my 2002 Ford Exploder-POS Edition!

 

[Explorer Pete]

shifter broke off

Marcus86: If you remove the top and bottom covers of the steering wheel, you will see the part that broke. To be able to shift the truck with out going under, you will see a triangle shape silver part that is hooked to the broken part. I used a small pair of vise grips and clamped on to the bolt so that I could shift, you will move the grip forward and back like a joystick to shift gears. If you need more info, look back in this site, a lot of others have added info as to what they have found and what they have done to fix their truck. I don't have my truck anymore, but I will give any help, just ask. Pete

 

[Explorer Pete]

shifter broke

Marcus86: just an added bit, go to page 6, and look at post # 116, it will lead you in the direction you are looking for. Pete

 

[Jugomez94]

Explorer Pete!

So looking through these it looks like your the main guy that can help me woth my broken shift, this happened to me earlier today and was wondering if you can help me through it and give me a price range on how much it would cost to fix if you could give me an email at jugomez95@yahoo.com so I could send you a picture that would be just great thank you

 

[NurseGirl]

My gear shifter just broke off, Can anyone please walk me through the process of replacing this?

 

[Explorer Pete]

shifter broke

Jugomez94 and NurseGirl, it has been a long time since I worked on my explorer. I don't have the truck anymore, traded it in for another Ford product. The best I can say is go back to page #6, look at post #116, you may need to back track further to find the direction for repair. Right now I don't have the time to look back for the right place to let you know where to start. Just go back and find the place to help you get info to start. Good luck Pete

 

[livineazy24]

Easy Fix

Hopefully, this helps if it's sold in your area but Doorman Engineering makes this part so you don't have to buy the entire steering column and they sell through Pep Boys and other auto pay stores. To see it on their site go here: http://www.dormanguide.com/column-shift-repair.html
They also have a link to their You Tube repair video on the left side of the page above. This is also used on the Mountaineers. It's around $54 special order.
Hope this helps.

 

[frisbeeguy]

Thank you all once again for making it possible to cling to my "shade tree mechanic" dream!
Repaired the 2002 after this happened to my son.
I was able to disassemble the column shroud & get in gear to get him home the night it happened.
After removing both battery terminals, just carefully cut the locking ring. Don't worry about cutting into the soft metal of the old shaft when you cut, just avoid cutting into the adapter.
There was no need to remove the steering wheel or airbag.
It took a bit over an hour.
Many thanks again for all the knowledge shared here.