The explorer shifter arm and cable come at the transmission from the front
If you are going to use any other shifter, for a AOD-E or 4r70w (same thing) then you will most likely have to change out the shift arm in the transmission also, like I did
all aftermarket AOD-E and 4r70w shifters have the cable approach from the rear of the transmission
Explorer = shift arm goes up
Mustang = shift arm goes down
they are different lengths, which determines how much cable travel is needed to reach the next detent
Trying to use ythe 96 floor shifter with the mustang cable and the explorer shift arm was impossible
the shifter "throw" was different then the column mount explorer... so there was no way to reach both P and 1 (so if I adjusted to reach P then I could not get into 1st gear ever) also the detent would never line up.
So I could have added some length to the explorer shift arm and kept fussing with it, or.......get the stang parts and be done with it!
Like Jeff (SVO) I like using OEM parts, easy and cheap to replace
My entire shifter, floor shifter, cable, trans bracket, and shift arm are ALL from a 96 Mustang... it works perfect OD button included
Most aftermarket AOD-E floor shifters come with a shift arm extension that is designed to go over the stock mustang shifter arm... I figured why mess with all this when factory parts are so easy to get for so cheap? no adjustments required