MartyII
New Member
- Joined
- July 23, 2015
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Baltimore, MD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 95 Explorer
Hmmm. What now?
Hello folks
Went grocery shopping last Sunday morning, came home and parked my 95 Explorer 4.0 and automatic trans. All was fine. Tried to leave about an hour later and had no reverse. Worked my way around the yard and got on the road only to realize I only had first gear. Called a traveling mechanic to look at my transmission and he gave me good news. Trans is fine. Electric shift controller on the side of the trans was bad. Had one of those sitting around so he swapped it out. All should be good. Except... Now the shifter will not shift. It will move into reverse position but won't go any further. The mechanic dropped the steering column, looked around and said I need a new steering column shift tube assembly. He would pick one up and be back the next day. That would have been Wednesday. Have not seen nor heard from him since. So this morning I decided to finish the job. I have another 95 Explorer in the back yard for parts. Went out this morning and ran that shifter through all the positions. It felt fine and much smoother than the one on the truck I am driving. Great. Dropped the column and pulled the shift tube assembly. Since I pulled the entire assembly, in one piece, except the shift lever itself, I didn't have to mess with the inner/outer tube independently. I just swapped it as a single unit, It looks brand new. Bushings are good. Previous owner must have replaced it. Installed it into the drivable truck and it's doing the same thing. Must be a bad cable. Disconnected the cable from the shifter. Still no go. Damn. So I am sitting there just playing with the shifter and daydreaming about what it could be and lo and behold, it frees up and feels great. WTH? So it shifted for a while, feeling good and smooth and then it locked back up. Damn thing hasn't moved past reverse since. It comes out of the brake lock position ok, just won't go past reverse position. I can not see a reason for this, though there obviously is one. Any ideas folks? What am I missing?
PS. The tube that wouldn't shift and started all this mess looks like it is OK too. I am going out now to drop it in the junk truck to see if it works. I expect it will.
Thank you in advance,
Marty
Hello folks
Went grocery shopping last Sunday morning, came home and parked my 95 Explorer 4.0 and automatic trans. All was fine. Tried to leave about an hour later and had no reverse. Worked my way around the yard and got on the road only to realize I only had first gear. Called a traveling mechanic to look at my transmission and he gave me good news. Trans is fine. Electric shift controller on the side of the trans was bad. Had one of those sitting around so he swapped it out. All should be good. Except... Now the shifter will not shift. It will move into reverse position but won't go any further. The mechanic dropped the steering column, looked around and said I need a new steering column shift tube assembly. He would pick one up and be back the next day. That would have been Wednesday. Have not seen nor heard from him since. So this morning I decided to finish the job. I have another 95 Explorer in the back yard for parts. Went out this morning and ran that shifter through all the positions. It felt fine and much smoother than the one on the truck I am driving. Great. Dropped the column and pulled the shift tube assembly. Since I pulled the entire assembly, in one piece, except the shift lever itself, I didn't have to mess with the inner/outer tube independently. I just swapped it as a single unit, It looks brand new. Bushings are good. Previous owner must have replaced it. Installed it into the drivable truck and it's doing the same thing. Must be a bad cable. Disconnected the cable from the shifter. Still no go. Damn. So I am sitting there just playing with the shifter and daydreaming about what it could be and lo and behold, it frees up and feels great. WTH? So it shifted for a while, feeling good and smooth and then it locked back up. Damn thing hasn't moved past reverse since. It comes out of the brake lock position ok, just won't go past reverse position. I can not see a reason for this, though there obviously is one. Any ideas folks? What am I missing?
PS. The tube that wouldn't shift and started all this mess looks like it is OK too. I am going out now to drop it in the junk truck to see if it works. I expect it will.
Thank you in advance,
Marty
