2002 expidition steering column transmission selector issue

I dont have a manual for this vehicle yet. The transmission selector drops from park into reverse without having to pull it torward you. Is this fixable on the column or do I need to order a replacement used column?

Reply to
djdave
Loading thread data ...

No one here has experience with this?

This vehicle takes anywhere from 4 to 20 trips a day, if that helps. It has 119k >I dont have a manual for this vehicle yet.

Reply to
djdave

Your best bet after looking at the diagram on PTS, is to just replace the column. Rebuilding the gearshift lever would require dissassembly of half the column and then reassembly. In the disassembly instructions you get to step 18 before you get to the shift tube. The next 6 steps cover the disassembly of the shift tube. That is where the parts will be that need replaced.

It will probably be more time efficient and cost effective to just replace the column. Especially with as busy as this truck is.

Ford Tech

Reply to
Ford Tech

Thanx for the info..

I ordered a replacement USED column, it came in today, but had no key. After taking a good look at it, it looks like I can take the whole shift assy. off of the purchased column and transfer it to the one in the car. I expect to have to remove the column from the car to do it.

I dont want any surprises so if anyone has some tips/tricks to this, feel free to chime in.

Was just plann>

Reply to
djdave

There is a solenoid that is fired by a switch on the brake pedal. The linkage on the solenoid releases a lock on the shifter. By the description you give on what this vehicle is used for, my guess is that the switch has been shorted so the safety lock out linkage is ineffective, or the lock out pawl has been sheered off through rampant abuse.

In either case, I am pretty sure it can be repaired without replacing the entire steering column.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Or a quicker thing would be to just swap out the lock cylinder from the old column to the new. Only thing you have to do to get that done is pull the plastic shroud off (not the steering wheel), and push the release with a small drill bit (small hole below lock cylinder about 2/3 the way down the cylinder), and poof it pops out. Then you dont have to re-key or anything, and it will take a fraction of the time.

Reply to
Ford Tech

Lock cyl. wont come out without the key turned to RUN. the used column I got has no key. So its either drill, or pound it out.. going to just swap the shift tube and pawls.

Reply to
djdave

The solenoid is actually working. Its the fact that the rest of the gears are accessible im worried about a drive to reverse at speed. I'm going to switch the shift tube and linkage from the newer replacement to my OEM. thanx

Reply to
djdave

Ok, no key with new column does make it hard to swap that out.. LOL I just thought I might save you a bit of work, but since you dont have all the required parts to do that, sounds like the swapping of the other parts is pretty much required.. LOL

Reply to
Ford Tech

You need to get your problems straight.

In the first post, you said the shifter drops from Park to Reverse without the need to depress the brake pedal. Now youa re saying the shifter can go from Drive to Reverse at speed.

These are two different problems. There's a chance of a relationship between them because they both involve the shifter, but one is a serious problem that ought ot be fixed the other is a problem that arises from years of abuse, and a small amount of care can prevent the trouble from occuring.

There are serious safety issues with a vehicle that can go from P to R without activating any kind of lock-out. This is a project worth going after.

While it could be very inconvenient to shift from D to R while driving down the street, or freeway, there is scant mechanisms to prevent this entirely. All one need to make the shift mormally is pull up on the shift lever while moving it. A test of the linkage is to hold the shift lever down while moving it to see if it stops moving when you go from D to N.

You say the solenoid is working, I assume you are saying that you can hear it firing.

Have you ever seen the inside of a luxury car? Typically these cars have a series of gates that the shifter must pass through to change from one gear to another. The driver manuvers the shift lever sideways to get from one position to the next. Typically, the movement from D to N is a straight line, no sideways movement is needed, and from R to D is a movement that is assisted by a spring, so the driver gets the feel of a straight pull. The pull out of, and push into, P is the most complex of the gates. This is an attempt to protect Park from an inadvertant selection that can put the vehicle into motion, or rip the transmission right out of the car without notice -- depending on what other stuff is going on when the lever is moved.

Your truck has the same gates, but they are hidden from view. You negotiate the gates by pulling the shifter lever towards the steering wheel. Most of us are careful -- you sound like you go to great pains to be careful -- when we operate a vehicle. We pull the lever while depressing the brake pedal. We make sure the vehicle is at a full stop before we attempt to change direction -- forward or reverse, not left or right -- and we select the lever position that gives us the gear we want.

You have the misfortune to work behind a bunch of creatons that don't care about the physical well being of a motor vehicle. Those people appear to me to have rammed and crammed the shift lever with ruthless abandon, and now you want to fix the results. I'm not clear on why you want to do this, or why the city does not simply take the truck to the local service department for repair because it seems to me that there is a strong argument that the vehicle presents a huge liability for the city. Indeed, I can't help but wonder what liabilities YOU might be presenting by servicing something that you may not be qualified to fix. (Sure, you and I both know that you could do this job on your own truck. But, if it happened to come to a lawsuit against the city, I'm not sure the city could defend itself from your repairs that went awry.)

Now, if your job is to maintain the city fleet, then by all means, jump in. But, if you are a driver that wants his rig to be right, my advice is to make sure you are not creating a liability nightmare for your department.

I forgot, sorry, I think you said ambulance. Ambulance fleets are frequently private companies, not city operations. I still think there are liability issues here for whomever is responsible -- the city or the fleet owner. I admire your desire to make this right, but if you share the truck with other crews and one of them walks away from the truck, and it rolls away from them, they are sure to say, "shit, I thought Joe fixed that problem." In which case, the other guy's lawyer is sure to ask, "Joe?" Surely you can connect the dots from there.

Good luck.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Actually, I did not say without the need to depress the brake pedal, I said quote "The transmission selector drops from park into reverse without having to pull it torward you." endquote

I never stated I had a problem with the brake pedal. Now that that's cleared up...

As for all the other crap your spewing, the only reason I asked here was because I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

Do not assume I am an ambulance driver, I am not. I am certified to repair all of the vehicles in my fleet. This repair is within my scope. Since your good at changing/editing my post to suit you (never said without the need to depress the brake pedal) I'd better remind you, I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

The vehicle is due for Emissions and PA State Inspection next month, I bring any vehicles due next month to do a saftey check, so I dont have any surprises when its sticker day... and yes I am the licenced PA inspection and emissions mechanic.

It's a shame you did all of that typing about law and such, I could have avoided all of that if I just added ... I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

Art Franklin

Reply to
djdave

I'm glad you are the fleet mechanic. The fleet mechanic is the person that should be doing this. It wasn't clear what your role was, so I was covering a base. Please do not be offended.

Back to the gate analogy, the pull-action of the shift lever mimics the moving of the lever to the side so it aligns with the next gate. Your shift gates are messed up. I recently had a problem with my '95 Bronco, and while the steering column was dropped to get to the trouble spot, I could see the gates. I'm not clear on this, but I don't think the gates can be serviced without dropping the column. Your first description did not read like a gate problem to me.

I was pretty sure you do not need to replace the steering column to fix this, but now I think you are on the right track.

Don't worry about my typing, I'm pretty good at it.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Actually, I did not say without the need to depress the brake pedal, I said quote "The transmission selector drops from park into reverse without having to pull it torward you." endquote

I never stated I had a problem with the brake pedal. Now that that's cleared up...

As for all the other crap your spewing, the only reason I asked here was because I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

Do not assume I am an ambulance driver, I am not. I am certified to repair all of the vehicles in my fleet. This repair is within my scope. Since your good at changing/editing my post to suit you (never said without the need to depress the brake pedal) I'd better remind you, I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

The vehicle is due for Emissions and PA State Inspection next month, I bring any vehicles due next month to do a saftey check, so I dont have any surprises when its sticker day... and yes I am the licenced PA inspection and emissions mechanic.

It's a shame you did all of that typing about law and such, I could have avoided all of that if I just added ... I do not YET have a service manual for this vehicle.

Art Franklin

Reply to
djdave

I just wanted to thank you for your input in this matter. I changed the shift tube and lockout solenoid today without the service manual and all went great. I was able to do it without removing the column totally. Thanx Again Ford Tech

D.C. Scrant>

Reply to
djdave

Ah, no problem.. Thats what I am here for.. LOL If at first I dont confuse ya, it can only help ya.. LOL

Reply to
Ford Tech

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.