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'95 Taurus, column shift linkage/cable

I have a 95 Taurus GL, auto with column shift. About a year ago, it didn't seem to want to properly lock in Park and was also indicating slightly different positions based on the PRNDL display. I adjusted the cable at the transmission and everything seemed fine. Now, I'm at the 'end' of this adjustment option and the Park position according to the indicator is actually Reverse (of course meaning no park). This unfortunately was discovered after an untattended vehicle finding a tree :)

Everything seems in order at the transmission end of things and there's no appreciable free play in the cable. I'm leaning towards the problem being somewhere between the cable end inside the car and the gear shift assembly. If I remove the lower dashboard section, seems to be 4 torx screws, would I be able to inspect this connection more easily? I've tried the upside down under the dash view and only ended up with a sore head. The vehicle only has about 100,000 miles on it so I find it hard to believe that the assembly in the column is worn out.

Anyone have a picture or a link to one of this column assembly?

Thanks for any advise offered.

Gary

Reply to
gerdman
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Yes, you can get a (pretty good) view of the cable and related linkage if you remove the panel. You'll still have to bring out your inner contortionist though. The cable sheath clips into a bracket on the lower end steering column. Make sure the bracket is tight and the cable is firmly clipped into place. The cable itself attaches to a shaft that runs the length of the column up to the shift lever. The shaft is held in place by 2 "clamps". (I can't recall their proper name, U shaped castings with a bolt through either end). It's not uncommon for the bolts in the lower "clamp" to work loose and cause play in the shift linkage. The upper "clamp" eventually works loose due to the play in the shaft. Don't just tighten the bolts, they WILL work loose again. Put some blue Loctite on the threads of all 4 bolts, then reinstall them. To access the bolts, you will have to lower the column. Just remove the 4 nuts holding it to the dashboard. (Disconnect the cable to the shift indicator!! ) This should allow the column to drop enough to access the bolts on the shift tube "clamps". IIRC, they're Torx heads one step smaller than the bolts on the knee bolster (panel under the column).

Hope this helps, Tom

Reply to
Tom Adkins

Saddles.

Rob

It's not uncommon for the bolts in the lower "clamp" to

Reply to
trainfan1

Thanks Rob. The U shaped "clamps" ARE saddles. I couldn't pull that word out of my feeble brain with a back hoe when I was posting the original message. Thanks for the back up! Much appreciated.

Reply to
Tom Adkins

Thanks guys!

It was the two bolts holding the bracket to the bottom of the shaft that were very loose. After tightening them and checking the shift function it seemed perfect so I didn't bother checking the saddle bolts. Can't believe I tolerated it so long :)

Thanks again,

Gary

Reply to
gerdman

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