ford fix needed!!!!

larry merlau

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Messages
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Location
Delton, Michigan
any of you mac giver types out there!!! i have a ford explorer that has a ball socket linkage on the steering column to shift the trans.. and it doesnt stay on the ball socket.. have replaced it last year and now its doing it again..the best way to describe this thing is to say its like the ball socket hook up on a pickup cover hydralic lift cylinder.. i need some way of holding this thing on.. its pressed into a flat piece of metal that is part of the steering column.. some way of clamping it and yet get the swivelness it needs??? any ideas it travels in a 1/4 circle of travel.. 1991 automatic.. it doesnt have to be purty just something to hold it so i dont have to raise the hood and shift it back by hand ..
thanks and will greatful to the solution giver...
 
If you can't find a solution for that fix Larry, you can always put an aftermarket floor shifter and bypass the stock version all together. Just thinkin out of the box for ya:dunno::p
 
Ok, Larry - give.

Pics.

I need to see what we're fixin'. :)

What held the ball in the socket in the first place? Was the lip of the socket just swaged/peened over? Or are you missing a hollow nut or a pin or circlip, maybe?

We may be able to come up with a slick way of holding it together with beeswax and JBWeld...
 
I've always lived by the motto "If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy"! :thumb:
 
ok will try to get a pic but its tight gtrs Tim.. and how i have desribed it is pretty accurate..the cabel that connects to this ball piece has a plastic housing that just holds on with clip pressure just like the truck caps lifts..and the ball doestn come out its a pressed fit.. i was thinking i could just knock it off and drill ahole threw the ftal metal and use a bolt and a double nut trrick but the room doesnt allow for drilling.. it was suggested to use a beam clamp but that would restrick the movement i am afraid that i need to get in tot he other gears.. and don, i used to think gm was the truck but i have seen some pretty good fords latly:)

pics yu asked for:
tn_ford pics 001-aro.jpg

tn_ford pics 002-not on.jpg
 
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I THINK I'm getting kinda' a mental picture of what you've got. Lessee if I can describe what I see...

I visualize a flat lever coming out of the steering column. Near the end of that lever is a ball-on-a-stick, with the stick pressed into the flat lever, looking a little like a miniature ball trailer hitch. Am I close so far?

Then... I see the linkage cable that runs down to the transmission. On the end of the cable is a cylindrical housing with a hole in its side. The ball fits through that hole, and is kept there by a spring so it won't pop out.

If that's pretty much what you've got... then which part comes apart? Does the ball-on-a-stick come out of the flat lever, or does the ball pop out of the socket on the cable's end?

If the ball pops out of the socket... you can fix that pretty easily with lightweight steel wire (I like stainless picture-hanging wire). Hook one end of the wire around the ball's stem, leaving about 2" of "tail". Loop the long end of the wire around the socket housing and hook it around the ball's stem the other direction. Bring the loose end of the wire back around to that first tail & twist the two ends together.
 
If the ball pops out of the socket... you can fix that pretty easily with lightweight steel wire (I like stainless picture-hanging wire). Hook one end of the wire around the ball's stem, leaving about 2" of "tail". Loop the long end of the wire around the socket housing and hook it around the ball's stem the other direction. Bring the loose end of the wire back around to that first tail & twist the two ends together.
__________________
-- Tim --

That sound like it may work. But won't the wire wear on the cable & visa versa ?
 
as long as the wire can pivot on the ball stem i think we are i the right path bart it should move together.and i could even lube the ball stem some to help in slippage. and i am not headed to daytona with this thing:)
 
Yep, that' pretty close to the picture I had in my mind. It's a heavier socket than I had pictured, but it's close enough.

I believe the wire looped around it will work - just enough to hook the ball's stem both directions, and maybe crossed behind that socket so it can't go anywhere. Grease the heck out of it before ya wire it on, using red synthetic gun grease or wheel bearing grease. There won't be much pressure against it in any direction - that's all taken up by the ball & stem. The wire will just keep it from popping loose, so you can use really lightweight wire for it. Stainless is definitely the best bet, since I can see so much rust on the ball. You folks must salt the roads over there, huh? :)
 
Sounds like a safety issue to me. Even with an older vehicle there might be a "silent" recall and technical service bulletin. Speaking with a service manager at the local Ford dealership might get it fixed for free. Actually, rots of ruck with that. Our local Ford dealership won't even admit silent recalls or TSBs exist, not even when shown printed proof. It might take a threat to contact the NTSB or Rocco in Chicago.
TSBs and recalls can be found via internet searches. Can take time but they are there.
 
The "silent recalls" you talk about I'm going to guess are what we call Policy repairs. Something the manufacturer knows is a limited problem and will repair at no charge to the customer if the problem arises. Sometimes these are born out of a class action lawsuit (like the current instrument cluster repairs on 2002-5 GM trucks), sometimes at the manufacturer's discretion. I don't know why a dealer wouldn't do the repair without prodding. It makes money for the dealership, at the warranty rate, and has a way of making a customer very happy. I had a situation just this week on a ck engine light that turned out to be a bad head. My tech promptly notified me the problem and that the repair line had already been changed to warranty. Now this attitude probably starts at the top of the dealership and runs down hill so that techs KNOW how they are to handle a problem. So if mgt. wants to overlook these things, the techs they hire will do so. But in the long run, I don't see that that type of attitude toward your customers is a good one for the long run. Does it cost the tech and the adviser (and dealership for that matter) a little money on that repair? Yes, (assuming the customer would pay for the repair) but what stands to be gained in the long run greatly outweighs a couple dollars in the pocket now. JMHO Jim.
 
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