1985 automatic shifter
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1985 automatic shifter
Hey all, this is my first post. Im new to the truck world as this is also my first automobile and truck! 
So now down to business. The spring that connects the automatic gear shifter button to the clip holding the shifter arm in gear has broken so now to get it from parked to drive/ reverse and vice versa i have to reach under the assembly and manual press the clip. Is there a way i could fix the spring/ get a new spring or do i have to buy a whole new shifter assembly? Thanks everyone in advanced!
So now down to business. The spring that connects the automatic gear shifter button to the clip holding the shifter arm in gear has broken so now to get it from parked to drive/ reverse and vice versa i have to reach under the assembly and manual press the clip. Is there a way i could fix the spring/ get a new spring or do i have to buy a whole new shifter assembly? Thanks everyone in advanced!
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Smithfield N.C.
Welcome to the group. I couldn't find anything in the LMC catalog that might help you for the part. Next I would call your local stealership and see if they have an exploded diagram of the shifter parts. If they do they can print you a copy of the page easily. Or have you checked the local junkyard for the shifter assembly? Just a starting point to try to help.
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Alright goin to pull a part tomorrow or sunday to grab some other things amongst it. Could you give me a somewhat guided detail on how to fix it? also, is there a way so icould light up the gear indicator to know at night how far back i need to go for reverse/ drive/ over drive ect. or do i just need to get a seconday light source that i can turn on when needed?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4,907
Likes: 39
From: suburban atlanta
There should be a light, connected to the instrument panel light circuit, that is mounted inside the shift lever 'box'. I haven't looked in the shop manual to see what you are talking about being broken, but you should be able to take the cover off with, I think, the four screws at the corners, and slide the cover up the shift lever for access and inspection. I bet that is how the bulb is replaced, also.
tom
tom
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 265
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From: Cleveland
One piece of advice: if your '85 has a floor shift like my '86, be veerrry careful with any linkage bushings; they are not available through Ford any more. Some autozones carry a package of miscellaneous bushings that come close, but I'm still not 100% satisfied with them. Tomw. is correct, there is a small bulb under the plastic cover of the floor shift that illuminates the shift selections. It often fails, my daughter was teased by friends all thru college because she kept a flashlight in the '86 for night shifting.
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One piece of advice: if your '85 has a floor shift like my '86, be veerrry careful with any linkage bushings; they are not available through Ford any more. Some autozones carry a package of miscellaneous bushings that come close, but I'm still not 100% satisfied with them. Tomw. is correct, there is a small bulb under the plastic cover of the floor shift that illuminates the shift selections. It often fails, my daughter was teased by friends all thru college because she kept a flashlight in the '86 for night shifting.
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Post Fiend
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From: McKenzie River
The beauty of pick and pulls is that you can gain knowledge about how to disassemble yours on another vehicle that it does not matter if you screw up.........go slow, and remember your steps.......Its been MANY years since I did one on a Ranger with a auto trans. (I refuse to personally own a Ranger with a auto trans.) but it seemed like a easy straight forward job.
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 265
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From: Cleveland
I haven't come up with a fool proof way to disassemble the linkage points other than leverage on nearby surfaces, but I have discovered a "C" clamp combined with a socket is helpful to reassemble them. My best advice is don't get frustrated and cut the bushings because they are resisting. Good luck.
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alright guys, well like i said ill be goin to the pull a part on sunday as i will be going out of town tomorrow and wont get back till 3am sunday morning (*&^% band scheduling) so once i get some shut eye ill go grab it along with a radiator, a glove compartment door (mines stuck), and the rest of the tubing to my exhast pipe ( it stops half way so its REALLY loud in the cab) averaging to about 50 some odd dollars+ the price of the floor shifter
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 265
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From: Cleveland
Don't mean to hector you, but if that radiator you're seeking has transmission cooler lines running in and out of it, I found it's easier to cut the existing steel lines then patch them with hose and clamps than trying to unscrew the lines from the fragile radiator: they are usually rusted in permanently. Just make sure you tell the parts store guy you're running tranny fluid through the hose you're buying: it rots regular hose.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: suburban atlanta
To add to breakdowns' comment on trans cooler lines: Get a small tubing cutter, and use that if you cut the lines so you don't have kerf left in the line, and the tube doesn't distort. The guys at the AAMCO my dad ran almost always cut the lines and used fuel line and two clamps on each end. The fittings were almost always terrible for access and corroded in place. I can't imagine what people in the NE had to work with, as this was in Boulder, CO, where it snowed and it melted within a day or so, and was relatively salt free.
tom
tom
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