Ok after a long night here is the recap complete with photos!

The main objective tonight was to replace the stock shifter rod with the one supplied in the Winters floor shifter conversion. In the process of doing that I also got to replace the crap stock trans pan with a shiny one that has a drain plug ($33 from Rockauto.com) Here is a shot of the pans side by side:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268348052/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268348052/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

The stock magnet fits perfectly around the drain plug on the new pan

Here is where we start getting involved with the shifter linkage removal/install. I couldn't find any real info about this on the internet, but by randomly searching youtube I found a couple Spanish speaking guys who made a video on tearing an E4OD apart for fun without a book. In that video I saw that the linkage was exposed once the pan was dropped so I decided to try and tackle this semi-blindly. Here is what you see upon dropping the pan.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268348756/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268348756/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

I cannot stress enough how thankful I was in taking these pictures as I went. I'll get to that in a minute. First thing is to pull the stock linkage and MLPS sensor off the outside end of the rod.

Next you want to grab a small wrench to put on the rod where the MLPS sensor was and a large box wrench, I believe it was 3/4 to pop that nut on the inside end of the rod off. It doesn't wanna come off easily. Once that nut is off, you can pop the linkage on this end off as well, same as outer linkage. You'll no doubt see and feel the tension, that is supplied by the spring/bar at the top of the linkage, bolted to the transmission. It has a roller at the end that fits into grooves on the other end of the inner linkage. this is what gives you the feel of each gear as you shift the linkage and keeps it in place. It can easily be pushed up with your fingers so don't worry there.

Pay attention to how everything is set-up as well. The rod that is above the shifter arm in this picture goes towards the back and can/will fall out if you aren't paying attention. I was really upset but it seemed to jsut be sitting in that hole. And once I pushed it in I felt it kinda slide into space. Crisis averted.

The lower part of the inner linkage there with the rod sticking off just sits in between 2 washers on linkage there on the important transmission part pictured. Note you can freely move that stacked washer looking rod in and out but it will squirt transmission fluid at you.

The final issue you need to overcome, (this took me a few minutes) is to pull a pin out of the retaining hole. Look on the gasket mating surface, the little indent there at the rod. I used a tiny allen wrench. The pin just slides in and out.

That about covers the dis-assembly, it is very basic once your looking at it. Here's a shot of the old rod next to the new rod. Looks like they could've made this easier by adapting the linkage to the stock rod....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268350134/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268350134/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here's a shot of the stock linkage vs the new Winters linkage.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6267825949/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6267825949/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

As you put the pan back on after swapping the rod. Make sure you leave these two bolts out so you can mount this bracket on the corner.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268349956/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268349956/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

You may notice my zipties hanging there. I use them to hold gasket in place then I cut them once I have a few bolts in. Make sure you tie them inside out so the smooth side is against the gasket, otherwise you risk tearing the gasket when you pull them out.

I ran into an issue here, as mentioned in my post above, where I realized I wouldn't be able to mount the shifter cable with my exhaust in its current state. SO I opted to temporarily make the new linkage bolt up to the old cable to let me drive it till the shop can modify my Y-pipe.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6267825605/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6267825605/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here's a final shot for the night, showing the new transmission pan in place with its shiny drainplug.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268350398/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6268350398/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

I got the truck back together and drivable, but I'll have to wait for the exhaust to finally hook up the floor shifter.

 

are you sure thats tranny fluid in that pan or is it blood from the busted knuckles lol

 

Actually I managed to do all this without even scraping a knuckle. That tells me I wasn't working hard enough

All I hand on hand to fill the trans back up was Dextron VI I hope that won't hurt the trans any more. Sadly I just swapped the trans fluid and filter about 3 months ago Def see a trans replacement/rebuild in my future.

 

back brakes made the most difference in pedal feel for me. Redid the hardware in the rear, bled and filled with new fluid, my Bronco was braking like a brand new F150.
But then I changed my front pads to stupid Duralast (why wont i learn) and now braking feels good still, but nowhere near as tight as it use to.

 

Thanks for the info ErrorS. Ill plan on redoing the rear brakes here shortly.

 

Edge, take a lot of pictures, i'll be doing mine soon (front and rear) and would love some detailed info, i have never tackled that project.

 

Ok Encho will do. Im gonna go price parts today.

 

I just got a deal on some HVAC vents off Ebay. I got a pair for $10. Now I can replace a couple that are broke in my truck before Winter sets in!

I did price brake parts for the rear. To do everything (as my luck is awful with finding the POs work) including new drums and wheel cylinders, it'll run me about 150, maybe less if my buddy is working. Not a bad deal.

 

not a bad deal at all

 

Are they just stock vents? mine are busted but I'm waiting until I can find something better for my ducting.

and yeah, $150 for rear brakes is nice but you probably don't need drums.. actually, unless yours are shot and unless you're buying Ford Factory drums, I wouldn't do it. The one item that holds up especially well in Ford trucks are brake parts, especially the drums and rotors.

I wont buy rotors or drums unless they're Motorcraft or super-highend parts from some magical brand I don't know about yet.

 

Yeah $60 a drum for Brand "x" doesn't sound good to me. But I did get a price on rear brake parts. For the Shoes, new wheel cylinders and new hardware, it'll run me right at about 40 for cheapo pads and about 55 for the "quiet" ones.

O and the vents are just stock replacements. Not sure what the PO did with them but they are all jacked up.

 

Brett....I'm speechless....You have an AMAZING project going for ya!


Btw-I noticed your shifter bears my name....Sidewinder....

 

Thanks Wes!

The shifter is awesome, I just wish I could finish hooking it up. I'll be installing a new MLPS today. One step closer. Currently I have to hold the column shifter all the way up foir it to start, and even then its in reverse, so I pop it in Nuetral and my reverse lights are on I've tried adjusting it but no luck, the new one was only $32 tho.

 

Ok got a good amount of work done today. My original plan was just to replace the MLPS and put some seafoam through the booster line.

I did get to run the seafoam through the booster line, not much smoke, but I still feel that it was worth it. While I as letting the truck idle and burn through all the seafoam I was walking around checking the bulbs as I knew I had to replace a cargo light on the rear. I noticed I had a turn signal light out up front. So that became my new priority as I don't want a ticket over a $2 light bulb. When I pulled the socket out to check the bulb I saw that it was brand new practically. I switched the bulb around to see if it was in backwards. No change. So...naturally I assumed the socket was bad.

New socket and the light bulb in question:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307210256/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307210256/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

The old socket was covered in grime and gunk, the wires were falling apart it felt. So I get the new socket wired up quick and easy. Go to check the bulb again. Still no turn signal. I had a park light but no flashing. I double checked my wiring and thought that the wiring did look bad and the previous owner said he did some electrical work on the truck when I bought it So I figured I better check to make sure that the signal wire was constant from the switch. Into the dash I go!

You need to remove the headlight **** in order to pull the cluster. you have to lift the dark tab you see in this picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307212464/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307212464/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

I fashioned this tool to do the job:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306691177/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306691177/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Pull up on the tab and pull the **** off at the same time.

Does anyone know what the round object pictured here is?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307213364/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307213364/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Backside of picture above:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306692275/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306692275/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here's a few pictures I took of the dash with the trim removed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307215008/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307215008/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307214188/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6307214188/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Notice that you have to remove the ignition cylinder to take the column cover off. No problem as I needed to replace mine as I wanted to make sure only I had keys. Plus you could pull the old key out with the truck still running...

The other item in the picture with the round mystery plug (which is a magnet btw) used to be a toggle switch. naturally I didn't want this in my truck so I started pulling the wires and found out that he had at some time wired in washer nozzles with led lights in them. Look at the mess he had going everywhere just for 2 LEDS!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306693767/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6306693767/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

After ripping all that junk out I carefully pulled the clip off the turn signal switch so I could check continuity between the wire from switch to socket....it was good....

I really hit a mental wall right then, what more could it be? And as if on cue, the clouds parted and the sun came out, I heard Morgan Freeman's voice "Remember the previous owner was a tool". And suddenly it clicked, my heart dropped and I ran over to check the bulb...he had the wrong damn bulb in the socket I can't believe I overlooked that....

So I did get a few things done today. all turn signals work properly now. The cargo lights are replaced. The truck got seafoamed, I got a new ignition with keys, and I removed some crap wiring.

I plan to get to the MLPS switch sometime this week hopefully and maybe I'll go ahead and order some blue LEDs to swap the cluster over while I have the panel off.

 

Brett, the PO of Michelle was a tool-ish jackass.....

Try having a piece of 12-14g wire made into a "Bushing" for the pedal assembly shaft...

Defiantly a must fix thing in the near future..

I'm just glad you got that mess of wiring all straightened out