I still have the linkage bar to go from the lever to transfer case.

 

just make one the right size. it doesnt look special. and I doubt you could get that at a dealer. junk yard maybe but its been my experience that these trucks seldom stay in a junkyard very long if at all. ive never seen a diesel powered 4x4 in a junkyard EVER. looking at the pics above, it seems like if you took a piece of 1/2" copper pipe and took a BFHammer and smashed the ends flat and drilled a couple holes youd be all set? if youve got money to spend foolishly a couple small heim joints with some threaded rod between them. im sitting here thinking there must be at least 5 ways to fab something like that, that would do the trick. its funny when I first got my truck I thought the transfer case shifter was brok because I could not get it into 4 low. almost broke it for real trying untill i figured out that the trans needs to be in neutral for it to happen.

 

Yep, I am finding the local wrecker yards around here don't have it either or else their eyes cross when ask for one. That's why I figured I'd do my due-diligence online to find one. Thank you Ford for not making these anymore.

 

The linkage bar for a manual trans and 4407 t-case is only a little over 3" hole centers. The two in your pics are from autos, probably one from a 4407, and the other from a 1356.

Gabe, is the piece that's broke on yours the piece that bolts to the side of the trans that the linkage bar goes up on? The aluminum piece? I have broken those before trying to pry the linkage bar off with a pry bar. The cast aluminum can't take much of that LOL! I now have a tiny little gear puller that I use. It's the best way to get them off with out braking the shifter.

 

Well those won't work then. Do you know the exact measurements? The transmission shop said it would be best to get exact measurements if I have one machined somewhere for me.

I'm having the dangest time trying to find one anywhere.

 

I'll get the measurements for you tomorrow evening

 

Heck yeah. Let me know, too!

 

Will do bud

 

Ya thats the piece Bill. I found them on bronco grave yard, so when i order the new badges im gonna get that also.

 

The linkage bar for ZF/4407 is 3 3/8" hole center to hole center. The ZF/1356 is 4 3/8" hole center to hole center.

 

Sorry I don't know my transmission type other than it's a 4x4 5-speed manual. So is that the shorter length version? The 3 3/38" hole center?

 

Also, what is the diameter of each hole? I am thinking of getting this part machined and was told to get the dimensions as close as possible.

 

If it's a manual then the trans type is ZF, but you need to know what t-case you have. Is it a 4407 or 1356? If your truck is a '96 or '97 it should have a 4407 t-case. If it's a '95 or older it should have a 1356 t-case. The 4407 has a round flange that the rear drive shaft bolts to with four bolts. The 1356 has a slip yoke. The difference in the t-cases determine the length of the linkage bar. The 3 3/8" bar is for the 4407 t-case mated to a ZF (manual) trans. The 4 3/8" bar is for the 1356 t-case mated to a ZF trans. Those measurements are hole center to hole center, so the whole bar it's self is a little longer than that. I drilled a 1/2" hole in some that I have made and it works fine. The factory hole is maybe 1/32" of an inch bigger. Just get you a piece of 1/8" x 1" flat bar and drill 1/2" holes in it where they need to be for what t-case you have. Use the plastic grommets from your old bar.

 

Thanks Bill, I just got back from a fabricator and he can do the work for me. I don't have the grommets anymore (no bar, no grommets, shooting in the dark here) so he's going to drill the holes slightly bigger than the pins and we'll just cotter pins for now. Hope it works. I don't ever use the 4x4 anyway. Central Texas doesn't have a need for it too much.

 

I wouldn't run those pins directly in the holes without a bushing/grommet of some kind. You'll wear the pin and/or the bar in pretty short time, just like the clutch pushrod eyelet on the manual trucks.

Here's an idea, inspired by the cheap fix on the eyelet: measure the diameter of the pins, and get some brass tubing with that inside diameter. Then drill the bar to the outside diameter of the brass tubing. It'll probably end up 7/16"ID, 1/2" OD, or something close to that. Use two diameters of tubing, one inside the other, if you want something more substantial. Cut two very thin slices of the tubing and use them as bushings. Then put drill stop collars on the ends of the pins to keep the bar in place.