Daughters explorer sport trac, needed a neutral safety switch and a fuse ( no reverse lights),, I have replaced both but now the shifter doesn't line up right.

P is now reverse, and cant get all the way over to 1 with out holding it...

the two marks in the switch line up for neutral.... and switch is keyed to shaft...

how do i now re align this so shift indicator and transmission are on the same page again??

I am guessing move tranny arm all the way to the rear of the truck position and put shifter in P....then put cable back on arm.... but doesn't seem to help...

Any help would be great.....

 

I dont know about the sport trac...but I did have an F150 that the indicator didnt line up on...there is a cable with an adjusting wheel underneath the dash by the steering wheel that will line it up if not broken...if u search the forums for this it will even give you a picture of what it looks like...hope thats your problem cause its an easy fix...less than 5 minutes...

 

I will check that out... thanks

but the shifter and truck both knew what gear they were in B4 i replaced the neutral safety switch.... so I am guessing I have something out of whack at the shaft that comes out of the tranny or something misaligned in the switch ( but the 2 lines on the switch are lined up...)

 

Hi Truckie,

I'm going to move this to the Explorer forum. The transmission your daugher's Explorer uses was never offered in the Super Duty, so you'll have better luck in the Explorer forum getting this answered.

 

I posted here as there seems to be more folks and more mechanics in the superduty area.... plus this is a very common ford switch used on a bunch of different vehicles.... figured somebody had come across this b4....

in the mean time truck is stuck in drive way wheels chocked as not able to shift to PARK....

I went out again and under truck put shifter arm all the way towards rear of truck then moved it 2 notches to the front... should be neutral... then MRS. held shifter at N and I put cable back on the arm....
It still thinks P is R

 

just an update.. parts store has a replacement switch coming if I need it, the head guy told me the tranny shaft cannot get misaligned,, it does PRND21... doubts highly cable moved if all I did was unhook at shift arm... either bad switch or switch is off alignment.

Gonna go under disconnect cable move arm to rear most position should be P..... them remove switch and turn inner white gears all the way counter clockwise, should be P... reinstall switch reconnect cable and all should be back to normal.... will post results/progress tomorrow

 

UPDATE.... replaced switch again to rule this out... adjusted cable and now it knows it is in park when it shows park... but once you shift to Drive and then back it shows Park but is still in reverse....

I give up..... taking to mechanic in the morning......

 

Sounds to me like the cable is slipping out of adjustment somehow. How is the cable secured to the linkage? Friction fit of some kind?

 

yes friction.... a white clip releases you adjust, reseat clip. I have tried tranny in park lever in park, tanny in N lever in N, and tranny in 1 lever in 1( with a 5lb weight holding it down in 1) best I can get is it to work right until I use it then it is back to P is R.... the indicator lever are was not registering accurately( off a smidge) to begin with but it worked... The lever seems really loose now.... Just gonna get it fixed right so my daughter can drive worry free( 16yo new driver)....

Plus I have run out of time... the F250 is getting its LIFT tomorrow and I still need to figure out where the water is leaking into my HUMMER H2. I have caulked the onstar antenna, all roof lights, the roof seams, checked sunroof drains for proper drainage, replaced the weatherstrips..... still getting water in when it rains. headliner dry, carpet wet, no signs of water around the windshield. no antifreeze smell, so its rain water... gotta figure out how to get at the big pits where wiper arms go into cowl.... had a wiper motor repair done a bit back.... thinking the drainage is messed up under there... well off to the Hummer forums....

 

Wow, you seem to be having lots of issues! I don't have the shop manual for the Explorer, but could the clip be worn out? Perhaps it's a one-time-use item that needs to be replaced?

 

I talked to my mechanic earlier today and he did not mention it... he is a FORD GUY , as a matter of Fact, I was looking at older trucks and having him pre purchase check them when he took me outback to see his 2011 F250... Thats what made me buy mine.....

just gonna let him fix it so daughter is safe, turn attention to other issues...

The leaker truck, the LIFT, and the Homemade train horns I am going to make, the tailgate light bar, the under carridge lights and the air system for the horns for the F250... the refi on my house, daughters geometry home work, oh yeah and vacation week over... back to work saturday next vacation not for a few weeks. But life is good when you only work every third day anyway. ( its like every workday is a friday...)

 

OK $172 later... the cable was out of adjustment at both ends, and a bracket in colmn was bent... readjusted & bent bracket back... 2hrs labor only..... now it shifts into gear great and the indicator lines up like when it was new....

 

Watch this. The indicator is easy to fix.

 

THAT"S AWESOME!!! I searched youtube... didn't see that video.... that woulda helped.... I am gonna save the link though as I am sure the dashlights will burn out next...

 

I used it and fix my shift indicator and the dash lights except that I used blue leds. Cheaper than the bulbs and they last longer.

Plus my wife now has a pimped out ride. lol



Forgive the blurry cell phone pic.