This is a scary one !

A mechanic friend went to Roosevelt Lake in AZ this weekend and spotted a friend with a broke down problem with his 2002 F250. Shifter would not select any gears, or Park. He was dead on the road.

The problem was that the bolts holding the gear selector bracket under the dash, on the steering column, had come loose and fallen out and the shifter was completely unusable. Found the bolts on the floor and fixed the problem. Lucky for him he had a #30 Torx in his tool box (Note to self, put #30 Torx in truck emergency tool box).

My mechanic friend immediately walked back over to his truck and checked his 2002 F250 after fixing the other truck and guess what? All of the bolts on his gear selector bracket were loose!

When he came to work today in his shop, Lloyd's Transmission and Driveline, Tucson, AZ, he checked the 2003 F350 in the shop, and guess what?

He called me and told me to get my 2000 F250 down to his shop ASAP. I drove down there and guess what?

Here is a video:
Amazing! Four out of four were loose! Not good.

Check yours today !
Steve in Tucson

 

Yeah, pretty common.

My old 97 went the whole 9 years I drove it without a problem. I bought my 01 a couple of years ago and the flipin' bolts fell out within the first three months I owned it.

 

My shifter stopped working today. Was going to have it towed into the dealer''s tomorrow but after seeing your video, I have a go at trying to fix it myself. I'm not very mechanical, so this is a bit scary for me, but since I'm about 60 miles from any town, the towing is going to cost me a good bit, not to mention the repair... I hope that I can fix it.

 

Woodyreedy,

Go for it ! IT really is not that hard to do. You just need a small ratchet and a #30 torx fitting. It is a little tight under there, but just follow the steering column up to it and use the video as your guide. Much cheaper than a tow. Take a buddy just in case !

Good Luck,
Steve in Tucson