Sweet Rita, my '69 F250 working girl treats me right, so I try to return the favor.

Below, Rita strutting her sexy stuff with her lumber load:

Lately she's been letting me know that her column shifter needs some TLC, so I took her advice and decided to quit ignoring the problem. Which was a bit of both tightness and slop in the movement of the shifter tube into which the shifter handle fits. I removed Rita's steering column and set to work. The problem was in the shifter tube, more precisely the tab that slides in the shift collar,
Below, what I found, a little rough on this side:

Above,the two small round indents were intended as reservoirs for lubricant at the factory, which Ford supposed would extend the life of easy shifting out a bit longer. Wrong. It needs to be lubricated periodically, more than Ford expected. Since the collar was not provided with a zerk, it is not easy to get needed lubricant into the collar. Best to remove the shifter stick occasionally and spray some white graphite grease into that tab/collar interface.

Below, a whole lot rougher on this side. This is where the problem stems from:


The large hole is what the shifter handle sticks into. When you pull the shifter to and fro while in neutral, it moves the shifter tube up and down in the collar, in the line directed by the welded on tab. A common problem is for the tab to come loose and you either need a new tube (good luck finding one better than what you already have), or get the tab welded back on. Mine had been brazed in a long-ago attempt to hold the tab on. It was not smoothed, so it caused the shift collar slot to wallow out (thus the slop part) while the rough sides caused the collar to bind up when moved in certain ways.

To fix this, the tab has to be smooth, but that would remove the brazing material that was reinforcing the tab onto the tube. So, re-working the weld of the tab onto the tube was required. The original spot welds by Ford could be weak (probably the case with this tube, and therefore the earlier need to beef it up with additional brazing). But it can't be welded around the edge(as this repair was done) because that interferes with the free and easy movement of the tube in the shift collar. So instead, I made welds that would hold the tab, but not cause binding. Here's how.

First, drill out the small round indents with the correct size spiral bit:

Above, Spiral bit to deepen the round indents of the tab. Get close to the tube but don't go all the way through the tube

Then finish the bottom of the hole with a mill-end bit. This should get you to the top of the tube if you get the depth just right.


Above, mill end bit flattens the bottom of the hole made by the beveled end spiral bit. This puts you to welding right where you want to be, where the tab meets the tube

Then, put a smaller hole through the tube with a smaller spiral bit. This will enable the new weld to key into the tube material, making a stronger weld:


Above, inside of the tube shows the small hole through the tube. Make a through hole in each of the two drilled areas of the tab.

Now you're ready to weld:


Above, a small wire welder will do the trick

Then dress the tab and tube nicely with files or grinders (be careful!) to ensure no roughness binds the movement of the tube in the shift collar:


Above, files dress the surfaces and contact area without overdoing it

The finished repair should be smooth and free of burrs and distortions so movement is unencumbered:


Above, when it looks this spiffy, you're good! Notice that I didn't bother machining new indents for reservoir of lubricant. It didn't work when Ford tried it, so no use doing it again. I'll spray in white graphite lubricant from time to time as described elsewhere.

Next, do yourself a huge favor and put some engine assembly lube on the shift tube and tab, also the inside of the shift collar:


Above, then spread it all around the contact area of the collar and tab and tube circumference

When you're done, it fits and slides like new! Now just get the rest of the shift linkage and transmission adjusted and in good shape and you'll feel like you're driving away from the dealer's lot in your new three-on-the-tree slick, bump, or dent!


Above, perfect fit, perfect action. Rita's happy now.

 

Wow! What a great article and pics.

Have a P.O. Box? Can we just send our shift tubes to you? That sounds easier.

 

Happy to help. You know how it is... the first one takes so long you're working for a buck an hour. All the ones after are easy! Let me know if you need assistance.

 

Are those shift tubes unobtanium? Seems to me they were used from something like '61 until the end of the 1970s? My slick columns seems to work OK, but that's how it always goes isn't it, works fine until it doesn't!

Fordification has a nice write-up on disassembly Exploring the Ford 3 Speed Column Shift

I've looked it over before, and it still .... looks like something I'd rather not get into lol. I'm glad for the internet, you can bet many a floor shift was installed after tearing into these. Doesn't look too bad, but what I hate is when parts are unobtanium.

 

The all-in-one 3spd column started in 1962 on Fairlanes, is the earliest I've seen. Falcons may also have had them. '63 Galaxie is the first full-size car I've seen with them. The length of the tube varies with application, as far as I can tell. No replacements are available that I've discovered, and most salvage ones are in pretty bad shape. As the old male chauvinist pigs used to say, though, "if it's made by man and broken by woman it can be fixed by man." So most shifter tubes can be resuscitated.

How to keep your column in good shape:
1) Don't put undue pressure on the shift tube tab by forcing the transmission into any gear. If your transmission is non-synchro first, there is the correct technique for slipping easily into first and reverse. See this link for details: Borg Warner T85-OD like new now!
2) Occasionally spray some white graphite grease into the shifter collar where the tab is. No need to remove the steering wheel. Just take the shifter stick out and spray it into the tab/slot interface you'll easily see there.
3) Keep the rest of the shifter linkage lubricated and adjusted. If the transmission starts going into gear with difficulty, get it looked at and repaired. Don't just keep fighting it by abusing the shift mechanism.

Hope this helps!

 

Having an extra shifter tube on hand ready to rock wouldn't be a bad plan, good idea on the lithium grease.

Just drive the roll pin out maybe, and then the shift lever can be removed/exposed?

 

Sometimes the pin is difficult to get out, but you don't want to keep smashing away, since you're putting that dreaded impact onto the tab and collar and the shifter arms down low at the base of the column. What I do is make a short length of 2x4 lumber that props up on my leg and fits underneath the roll pin. That top end of the board gets a half-round cutout that the collar arm with roll pin fits into. Then that cutout has a 3/8" hole down into it that catches the roll pin as you drive it down with your drift punch and hammer. Amazing how that silly roll pin can bounce and disappear if you don't make this item to catch it.
Once that pin is out, the shifter stalk comes right out. When you glance in with a flashlight, check to see if the tab hole on the tube is worn and wallowed out. If it is, it needs to be bushed. Easy to do, but the tube probably will need to come out, if so.

 

Thanks for the write up on this,it will definitely help keep column shifts in our trucks. I plan on assembling the column in my 64 this weekend. I know in in my case finding a NOS shift tube was almost impossible. I tried all of the usual suspects for NOS and repro parts and there were none any where, I actually had some companies give me numbers of people that had their own private parts stashes, all with no luck. One guy actually laughed out loud when he heard what I was looking for ! NOS Parts LTD in Texas called me back a few months after I called them looking for a shift tube and they actually found one for a 64 F100 in a garages inventory that they had just bought, I promptly bought what is probably the last 64 F100 tube that exists. The headache of dealing with this made realize why so many people made floor shifts or just put an automatic in.

 

Great find! You should take a picture of your new shift tube, like taking a real picture of Sasquatch. Assembly lube will be a good idea and please, please, please about once a year lubricate it again.
Again, congrats on your super rare find!

 

Very good info, I might tear into the whole thing over the winter based on how it looks in thar.

 

What is the advantage of using assembly lube instead of a thin coating of grease?

 

@NumberDummy

I found C5TZ-7212-C on FleaBay though the guy wants $125 + $12 freight.

"New Ford 3 speed shift tube for 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 F100 F150 with Manual steering. 28.3 inches long."

This would seem a likely candidate for the repro boys, but haven't seen them. Bill, do you have some #s, for pre-65 trucks, and/or is this the correct application listed here? I'd like to at least have a Ford part number for my '64; even if it's a Unicorn. C3Tz-7212-A?

 

The factory tube is pretty much a manufactured POS. The only difference between your original part and a factory replacement, is that your original POS may be worn, while the replacement POS hasn't worn...yet: but it will. Oh, yes, it will. Its worst attribute is that it is flimsy, being fairly thin gauge sheet metal that's stamp cut, the tab spot welded on by a UAW chimpanzee, formed, then rolled into the tube and the seam welded, near as I can tell. Or maybe the UAW chimpanzee welded the tab on after the crummy thing was formed. I doubt anybody is alive who'd admit to having anything to do with the whole dumb concept and parts and manufacturing.

If a person was inclined , I'm pretty sure you could just make an actual good one. It would take a little doing, but it would be like those who make their own intake manifolds, valve covers, and exhaust headers. Done right, it would be a robust piece that wouldn't give trouble, unlike the original. My dream replacement would incorporate a lubrication provision, either a small hole in the collar for a grease gun needle or a zerk fitting. But the damned thing-- being as flimsy as it is-- needs a good way to be regularly greased.

 

Ok. Looking at my '64, it isn't a roll pin, two "buttons" that I figured when both depressed simultaneously, would allow removal of the shifter. I was right, though... I think there is a also a spring between them.

Or "was", cuz I can't find it now. Oops! The innards look pretty good though. I'll shoot some white Lithium grease in thar and see if I can't find a spring. I looked through the Shop Manual, not real hard but there doesn't seem to be any discussion on disassembly of the shifter column. Gotta be in there somewhere.. I cannibalized a ballpoint pen spring, works perfect for the purpose.

 

I recently replaced my shift collar since it was worn badly at the pin from people, myself included, trying to hold the worn 3.03 in second gear. The tube was not an issue. Anyways the new collar I bought came with a solid pin, not the spring loaded original, so I used that. The spring from the original might still be on my dashboard, or possibly on my tool box, seeing as how I never throw anything away. I'll take a look, let me know if you need it.