Hey all, new to the list, got a few questions for ya.

1st of all: these all relate to a '83 F250 2-wheel drive auto tranny.

Story of the truck: It's my girlfriend's, she's had it for about a year, bought it off a guy that took decent care of it BUT for some reason swapped out the engine. It now has a straight 6, about a 260, everything else is stock. Got some shifting/tranny issues. Since the engine was swapped out I'm assuming these problems are because the engine and tranny don't quite match up.

1. Can't start it from the key, only by jumping the solenoid. Starter's fine, I'm thinking that there's a problem with the neutral switch but I don't know where that is on the tranny. She tells me that the original owner says a bolt is stripped, but I haven't gone through each one in the linkage to ID it yet. From going underneath the truck and messing around, I see a plate with wires coming out of it on the side of the transmission. Wild guess: neutral switch? It moves back and forth with almost no pressure.

2. Don't know the exact transmission. Code on the door sticker is "K" and it has a "31" stamped on the side of it. All the decoders I've seen online are up to '80 and after '97.

3. Gear indicator doesn't work, just stays in park.

That's about it for now, as I look into it more I'm sure I'll have more.

 

1. The neutral start switch is on the trans where the shift linkage goes into the case. It is half round with 4 wires. Adjustment - Loosen the 2 switch attaching bolts. Place the shifter in neutral. Rotate the switch and insert the gauge pin (No. 43 drill shank end) into the gauge pin holes of the switch. The gauge pin has to be inserted a full 31/64 inch into the three holes of the switch. Tighten the two attaching bolts. Remove the gauge pin. Check the operation of the switch.

2. K = C6

3. The indicator cable is probably broken. Remove the steering column cover and you will see a white tube that guides the cable.

 

Thanks buddy, I'll get on it.

 

Thanks for your help, here's what we found and did. For reference, I'm Zach, my girlfriend that owns the truck is Ali, and the truck's name is Cooter.

The main reason that I was so confused is that looking at the switch from the back, it showed about a half inch of play back and forth. Looked at it today from the side, and I'm thinking hey, there's only one bolt holding this on from the middle, what are those other two bolts he's talking about?

Hey look, two holes...uh oh...the retainer bolts weren't even there.

Ali calls up the parts store looking for replacement bolts, and she's told that they're dealer parts. She calls up the local dealer, tries to explain exactly what bolts they are, the parts guy she's talking to says "oh yeah...i know those...hold on..." He looks up the part numbers and sees that they're on back order and have been for 6 years. Hmmmmmm. She asks what size and thread they are. He doesn't know. Parts guy suggests something in the neighborhood of 8-10 MM, grade 8, standard thread. She tells me all this and I'm more confused than when I started. Metric? On a FORD for chrissakes!

Ali goes to a couple of parts stores and they thought the same thing I did. Metric? Whatever. Crazy lady. She brings back 6, 8, and 10mm bolts, a pretty purple color to boot. "These grade 8?" "No, they don't make them in grade 8 for metric." Okay. Try them out, none fit, so we decide to take the truck over to Napa so we can try them out.

Turns out it's your standard 1/4" coarse thread. Used the inch and a half length, worked perfectly. And didn't have a drill bit on me but FYI a wire coat hanger end works just as well.

Picked up a Haynes manual too.

I hate dealers.

Next up is the shift indicator cable...you were right, it's broken, looks almost sliced. I can't find anything in the Haynes to show the connection to the indicator itself, do I have to take off the dash for that?

Thanks again,