I have a problem with the tube the column shifter is on. The tube should sit inside a small hole on the underside of the steering wheel. Sometimes the tube slips out of the hole and the shift lever then flops down.

In order to shift into first or reverse from 2nd or 3rd I have to, with my left hand, move the tube so it slips into that hole so I can pull back on the shift lever to shift into 1st or 2nd.

What is causing this? I haven't crawled under the truck or tried to find the cause under the hood at the linkage end of it. It has been to cold lately. I want to see if you guys can narrow it down so I don;t have to look too hard. Is there a spring that keeps it in place? Is something worn and slipping? I looked in the shop manual and other parts books I have but there is nothing that shows this shifter tube in detail.
thanks,

 

It sounds like the problem is inside the column cap, under the steering wheel. There is suposed to be a little U shaped bracket on the shifter that is spot welded to the column, it sounds like it has come undone or in the case of mine I got a shifter from a guy and he didnt tell me that it was all $%#@ up so I had to fab up my own little bracket.





Kyle

 

I guess the 53-56 is different than mid-50's. But what may be common to both is that at the bottom of the column, there is a clamp that holds the shift tube to the main column, it may have come off or loose, check that first. P/N 7348 in the pic below

 

Thanks! Both anwers sound possible, even though they are at different ends of the column. I will see if the '53-'56 has the clamp that you spoke of Ross. If it is in the column cap, I have a good used steering wheel to put on so it might make me do that now, as I have been putting it off!

Thanks again boys!

 

I looked at my 53 parts truck and it looks exactly like the diagram posted, the clamp has probably slipped down the column letting the upper portion of the tube slip out.

 

I haven't seen the clamp slide off, it is usually flush with the base of the shifter column 7318 and there is a nipple that holds it from slipping down. The column shifter sits in that base and if it is on that nipple and the bolts are tight on each side it should not slip off very easy, might double check it. But it sounds like what mine was doing before i fixed it.

Kyle

 

Thanks all:

If it ever warms up here in PA I will look and will let you know the problem when I find out.

 

Wow, more than a year has passed! I sure am a procrastinator. I finally got the 3 in the tree shifter fixed! I went to a guy I know that is a '56 truck nut. He has '56 trucks all over his property, big ones, F-100's, panels, some in great shape, some in pieces, some rusting away. He has a 59 Ranchero, too. He found 2 steering columns for us to use. First we loosened the clamp that holds the shifter tube and used a bar to push it up further to get the top of the tube back in the column cap. I bought a good used steering wheel a year ago to replace my original. We had time today so we pulled off the old one. He couldn't find his puller so I tried yanking it off by hand. After several minutes of wiggling and pulling, amazingly, it came off, after 55 years! When I lifted the wheel off, the U-clamp Kyle talks about is in 3 pieces!. So we took the lever off the junkyard column and out pops the piece and the spring. We had to drill out the rivets that held my clamp on. Since we couldn't get the riveter in that tight spot, we put in little bolts and nuts. We put the lever back on, the new steering wheel and took it out for a run.

Boy, does it ever shift nice! It is nice and tight! And the new steering wheel looks sharp!

Thanks for the help so long ago, Kyle, Jeff, and Ross. Now I can shift into first or reverse with one hand!

 

Glad you (finally) got it fixed!

 

Wow, I thought I was a procrastonator Glad to here it all worked out for you. Enjoy being able to shift

Kyle