Shifter design flaw? Look at this pic...

[drummerboy]

Several years ago we had a couple lockout/recall threads. From what I gather, some guys' plastic reverse lockout tubes have physically broken. Nothing on mine is broken, but I can create a reverse lockout issue at will, and posted about this in one of those old threads a long time ago.

Recapping what happened to mine: My shift lever shaft physically slid out (up) a little bit, perhaps 1/2" I guess (after an aggressive 1-2 shift). Meaning the shift knob was a littler higher, and the shift throw was longer. The effect was that the reverse lockout collar was then always in the pulled up position, so it would go into reverse at any time.

To fix it, I smacked the knob down pretty hard with my fist. I smacked it down too far. The knob was very low, the shifter was super short throw, and it would not go into reverse even when pulling up on the collar - it was always locked. I was able to shimmy the whole thing up and down a bit, pulling on it, smacking it down, til it was in the right position. And I made note to just not bang through the gears too hard.

I jokingly thought to myself that the shifter shaft was perhaps held in place by a set screw.

Recently @LICobra PM'd that he had the exact same issue and fixed it the same way. We discussed it a bit and found a thread on another forum with pics of a disassembled OEM shifter:

Does that little hole in the tube not look like it has a little bit of thread locker and a little set screw in it? This sounds ridiculous to me, but it would explain an awful lot.

Also, I don't pretend to know how the springs and plastic pieces attached to the collar and the lockout tube (not pictured here) actually work. But I wonder if it is possible for those plastic parts to break because of the shifter shaft moving up and out in a way it is not supposed to.

If that is possible, and if that is indeed a set screw that keeps the shaft from moving vertically, then wouldn't this be the root cause of the shifter issues? Ridiculous.

It looks like you could drill a divot into the shaft for the set screw to have a permanent bite into, preventing any movement. But I don't want to pull apart the springs and tube and stuff, because I have no idea how it works, and I don't want the car stuck in the garage. Any of you guys pulled this thing apart and know enough about it to confirm/deny that this would be a good fix?

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[Bitten in '69]

All the more reason to go MGW. First thing I did on my '19, and haven't given a thought to shifter action or reliability since.

 

[LICobra]

DB...I'm glad you started this thread. One day after going through several hard shifts from 1st - 2nd and 2nd - 3rd. At the next stop and start I thought I was in first and was surprised to be in reverse.
I never had the shifter recall completed on my 19', but I did read about the reverse lockout issue with the plastic reverse collar breaking and not lifting the lockout and going into reverse instead of first. At first I thought I had broken the plastic collar but I felt it working through the boot. In all the shifter recall threads this particular issue hasn't been discussed.
I remembered reading about your comments about this very issue, but you ended up smacking the shifter handle down to reengage the collar, so if the collar is not an issue how did the shifter handle rise up high enough so the collar would not engage ??
Like you I did smack it down too far and finding any gears was difficult, so we know that the shifter can elongate.
Mine is coming out soon, but not looking to spend for an aftermarket short throw shifter and a different knob. The stock is fine for me, I just want it to work correctly.

 

[drummerboy]

I'd love to know what you find when you go poking around, looking forward to you making a thread then.

Especially interested if there appears to be any way to just pull the trim and address the set screw issue (if that is indeed what is happening) from the top vs getting underneath the car and taking everything apart.

 

[Epiphany]

Any of you guys pulled this thing apart and know enough about it to confirm/deny that this would be a good fix?

The photo you posted was from a writeup I did on the TR3160 GT350 shifter in 2015. If you Google SVTPerformance and "GT350 OEM Shifter" you'll see the entire mechanism broken down in detail.

I posted a number of times here on what I didn't like about the shifter design how it would be problematic. Some didn't like what I said and that's fine - they just didn't know. Ford has now "tried" to remedy the collar issue but the solution is a Band-Aid fix on a low dollar engineering effort. I'd like the buying public to push Ford to a higher standard (7 years too late though) such that more robust shifters became something Ford was proud of just like the mag dampers, CF wheels, FPC engines, etc. The shifter deserves a damn spot in the limelight.

To the question of some "set screw"...the steel collar is capturing a pressed in isolator around a vertical shaft. I don't believe there is a screw there (too expensive for this unit's budget ). I forget if it is pinned. If your shaft is coming up vertically you could drill it elsewhere and pin it to stop that. That said, egads, throw that thing off a giant bridge and buy some shifter exotica and give that GT350 what it deserves!

 

[drummerboy]

You're a legend. Didn't even notice that was your thread when I came across it.

Agreed, MGW will go in when it's time to put in a new clutch, but I don't want to go through all that til then. Would be different if it were just a few bolts from the top like it used to be.

Til then I was hoping maybe for myself but mostly for others that this right here is a quick fix. Obviously you know (knew?) what's going on in there. Do you remember what the mechanism is that holds the shaft in place vertically, and how to access it? It's so stupid that if you pull hard enough you can just pull it out. If that's something I can address from the cabin, I'd like to go ahead and do it.

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