Lt46
Sep 30, 2016Explorer II
Mid 90's F53 Tranny Shift Cable (update)
I've resurrected this older post of mine because I thought I would share my fix.
For those who are unaware, finding a tranny shift cable for this era moho is next to impossible. Ford has discontinued production and there are none in stock anywhere in America.
Many of us have seen the offering on eBay where a 3rd party vendor is advertising a "direct replacement" cable with a caveat that a minor modification was required. I've emailed this seller countless times asking for a description of this minor mod but was given no answers.
Since my moho has been out of commision for 2 months, I decided to purchase this direct replacement cable and figure out the modificatiion for myself. The installation went well and works like new. Here is the modification needed;
I know tough to see, but simply, this is the left side of the dash beside the steering column where the OEM cable was originally anchored. The fix was to fab an "S" shaped standoff bracket which provided an 1" standoff from the original mounting point. I used 1" aluminum flat bar and bent it into shape. Attachment to the original bracket was made easy by an unused 1/4" hole pre-stamped into the OEM bracket. Using a 1/4" x 1/2" stainless bolt and nut made the connection very easy. The top end of the "S" required a 1/2" hole to be drilled which allowed the new cable to slip through. Using lock washers inside both locking nuts allowed me to adjust the distance needed between the shift lever ball stud to the cables eyelet.
At the Trans. Range Sensor end, no modification was needed other then using 2 large diameter fender washers inside of the 2 locking nuts.
So happy to be back on the road again!
For those who are unaware, finding a tranny shift cable for this era moho is next to impossible. Ford has discontinued production and there are none in stock anywhere in America.
Many of us have seen the offering on eBay where a 3rd party vendor is advertising a "direct replacement" cable with a caveat that a minor modification was required. I've emailed this seller countless times asking for a description of this minor mod but was given no answers.
Since my moho has been out of commision for 2 months, I decided to purchase this direct replacement cable and figure out the modificatiion for myself. The installation went well and works like new. Here is the modification needed;
I know tough to see, but simply, this is the left side of the dash beside the steering column where the OEM cable was originally anchored. The fix was to fab an "S" shaped standoff bracket which provided an 1" standoff from the original mounting point. I used 1" aluminum flat bar and bent it into shape. Attachment to the original bracket was made easy by an unused 1/4" hole pre-stamped into the OEM bracket. Using a 1/4" x 1/2" stainless bolt and nut made the connection very easy. The top end of the "S" required a 1/2" hole to be drilled which allowed the new cable to slip through. Using lock washers inside both locking nuts allowed me to adjust the distance needed between the shift lever ball stud to the cables eyelet.
At the Trans. Range Sensor end, no modification was needed other then using 2 large diameter fender washers inside of the 2 locking nuts.
So happy to be back on the road again!