Sloppy Gearstick on my old manual XE..... - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

bennyh · 02-04-2003, 18:30

Hi,

The gear change on my recently-acquired 83 XE is painfully sloppy. It's a manual 4 speed.

I'm not in anyway very knowledgeable in this area, but i think the gearbox itself is fine. The gears engage perfectly (all of them) with no crunching of synchro or anything. No gears are popping out either. No nasty noises when a bit of power is put through it.

HOWEVER, there at least 5-6 cm of play backward on the stick in 2nd and 4th, and about the same forward of 1 and 3. Reverse is also a little too easy to select.

Am I right in assuming there's a gate in there somewhere that might be worn out? I also considered the gear-linkage....

Haven't had a look at all yet - so maybe some of you oracles out there can tell me a good place to start and what to check...

Cheers,

BEN

XAXEXF · 02-04-2003, 21:53

Check your shifter they have a nylon nut that threads into the extension housing - could be loose. Lift all the metal tabs before you check & bend them back after finished. If the thread on the nut it stuffed you can get the nylon nut for about $10 from Ford. The tricky part is pulling the shifter apart at the rubber mount to replace it.

Check the spring & retainer clip are on the shifter for reverse lock out.

61sg · 02-05-2003, 00:07

yeah those nuts often strip, ive seen people drill self tappers straight through remote housing into nut to hold them in place!

if thats ok then there is also a saddle bush on the end of the shifter inside the remote housing

You can remove the remote housing by just knocking out the clevis pin and undoing the three bolts and inspect it for wear.

Jase_ELXR8 · 02-05-2003, 02:54

also some of the have a nylon bush that fits in the bottom of the stick that goes over the shaft in the in the selctor housing. These have a habit of breaking and can cause your problem. I don't think it's the nylon ball as when these stuff up you normally end up holding the stick in you hand after you've changed gears. Also if you look at the housing you will see that only one metal tap needs to be bent down to lock it in. Doing all the others just makes your life difficult when you have to remove them again.

Aaron_EF8 · 02-05-2003, 05:03

My nylon bush has pulled out about 4 times. I drilled a big hole in a small plate, then ran a u-bolt underneath the gearbox, that holds it in nicely....

My XF has that much slop as well, I think it just might be normal.

If you read the new Street Machine, they have an article on the new sequential shifter for the 'boxes. This would get rid of the movement!!

61sg · 02-05-2003, 17:52

i think the article youre talking about in steet machine is for toploader boxes not single rails.

camsscrut · 02-05-2003, 18:30

go to ford dealer and they can supply and fit this nylon bushe to your shifter for abour 70.00 dollars and it's easy to do it your self as well any hassles with your xe please call my self on 0421 654 658 as l only work on 1960 - 1999 models of ford as l dont have the computer equipment to work on the later model of vechiles l live in shepparton as w4ell as this l do have parts and bits & peices of most models

Ford Grunt · 02-05-2003, 18:52

man, i thought the borgy box was always sloppy! i too have experienced problems with this box, the design of the shifter is pathetic that stupid nylon thread and those metal bits that fold down to hold it in.

I've many a time ended up with the shifter in my hand out of the box while driving, having to pull over to put the thing back together on the side of the road.

Why they didnt have the shifter designed to bolt in at the base is anyones guess.

I agree with the others, try replacing the nylon thread, and check that you have enough metal bits around the base (ie. there shouldnt be any metal bits missing) to make sure its goes on tight.

if all fails try another box, ive put a 5 speed Toyota Supra behind my XE v8, but remember you would need a kit to fit it to a Falcon, available from Dellow Automotive. And mate you couldnt get a tighter box, no sideways movement in gears and the base bolts in!

camsscrut · 02-05-2003, 19:28

the metal bits as you call them they are used to lock before and after the locking pin you dont push all of them down you may putting your shifter in correctly as well make sure it square as this does help and be gentle with the shifter as its not an racing car as l use mine xe on the track and l have never ripped it as yet

bennyh · 02-05-2003, 19:39

Thanks for all you advice!

I'll be looking at it at the weekend, so now I've got some good advice, things should make a lot more sense......