Shift Tube Issue

[MtnRanchr]

1970 F100 automatic with power steering... moving the shifter does not move the lever at the bottom of the shift tube that attaches to the transmission linkage. I now have the steering wheel off and ready to do more disassembly. I noticed that the small sheet metal finger on the tube that moves the neutral safety switch is now too high to activate the switch. Is it possible that the shift tube has actually ridden up and now the tab at the lower end of the tube is not engaging the lever? Or is it more likely that that tab has broken off?

I haven't yet disassembled the turn signal connector to pull out the wires and figured this may be a good time to pause and ask questions so I don't make this job 10 times harder than it needs to be.

[390FE1972]

I don't have an answer to your question, hopefully someone who has taken theirs apart can chime in, but here is some interesting info that may help you.
https://www.fordification.com/forum/vie ... =5&t=45480 (This one has some pics on how your neutral safety switch & tang should look).
https://www.fordification.com/forum/vie ... =5&t=67292 (This one shows an issue with the lowere bearing)
http://fordification.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9096 (This one shows an issue with the shift selector)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rc3Y7LDbue8 (This youtube shows how to take apart an automatic steering column)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fDxfhseuXxg (This youtube shows how to put it back together)

Hope these help! Keep us informed of your progress

[sargentrs]

It's possible your shift collar has broken where the top of the shift tube inserts into it. Happened to mine when I was cleaning it during my rebuild, bottom of the 1st page
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=72274 The shift tube is pretty well captured between the shift collar and the bottom receptacle bracket in the column housing. Is the tang at the NSS still firmly seated in the shift tube? If that has moved up away from the NSS, and it is still seated in the tube, then the tube has definitely moved up. You won't be able to tell till you pull the tube flange.

[MtnRanchr]

I don't have an answer to your question, hopefully someone who has taken theirs apart can chime in, but here is some interesting info that may help you.
https://www.fordification.com/forum/vie ... =5&t=45480 (This one has some pics on how your neutral safety switch & tang should look).
https://www.fordification.com/forum/vie ... =5&t=67292 (This one shows an issue with the lowere bearing)
http://fordification.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9096 (This one shows an issue with the shift selector)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rc3Y7LDbue8 (This youtube shows how to take apart an automatic steering column)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fDxfhseuXxg (This youtube shows how to put it back together)

Hope these help! Keep us informed of your progress

Thanks 390... great stuff here.

[MtnRanchr]

It's possible your shift collar has broken where the top of the shift tube inserts into it. Happened to mine when I was cleaning it during my rebuild, bottom of the 1st page
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=72274 The shift tube is pretty well captured between the shift collar and the bottom receptacle bracket in the column housing. Is the tang at the NSS still firmly seated in the shift tube? If that has moved up away from the NSS, and it is still seated in the tube, then the tube has definitely moved up. You won't be able to tell till you pull the tube flange.

I got out the flashlight and a better pair of glasses so I could see inside the column better. You are absolutely correct Sargentrs... the shift collar is cracked and separated on the underside of the tube below the shifter mounting tab. Just ordered a new collar. It looks like the hardest part of the job will be getting the turn signal wires back through the tube.

[sargentrs]

Be sure and post up and review where you got your collar, a photo with part number would be great. Shift collars are a common source of confusion to replace. You'll ave to remove the wires from the connector plug. Follow my rebuild thread to see how. I used 3/4" heat shrink tubing around my wires to protect them when threading down through the column. Use a wrap of black electrical tape every few inches. Tape a straightened coat hanger around the last couple of inches. Lay out the heat shrink and squeeze the sides to make it round again. Shove the coat hanger through the tubing. Let the heat shrink extend down past the terminals and shrink it past the terminals down onto the coat hanger. Curve the coat hanger a little and thread it through the column until you get it to the slot where it comes out near the bottom of the column. Use needle pliers to pull the hanger out where you can grab it. Then while you're pulling, push the wires through at the top. I'm glad I protected the wires with the heat shrink because as I was doing this the tubing got scraped as it went into the top slot in the housing and that could have been the wires getting nicked. With the shift collar in place there's not much slot left open. Once it's in cut the shrink tubing off leaving a couple of inches of wires exposed. Reinstall the connector.

[MtnRanchr]

Great idea with the heat shrink tube Randy... thanks for sharing. I was planning to pull a piece of braided high strength cord up when I pull the wires out but I think I like your idea with the coat hangar better. I ordered the collar from LMC... hoping it is correct and a good fit. I'll be sure to do a post-install post when complete.

[sargentrs]

Looking forward to your update!

[MtnRanchr]

OK, so a not-so-quick update on the project to replace the shift collar. My original shift collar was cracked as shown in the photo.

The new shift collar arrived from LMC truck. When I went to install it on the shifter tube the ID of the collar was too small to slide on the tube. Out comes the half round rasp and I went to work on it. I should have continued to file but it started to go on so I put a little grease on the tube and it gave it a good push. It was more than half way on but going no further pushing by hand and at that point it wasn't coming off either. In my haste I forgot about the neutral safety switch finger at the lower end of the tube and when I pulled the whole assembly out of the column I bent the finger down so that it snapped right off when I attempted to remove it from the tube. With a little help from the Convincer (mini-sledge) and 2 blocks of wood I got the collar seated permanently on the shift tube. It was at that point that I realized that I violated rule #1 of vehicle repair… I failed to do a close inspection of the new part compared to the old part… the replacement collar did not have the gear indicator pointer cast into the collar, instead if has a slot for a separate pointer to be inserted.

I tried calling LMC yesterday morning but I was number 57 in the call queue. This morning I called just as their phone lines opened at 6:00 AM and got right through. I got things sorted out with the woman on the phone and she confirmed that the replacement collar does in fact require the separate gear indicator pointer. It would be good if they noted that in the description of the collar. She obviously recognized that too and she is sending me the pointer at no charge. This is my 2nd experience with LMC providing great customer service without me having to ask. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have the best parts out there they make up for it with great customer service. I’m curious what other sources folks are using out there for my future parts needs.

I did manage to get the turn signal wires back through the column and used a modified version of what @sargentrs did. Rather than using heat shrink tubing and a hanger to feed the wires back from the top I fed the hanger up from the bottom, bent the end 90 degrees, taped one wrap around the wires then one wrap with the hanger, then bent hangar flush against itself and continued wrapping the tape down the wires and hangar with very little tape overlap so it didn’t get too thick. I used my foot to pull the hanger down slowly while guiding the wire bundle from the top.

Now I’m waiting on the arrival of the pointer and neutral safety switch pin/clip so I can finish putting it back together.

[390FE1972]

Sorry to hear you are having issues with this. LMC is my last choice for buying parts, as I have had to many things that had poor quality or didn't fit right. Here is a list of some of the places I have had good luck with in regards to better quality and fit:

https://www.npdlink.com/1948-1979-ford-truck (National Parts Depot)
https://www.dennis-carpenter.com/truckhome (Dennis Carpenter)
http://www.carolina-classics.com (Carolina Classics F100)
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwiWg- (MACS)
https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-f100-parts/c/4097/ (CJ Pony Parts F100)
http://www.flashbackf100s.com/ (Flashback F100)

Regards

[MtnRanchr]

Sorry to hear you are having issues with this. LMC is my last choice for buying parts, as I have had to many things that had poor quality or didn't fit right. Here is a list of some of the places I have had good luck with in regards to better quality and fit...

Thanks for the list... this is great to have. I used to be fanatical about keeping my vehicles pristine and I've restored a number of vehicles in the past. Typically I would have researched and gotten to know all of the quality parts guys around the country. My attitude and the cleanliness of my vehicles all changed years ago after we moved to the mountains and have 10 miles of dirt roads just to get to pavement. I bought the F100 as an extension of our homestead since it was a Nebraska farm truck before I bought it. I had no intention of restoring it even though it would be easy to do. It hasn't even turned 70,000 miles yet and no rust. Great to have some better parts options for when the next things break, so thanks again.

[sargentrs]

Give LMC some time. Our very own founder and mentor, Keith, is going to be their new head of Ford parts R&D! I'm sure with him on board we can expect LMC to step up their game. Congratulations, Keith! http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... =2&t=96157

[MtnRanchr]

Thanks for your replies guys... I've gott'er done. The neutral safety switch pin and gear selector pointer arrived from LMC yesterday. The pointer slid right into the shift collar. I then had my wife hold the shift collar/tube all the way forward compressing the tube spring so I could install the turn signal collar. At first I was concerned about getting the T-bolts to engage in the column slots but, as I sometimes do, I was over thinking it and this was no issue at all. The only other challenge was getting the neutral safety switch pin clip to snap into the shift column. After a few tries I removed the neutral safety switch which made it easier. Then I reinstalled the switch, moved it by hand while holding the key in the Start position and used a silver grease marker to note where the Park position was on the switch. This allowed me to easily adjust the switch position to align with the gear selector position.

Since I use my truck as a ranch truck and not a show truck I elected to not paint the shift collar and leave it as it came from LMC. All is good now and hopefully the new shift collar gives another 50 years of service. Below is a picture of my reassembled column with shift collar and gear selector pointer.

@sargentrs - Great news about Keith joining LMC. While I've seen other complain about their customer service, my experience in that regard has been excellent. Looking forward to Keith helping them improve the product quality.

[390FE1972]

Great to see you got her all taken care of, and thanks for letting us know what worked for you!

[sargentrs]

Glad you got her fixed!