This is the shifter tube on my 93 F150. Apparently this failure is common enough the aftermarket supports it.

Broke Monday night and had to be towed home. You'd think after nearly 60 years Ford would realise shift tubes/collars and potmetal don't geehaw.

Every pic I've seen online the thing broke in almost exactly the same place.

 

Geez 27 years of service...you kinda expect more than that out of a vehicle, id bring it back

 

Yeah there are a lot of common failures on all makes and models. That's why I have always tried to buy used vehicles that are really common- easy to find parts in the yards cuz there are a lot of them, and if there is a common failure spot the aftermarket will supply cheaper replacement parts. Can you imagine if that part broke on a 27 year old Alfa Romeo Turbo Familytruckster??

 

F150 forums talk like Ford redesigned the part due to so many failures. Trying to decide whether to go Ford part or aftermarket. On a 27 yr old truck with 260k on it and takes a quart of oil every 600 miles, aftermarket probably makes more sense.

Funny thing was I had it scheduled for oil change Tuesday morning. Needless to say that didn't happen.

 

What trans is that on?

 

I'm really not sure. It's a lockup OD but don't think it's an AOD. Has PRND21 sequence instead of both OD and D positions.

 

That happens when it's forced and shifter interlock is engaged.

 

Beg to differ. Truck has no brake interlock and has never been forced in or out of gear.

 

Same thing happened on my '99 F350 Super Doody shortly after I bought it. After market prolly better.

 

I always knew they died on the road.

 

Well, this one sure did! Came out of a Sheetz 9pm and when I pulled it to R something popped, shifter flopped and I realized I wasn't going anywhere. It was interesting to watch the wrecker driver load it. Had some special plastic pieces that jammed under the rear tires and slid it onto the rollback.

I will give it to this F150. In 27 yr this is the only time it didn't get me home. Compared to that damned 97 Bravada I owned concurrently with it, the Ford has been trouble free. That POS Blazer in drag broke me of ever owning another modern GM vehicle.

 

I had a company pickup that was about the same year F150. It was a old meter reading truck. Can you imagine how many cycles that thing had went thru the gears! And had the drivers door opened and closed! Anyway one morning went to take it out of park and it broke and shifter just flopped. Called company mechanic and he fixed it but took most the day. Probably the same as yours...

 

I have an 88 and a91 F150 shortboxes. One 4x4 and one 2 wheel. Havent had that issue yet but now will think about it every time i put them in gear!

 

This was just a joke. I have a 2 wheel drive 2012 short bed, standard cab with 40K miles. Love the truck, the 5.0 Coyote in it has more power than I'll ever need.

 

Actually, I always thought THIS is what Fords did...

 

Oh I know, no offense taken. I've heard Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Repair Daily, all of em. My smartass Mopar friend says My Old Pig Ain't Running.

Joe, would that be the Planter Edition trim level?

 

The only ones i can ‘hear’ first on race day or for only real drivers.

 

Wrapped this job up today and wasn't as bad as you'd think. Snapping the shift cable back onto it was the worst b/c you're on your back trying to see up behind the dash. Pretty open back there but tough to see even with the column dropped and the shrouds off.

The Dorman aftermarket tube is reinforced where the breaks occur. It's a good 1/8" thicker in that area than the OE part.

Best part is it works again!

 

Good that you got it fixed! Now your truck is ready to give another 20+ years of service. Here's a good Ford forum I frequent:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/

 

I might be able to use that. I now possess a 73 Club Wagon of my father's and there is little Econoline community out there.

 

I'm a member of that forum - so is Greg Rogers (MI) - good forum. Owned, registered & managed by:

 

I'm curious. Do you know whether a Ford (Motorcraft) genuine replacement has been upgraded and reinforced, as well? Ford is generally pretty good about redesigned upgrades for parts w/ known issues.

 

I didn't check the Ford part as my buddy at Advance had the Dorman part on the shelf and figured would have had to order it at the dealer.

Traffic from a few years back on a couple of F150 forums mentioned Ford had redesigned the shift tube due to so many failures.

I reused the inner shaft as it is steel. Dorman part was aluminum.

 

Thanks. Good to know. I've had a couple things go South on my F-250 and eventually Ford redesigned/upgraded their OEM replacement parts for those items. I appreciate companies who work on redesigning known parts issues.

 

Top broken part is OE Ford. Bottom is Dorman. Notice reinforcement in area of break. Every pic I found online the Ford part was broken the same way and same area.