2.9L Shifter Problem Fix FM145 Transmissions

[Josh51]

Mod Edit:
See post 6 before trying this.

Getting my 86 Ranger ready for my daughter to start driving and one of the things that was a problem is the sloppy shifter. I was about to buy the Core Shifters aftermarket but I decided to pull the shifter off first to take a look at it hoping to save myself $400. I had a bit of up down play but the biggest problem was that I could almost rotate the shifter all the way around. It made it really had to get into reverse. The green ball at the bottom of the shifter that sits in the cup on the tranny was perfectly fine, it fit snug. My problem was the white cam/bushing that sits inside the shifter...it has two wings/nubs on it that fit inside the grooves on the black housing, those nubs have worn themselves out over the years and allowed way to much travel. Unfortunately I couldn't find a replacement cam/bushing. So I decided to attempt to make new nubs. This is first how to write up so bare with me. These first set of picture are the condition of the cam, worn nubs, grooves in the housing and the amount of up and down play of my shifter. Ill make a second post for the how too

 

[Josh51]

In all my searching I didnt come across anyone that had a fix for this so hopefull this works for everyone. It was pretty easy and in total it cost me about $6 and 2 hours.

First thing is to remove the shift boots. then the 4 screws that hold the housing to the the transmission. There are two pinch points on the shaft that need to be filed off so you can slide all the parts off the shaft. I dont think the cam/bushing can be removed so dont try to hard

I found that the head of a 3/8" bolt (3/8" nut also) fits perfectly into the grooves of the black housing. I drilled a 3/8" hole through the cam and shift shift shaft. I tried to make the hole through the center of the cam nubs.

I bought 3/8" nylon/plastic bolts and nuts from the hardware store. DO NOT use metal bolts or they will destroy the grooves in the house. I used metal at first and drove a total of 3 miles to the hardware store to buy the nylon bolts and when I got home there was already slight damage to the housing grooves from the metal bolt heads.

Once the hole if drilled out use a file or razor blade to remove the old plastic numbs. push the plastic bolt though and screw the nut on the other side. cut off excess bolt so that its flush against the nut. Make sure the head of the bolt and the nut are aligned so that the octagon sides are straight up down so the fit properly in the grooves

Test fit the cam in the housing. If the cam doesn't fit all the way into the house use a file to grind the nut and bolt head down a bit. I filed mine at a bit of an angle/taper so they would fit the angle of the housing.

Once you know everything fits I applied some red loctite to the threads of the nylon bolt so that the heads wont shift. Make sure you let it dry

Because we filed off the pinch points on the shaft we need to put something back to hold everything in place. If you have a welder you can just spot weld tabs on. I dont have access to a welder so I drilled a little hole out for a lock pin

To keep the up-down motion at a minimum I placed two nylon spacers and one more metal washer. So it goes housing, plastic cup, metal washer, two nylon washers, metal washers pin. There is a guy on YouTube that did something similar to combat the up down play but it was a bit more than I needed. Here's the link to his video

Slap it all back together and it should feel good as new. Hopefully the pics explain a lot. Let me know if you have any questions

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Nice job! Be interesting to see how long the nylon bolts last, but they are easy to replace anyway.
There is a formula to follow for write ups on TRS. I'll put a link in once I find it.

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[Josh51]

If they last half as long at the original bushing did I'll be happy. When I get some free time Ill rewrite it using the template you gave me...where is the correct area to post it in

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/purpose-of-this-forum.41711/

 

[Josh51]

Just a follow up, IT FAILED. The 3/8 hole I drilled through the shaft didnt leave enough "meat" of the actual shaft and after a few weeks of shifting the shift shaft snapped on me. Luckly I was in 2nd gear so I was able to limp home. I just going to spend the money on the CORE aftermarket shifter, more money but cant put a price on piece of mind. I'm not sure if the mods want to delete the whole thread so no one does what I did.

But if I did it again I would drill hoes in both sides of the white bushing (not through the shaft), tap the holes and thread the nylon bolts into the bushing.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Thanks for the update.

 

[RobbieD]

I'm not sure if the mods want to delete the whole thread so no one does what I did.

In my opinion, a post like this, that is somebody having an idea and trying to fix something problematic, should be kept. Even if it didn't work.

Let's face it; certain parts are no longer available for these older trucks, and we'll only be running into this more and more often. I can see somebody coming along with the same problem, reading this post, and it gives them an idea on how to make something that will work dependably. Something like that, just like this post, can only help all of us older truck owners.

Josh, you have my respect for getting an idea and trying it, sharing what you did, and then coming back and letting us know that it didn't hold up.

Here's to ya, man-

 

[Uncle Gump]

I'm gonna agree that it should be left on here.

I know my 86 Bronco II shifter is pretty sloppy. Like you I didn't want to spend the money on a Core Shifter... but there just isn't another option.

I did move this to the transmission forum so it will be in the right place.

 

[bobbywalter]

put the update in the first post?