Sloppy shifter

[WanganS30Z]

Hi! i own a 99 cougar 4 cyl mtx and the shifter is VERY sloppy. I'll be in third and can move it in all four directions about an inch without it popping it out of gear. and the same goes for all gears although not as severe as 3rd. I am not sure if this would be the bushings or the shift cables, etc. any help would be appreciated.

[brapple]

most likely its the bushings on the cable ends.

[B3NN3TT]

The shifter is held into the shift tower by a retaining plate on the top. YOu can easily see this when you remove the shift boot. There are sometimes 2, sometimes 4 torx-head screws that hold the retaining plate down, keeping the ball of the shifter solidly in place. These screws are known to work themselves loose after time, causing the situation you are experiencing right now.

[brapple]

great point, I forgot that those bolts sometimes come loose. definately worth checking out also.

[LostRacer]

Yes it is sometimes that simple

:ty:

[AndrewM6097]

Yes it is sometimes that simple

:ty:

:rofl: is that what your problem ended up being?? I remember you asking about cables not too long ago.

[LostRacer]

:rofl: is that what your problem ended up being?? I remember you asking about cables not too long ago.

:flushed: Yep. I removed the boot to check on the cables only to find two bolts sitting above the plate..:rofl:
Tightend them up and I was good to go :thumbsup:
I'm such a noob. :rofl:

[TheWingsER]

yeah same things happend to me! it got so bad that i couldn't get it into first gear lol

[WanganS30Z]

Hey thanks guys, ill check the torx bolts first to see if thats the case, if not where can i get the bushings from?

[kevxr2002]

probably autozone or better yet Bill Jenkins @ teamfordparts.com. Let him know ur from NECO.

[nadthomas]

Be careful, and try to get this figured out ASAP. I had this problem as well and it ended up being my bushings at the end of the cable, but I didn't realize it until it got so bad that the cable actually slipped off. Fortunately, I was stuck in 2nd, and I had just take the car out for a quick test run after fixing something else. So, it was easy for me to get the car home to band aid fix it, until I could get some new bushing from Bill J.

[99mcougar]

Join the club my bolts were loose too. Sounds just like my problem. But like the other said get it done right away incase its something worse.

[WanganS30Z]

Thanks All!! I appreciate it.

[SingleShot]

I just put in a B&M in my car and was having problems with it. looked at the bushings on the tranny(end of the shift cables) and only 1/4 of it was there. Went to a Mercury and then Ford dealer and they did nothing.Lol no wonder my shifter was so loose and hard to get into gears. not to mention the torx bolts on the shifter mount were loose too.