1993 F150 2 wheel drive. Started vehicle, then shifting became a problem. Could not get it to shift out of 2nd. Park didn't exist when trying to shift to get to park. Indicator bar (red line) would go up to PARK but would spring back to 2nd gear. My husband manually moved the gear from under the truck and it would not move to Mark. He could only get it to Reverse. He moved it all the way back to 1st, then counted the gears as he moved through each one. He could not get to park. The red line did not line up wiht the correct gear but it would land between the letters. He could get it to start in Nuetral but could not get it to move to Park to start it. Hubby wants to know if we should pull the whole column out or is there a possibility of something cheaper to fix?
I'm not sure if this is also part of the same problem but the ignition is sloppy. It's difficult to start sometimes. Or you can pull the key out sometimes and it keeps running.

 

Look up under the dash at the steering column where the shifter cable attaches. The plate that holds the ball end for the shift cable is notorious for coming loose. It has 2 bolts in it that you need a torx socket for. Check that first. If it's tight tell him to pop the shift cable off at the transmission and to see if he can get the transmission to go into park like he tried before. If it goes into park without the shifter cable hooked up and the plate on the column is tight check for anything else that might look suspect and post back up in here.

 

Here's what the column looks like. You should be able to see the piece at the top with a little ball on it for the end of the shifter plate. It's the piece in the middle attached to the end of the shift tube.
That's the piece that crownman is talking about. Those little torx screws may have come loose.
For the other problem you'll see where the ignition lock cylinder is - you can get a new one of those and it's fairly simple to replace, or that white box bolted on the bottom of the column is the actual ignition switch, there's a rod (actuator rod) from the key to that switch that moves the contact piece back and forth (all the way to start is spring loaded).

 

Thanks for the help and the pictures. My brother in law arrived to take a look at it. He removed the lower panel under the steering wheel and removed the Steering Column Shift Tube. it was broken all the way around it in a jagged line. We are so glad it busted close to home and no one was hurt. We ordered a new one on line and it arrives this week.




Steering Column Shift Tube Assembly w/ Bushing Set

 

I had to replace mine a few weeks ago. it's an easy job. Tell him to make sure to use some thick grease like bearing grease between those black bushings and the tube itself. If he puts it in with no lube it will make the shifter hard to move.

 

Loose torx bolts, actually 1 had sheared . Found it sitting on the side board and threw it away . After more looking the light came on. Thanks