98 F250 light duty

I'll start off by saying I'm very new to working on vehicles.


My Shifter practically touches dash when resting in park, have to push it way back to shift into gear. Looks like previous owner busted up plastic shroud to accomodate the shifter problem instead of fixing it.

I'm in the process of swapping the dash it and figured now is the time to fix it. Can anyone tell me where to start? Gear indicator on instrument panel doesn't line up either. I don't know if I need to replace the whole steering set up or if there's an easier fix?

Thank you

 

The entire selector lever comes off as one unit and is fairly easy to remove.
1) Take out the ignition cylinder.
2) Remove the upper steering column cover.
3) Remove the selector lever.
4) Disconnect electrical connector.
5) Remove the gear shift pin.
6) Remove the selector lever.

You can get a whole new assembly from Ford, but it's a little over $200. You may check out some salvage yards around you, hopefully you have a U-Pull-It type place that lets you wander around and remove whatever you need. If you can find a decent used unit, you can replace yours fairly easy.

As for the indicator being off, remove the dash panel underneath the steering wheel and then look for a cable on top of the steering column (under the dash) underneath the PRND indicator and there should be a little plastic "tube" that has a white plastic wheel on it. Rotating that wheel should adjust the indicator on the dash.

 

There are two torx head screws/bolts that attach that assembly to the steering column tube. If those are loose, that may be your only problem.

 

i thought my steering shift tube had to be cracked so I went through it all dropped my steering column and it's in great shape. Putting it all back together I'm not able to get it to shift at all. Any ideas about what I'm doing wrong. I don't see any other ways to put it back together and I'm stumped and getting mighty discouraged. It's been a frustrating Sunday to say the least.

1998 f150 4x4 with a 5.4

 

Is it stuck in Park Super B? If so, check the fuses. It will not come out of park if the fuse if blown.

 

The battery has been disconnected since I started tinkering. I don't think it's in park. I think it needs to be aligned correctly before I tighten it all back up. I'm just not sure how to tell when it's in the right spot. Should have snapped a pic or something but I never did.

 

what fuse should I be looking for. I can't get it to move more than two gears and I'm getting very frustrated with this. It's my only mode of transportation and right now it's nothing but a lawn ornament. It seems to be stuck in 2 and 3.

 

If it moves into 2 gear, then it isn't the fuse. You have something out of kilter a bit. Pull the covers and crawl under and have someone try and move the lever while you look. It has to be something simple, as these are not hard columns to work on. Pull the shifter cable from the column and see what you have.

 

the ignition is out and it was out of gear before I tore into the column.everything looks good by the steering shift tube but it doesn't move like it should when I put it back. Does that sound like the shifter cable to you?

 

Disconnect the cable and check. I doubt it. Sounds more like something is binding. It could be anything, that's why I said pull the cable at the column and see what you have. Eliminate things one by one.