Tip & How-To about 2001 Ford Escape

Ford Escape Transmission Shifter Problems

From 2001 through 2002 Ford used a plastic bushing on both ends of the transmission shifter cable that disintegrates over time and when it breaks your cable will slide off the steel stud either under the hood or inside your steering column, making it impossible for you to shift gears. The expensive replacement cable has the same plastic bushings so I decided to fix mine a better way. I had to search a while and measure many steel bushings before finding one that had the perfect inside and outside diameter. Finally I found a wire splice ferrule (12.5 - 14 ga.) used in fencing sold at Tractor Supply http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/fence-wire-ferrules-9-to-12-1-2-ga-pack-of-50 Simply drill a small hole at one end for a cotter pin and then press the ferrule onto the steel stud with pliers. Slide your shifter cable on it and then add a nylon washer and cotter pin. (which the factory should have done for safety anyway!!!!)



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1964 Ford Ranchero, advice on repairing sloppy steering mounted gear change
If you look under the hood where the shifter linkage goes from the column to the transmission. You should have 3 rods, and at the ends of the rods should be bushings. Over time, these bushings wear out and disintegrate away. You should be able to purchase a kit to rebuild your shift linkage. Just make sure you label the rods location and orientation before you remove them. It can become quite a headache if you get them out of order.
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Oct 15, 2015 • Ford Cars & Trucks
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I have a 1997 Ford Taurus Wagon and the shifter is moving but the car is not catching any gears, it will not move.
need to check the shift cable at the transmission. a little plastic bushing is used to hold the cable in place and it breaks.
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Jul 16, 2011 • 1997 Ford Taurus
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1999 Saturn SL2 manual transmission stuck in gear, shifter moves freely. Where could the problem location be...under car or do I need to take out the console to locate problem
The problem is the bushing that attaches the cable to the shifter has failed. This is a plastic bushing and can be reattached if the tabs are not broken. You need to remove the console to access the cable end, the bushing goes through the plastic cable end and snaps on the ball attached to the shifter. There is a stainless replacement part available on line for $29.00 check satarnshifterbushing.blogspot.com
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Jul 25, 2010 • 1999 Saturn SL
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2answers

1995 Saturn SW2 5 speed manual transmission doesn't engage any gears; no noises no warning. What could it be
It sounds to me like the linkage between the gear shift handle and the transmission case.
You'll have to get under the car to see if that's the case so take an adjustable spanner under there with you. You may also need to find a a bolt or nut to put it back together. If that's the problem, put some "thread locker" on the bolt threads and it won't happen again.
Jim Hart
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Jun 20, 2010 • Cars & Trucks
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5 spd manual trans, shifter doesn't have enough side to side movement to actuate 1st & 2nd gears. Shifter may be at fault? Bushings all seem intact at cable ends. It's the Lt cable that controls the side to side movement that doesn't have enough through to get trans to slide all the way out to operate 1st & 2nd gears.
Check the busings on BOTH ends of the shifter cables. First check underneath the center console that your bushing didn't break and cause your shifter to be limp and not move anywhere. This is a very common problem and can be remedied permanently by getting the delrin bushing found on ebay.

Next, if the above is fine, check the clips on the shifter side under the hood. There are 4 clips. Two hold the cable ends to the tower and slide horizontally. The other two hold the cables onto the transmission and slide on vertically. Sometimes these clips fall off and makes the shifter inoperable.

Finally if all of the above checks out the last possibility is that your shifter tower metal tab that the shifter cables attaches to is broken and sliding instead of pushing or pulling. This happened to my car but is not likely as my manual was in a raced Saturn previously so wear from that most likely caused it to break.
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Feb 22, 2010 • 1999 Saturn SL
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