Transmission selector

[Fleet]

My car is a 1995 Lincoln Town Car Signature series. 142,000 miles.

The transmission selector has become mushy/loose. It no longer can be put in park which means I have to start it in neutral. Then I pull the lever way to the right to put it in drive, to "1." Once it's in gear, I put it a little to the left in the proper places (drive). The backlight is correct when it is in drive, meaning it does line up.

The last few weeks, it won't go into reverse. I am thinking a part is worn in the steering column. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[joegr]

It's been a long time, but I had the same or very similar symptoms on a Grand Marquis. It was nothing worn, it was a loose bolt on part of the linkage. I can't remember if it was under the dash or on the side of the transmission. Either way, it wasn't too hard to get to and tighten back up.

Get someone to wiggle the gear shift while you look under the dash and/or under the car. It should be easy to spot where it is loose.

 

[Fleet]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. I will check that out.

 

[lincolnjlincoln2]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. I will check that out.

It’s called a shift tube, it sits behind the steering wheel, it’s made of aluminum and they tend to snap, kinda a grind to fix it, but definitely not the hardest thing I’ve done to my luxoboat.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

There should be an adjustment to the shift cable to compensate for the cable stretching.

If nothing else... buy a new cable from a parts store.

IIRC... the only part that can come loose... is the ball on the column that moves the shifter. I had to tighten that up a couple times on my F-150.

Or lastly... the gear selector switch may have come loose on the shifter shaft on the side of the tranny... or it may have failed.