i drove to work this morning, pulled in shifted my car(automatic 2003 s type-r)into park and it went into reverse.tried several times turning car off and on in neutral and when i shift to park its actually in reverse. i can shift to all the other gears ok just wont go into park.any ideas?

 

Check cables from shifter to transmission especially the bolts. Common posts on the forum so Search will find you details if you look, with pics.

If they're OK, post again as it'll be something rare.

 

ive been doing searches for shift cable,shift linkage, shift linkage bolts.
im not real great at computers so maybe i'm doing something wrong but i cant find any posts about these bolts and where to go to check them.

 

Try the FAQs

General Info ... aka Service Tips

Well worth reading lots, especially the FAQs, till you stumble on things that'll save you big $$$

 

Just get under the car and look at the trans(drivers side) and find where the shifter cable bolts to the side of the trans. Ill wager money youre missing 1 of the 2 bolts. Look on the ground you may get lucky and see it laying there. Otherwise you lost it on the road

 

yep front bolt missing and rear bolt was loose..much appreciated

 

Everyone with the 6-speed ZF transmission should make a habit of tightening both shift cable bolts at every oil & filter change. You're under the car to change the oil filter anyway, so it takes less than 60 seconds to slide on back to the transmission pan with your trusty box wrench and snug both bolts up. If you do this routinely, chances are you'll never have the dreaded problem of your car's shift lever refusing to budge when you go to put it in gear....

 

Ace hardware actually sells the identical bolt in a grade 5 zinc plate. The dimensions from Jaguar are 6mm shank by 1mm thread pitch by 16mm long - that is if you lost your on the road. The bolt actually has an 8mm head - so get a ratcheting spanner wrench to make things go quicker.

 

So, my son (Trevor on here) calls me this morning... He's just parked the STR in the garage at school, but when he goes to put the JGate all the way in "P", it doesn't feel right, and the console either goes blank, or indicates "R" when pushing on it. Now also as a result, because the solenoid senses the car is in-gear... it also won't re-start.


"Dad... can you look on the forums, and see what you can find?"


Visions of having to call a tow service (couple hundred by itself to get the car where he'd need/want), then, the inevitable dealer bill (never cheap, and I can only imagine) running through our heads, and in a near panic - I find this thread and SEVERAL others, and we begin to piece together a couple of the most likely possibilities.


So, armed with some pictures printed out and some tools, I trek out with dread - but at least what we feel is a good checklist for diagnosis in-hand.


Find him in the parking garage, naturally all despondent that he can't get his beloved baby even to move... we quickly decide that the worst of 2 evils is a quick jack of the car, and check the linkage bolts noted here. Although we could not detect any sign that the electronic interlock was functioning (it wasn't because the car obviously "thought" it was still in reverse) his brake lights illuminated when depressing the brake pedal - making the also common brake switch solenoid less likely. Besides, jacking and crawling under the car, actually seemed infinitely preferable to taking apart the console, the more we looked at it anyway.


A quick jack up, chocking the rear wheels and placing a jackstand under the frame, he slides under - and sure enough... the rearward-most linkage bolt... completely missing! Nowhere to be found around on the ground nearby, we jump into my car and head to the local hardware store... armed with the PRECISE spec of the bolt we will need.


Long story now short... in a matter of mere minutes (from time of my arrival), and a MINISCULE $1.19 ...he is now, 100% FIXED!!!


These forums, your contributions to it - and OUR COMMUNITY HERE, JUST ROCKS!!!!


So from me & Trevor, to ALL OF YOU, who so considerately continue to contribute your/our experiences in here... with this now no doubt - for saving us literally HUNDREDS, if not even possibly $1k or more total with this (who knows what a dealer or other possibly less than fully honest shop would have diagnosed/"fixed", then charged) - A HUGE THANK YOU, TO YOU (us) ALL!!!!!


YOU ROCK!!

 

Isn't it great when the forum pulls you through a tough spot like this?

Remember to snug up those two pesky bolts every time you're under the car for an oil & filter change / tire rotation. Thirty seconds well spent every time....

 

I Just wanted to share my experience with this same problem. I went under my car looking to see if I too was going to find loose or missing bolts on the shifter cable bracket. The two bolts were both present and tight. So I investigated further by removing the metal cover over where the end of the cable attaches to the transmission selector arm (for lack of better terminology). I have discovered that the white hard plastic bushing that the selector arm shaft goes through has fallen down out of the transmission allowing sloppy engagement of gears and wouldn't go into park. So I used a combination of tools to manipulate that bushing back into its designed location and behold I now have nice firm positive engagement of all gears and it clicks into park without a fight.

 

Hmm, even more lousy plastic parts to contend with. Thanks for sharing this information....

 

kdecandia - That sounds like the 1999-2002 (USA) car type (1998-2002.5MY) i.e. with Ford 5R55N, not the later kind with ZF 6HP26.

 

I hope he'll come back and clarify for the benefit of everyone here....

 

I apologize for any confusion. It is a US model year 2002. Also definatly a Ford product. As for the specific model number transmission I will need to verify. I assumed that the actuation mechanism was the same based on the description of the fix with the two loose or missing bolts.

 

It's similar, but not the same, I think. We hear the Ford variant breaking but not the ZF one. The ZF gets the loose bolts instead!

 

I know this thread is old and I haven't been around in a while. I do have a question about this process. If the linkage bolt is missing and needs to be replaced, is there anything special I would need to do or just install the bolt? Is there any type thing else that would need to be tightened? From what I have read it seems like just pop the bolt in and its good to go.

 

This thread is confusing because you have two different transmissions involved that do two different things. The 2003 and up cars with the 6 speed ZF are known for the 2 shifter bolts to loosen and even fall out.

The early cars with the 5 speed Ford transmission are know to have the cable stretch which requires replacement. The shifter bolts do not loosen up. Now what was posted above is rare for the Ford 5 speed and I have never heard of it here or on the Lincoln LS forums.

The thing is both problems cause the same issue. You can't get the car in park or in one of the other shifter positions.

Just know which transmission your car has.

To answer your question the key is to be GENTLE! The shifter bolts are very small and only need a slight snug up. What I did was remove and use blue Loctite so I don't ever need to worry about it again. Now you have the Ford 5 speed so bolts will NOT be your problem. Many early cars get stretched shifter cables. When that happens no amount of readjusting will fix it. You will need a new shifter cable.
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How complicated of a process is it to change the cable?

 

I have not done that repair as I have a 2005 model. There are some posts about it. I would do it at home as I don't think it would be too hard of a repair.
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