Shifter very loose - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer

Hello. It seems the 'shift linkage' is 'wore out' on your truck; causing unwanted 'shifts'. Usually there is no trouble with the shifter itself; just the 'linkage'. When the shifter is 'manhandled'; this is what happens. Good luck and keep me informed; if you want to.

Cable has come loose from the shifter or transmission.

The other end of that shifter is on top of the transmission.at the end of the cable. Check there for loose or worn parts

Hi, you do not indicate what vehicle this is and the only thing that i can suggest is if it is a Ford the holding plate is loose on the top end of the gear shifter, move the carpet near the gear shifter and this will give access to this area, tighten any loose screws or nuts on the end of the gear shifter. If the vehicle is a VW then you will have to go under the car and tighten the holding nut at the end of the gear shifter. All the best.

its bad, or is just loose.
requiring, access , inspection and correcting looseness or replacement as reality dictates.
why not look first. find what is loose. then ask how to fix X that is loose.
could be bad shifter, bad pivot, bad base bad, mount, who knows?

Look under dash where steering column is. Find the connection for the shift cable. see if the mount that the cable end connects to is loose. wiggle it. If it is there are 2 torx screws that mount the bracket to the shift tube that you need to tighten. I think they are a T-27 size bit. This is a common problem on fords. easy fix. I usually will take the screws out and use a thread locking compound in them to stop it from happening again.

the shifter cable may have worked loose or broken. do you feel the same resistance that you used to when shifting? or just a very loose floppy shifter,if so,i suggest a broken or loose shifter cable.thank you for choosing fixya.com and by the way no relay will keep your shifter from shifting gears from park to drive,reverse.

It sounds like the bushings on the steering column that hold the shifter in place are worn out ot the brackets holding the bushings in place have come loose allowing for excessive movement with the shifter shaft. These things also had a problem with a bracket coming loose at the lower part of the steering column. You can look up under the dash (laying on your back) and find the shifter cable where it attaches to the shifter shaft. There are tree bolts that hod this bracket on. If they come loose you will have this same problem To fix it you need a T-30 torx socket and a ratchet to tighten these three bolts.

check for a loose shifter screw in the column. Remove the upper and lower plastic covers behind steering wheel and check the torx or allen head screws. they are probably loose.

go here for more help and pics of loose shifter.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/villagerquest/

adjust the steal connections at gearbox there at the end off the cables attached to your shifter.adrian