Questioni was about to backup from a friends house when something gave and i had no control of the gear shift. the handle moves but it feels as tho its not attached to what makes the handle place the truck in any gear. its a 1992 ford F-150 pick up.
Answer Ok, this is pretty common with 92 or newer Ford trucks and 90 and newer Ford cars. One of two things has happened, look on the very back of the column, up underneath the dashboard, and you'll find where the shifter cable attaches to a metal bracket, sort of a "Z" shaped bracket, it has two T30 screws that attach it to the aluminum shifter tube, sometimes these becomes loose, because, you have to remember your truck was assembled by a machine, not a human.. if they are loose, you need to tighten them up and you should be ok. Now, the other thing (which is more common in trucks) is that the aluminum shifter tube has broken in half. This does not require you to buy a new steering column, because they are pretty tough to find in good shape, you can buy something pretty cheep and more common, out of anything 90 or newer Ford cars, that has that style shifter. When you are looking for one, don't go by the shifter arm itself, they differ between cars and trucks, you want the tube that the shifter arm attaches to. It is a job for someone mechanically inclined, if you think you can handle it, I would say on a scale of 1-10, 10 being to toughest, it's a 7. I can give you instructions on how to replace this piece if you like, let me know and I can help you through it.
