F53 – Replace transmission shift lever (OD button)

Immediately after we bought our Southwind,  I noticed the over drive button (OD) seemed to be intermittent.  A search of the internet showed that this was a common problem with Fords.  Where the wires exit the transmission shift lever,  they can chafe,  break, and sometimes short out, causing weird instrument panel problems and even blowing the instrument panel fuse.

I temporarily repaired the wires and its worked fine for the past 22 months (READ HERE) . A couple weeks ago I found an inexpensive replacement lever so I decided to replace the entire shift lever to fend off future problems.

The replacement lever is a Dorman 905-109, $43 from Amazon. Read note below.

REPLACING THE LEVER

1) Remove the steering column covers.

From the underside, remove the two screws that hold the top cover on.  After the screws are out, the bottom cover will come off, but before you can get the top cover off, you need to remove the key lock cylinder.

2) Remove the key lock cylinder

Put the key in the ignition and turn it to the RUN position. On the underside of the key lock cylinder, press the small release button in as you gently pull the key lock cylinder out.  It will press in about 1/4 inch to release the cylinder.

Remove the top plastic cover. Reinstall the key lock cylinder and turn the key to the OFF position.

You may need to remove additional steering column covers.  My bottom cover was held in place by two plastic push fittings,  These came out by prying.  The top piece was held in by two screws.

3) Remove the rubber shift lever boot.

There are two catches that hold the boot on. Push in on the tab on the right side and pull up.  Pry the top catch up to get it to release..

4) Remove release pin

The release pin is pressed in from the top. Tap the pin from underneath to push it up and out.

The shift lever will now pull out.

The OD wire snakes down, crosses over the top of the column, and plugs into a connector on the left side of the steering column.  The connectors are attached to a small bracket.  I removed the connector from the bracket to I could get at it easier.

Before installing the new lever, I plugged it in to make sure I wasn’t going to need to modify the wires,  See the note below.

The new lever can be installed reverse order.  Place a little lubricate (Lubriplate) on the shaft before installing it.

IMPORTANT

I ran across several reviews of this item that stated it didn’t work, and after investigation,  they discovered that two wires were switched on the connector.  Mine worked ok out of the box,  but this is a heads up in case you have a problem.

Before installing it,  plug it in and make sure it works. With the ignition ON,  when I press the button,  the OD light turns ON,  press again, and it turns OFF..

If the OD light stays ON regardless of pressing the button,  the two outside wires need to be swapped. Don’t go by wire color in the photo, I hear the error is actually up inside where the wires connect to the switch socket.