Gear Selector P,R,(D),2,1 Problems

[goldeney4564]

I'm new to the site.. I bought my used 1997 EddieBaur about 3 months ago. Everything ran fine all electronics work and still do. The only problem I am having is if I want to manually put the transmission into either 2nd or 1st gear it WILL NOT let me. The gear selector on the column works fine in park, reverse, and drive, but again- will not go into 2 or 1. A few days ago after the problem was still going on, I tried to shift it into 2 just out of the blue on the road, and surprisingly it went into 2nd gear, but would not go into 1st. The next day and till current will not go back into 2nd or 1st. any suggestions?

 

[jacks3am]

there was a recall on the selector if the indicator was off, like your in reverse when the indicator is on neutral, i have that but i can still get through all of my gears
check the recalls

 

[goldeney4564]

no the selector is fine, I took the bottom part of the dash off to look at the wheel which adjusts the needle, and the wheel is fine... I hope I don't have a big mechanical trans issue

 

[goldeney4564]

UPDATE: It was JUST MUD!

after numerous hours of staring at the underside of the steering cover/disassembly of the dash, I remembered I had been doing some off-road activity lately... so I crawled underneath the truck to find dirt, stones, and mud alllll over the shift linkage. after some picking with a flathead screwdriver, compressed air, and WD-40... THE PROBLEM IS FIXED! the shift indicator now moves freely from Park all the way to manual gear 1.

 

[40eastvp]

Have shift cable checked

I had the same problem with my 97 xlt it turned out the shift cable was backing out of the tranny and once replaced it worked perfect. that cable is responible for changing gears.

 

[kimtiaz]

gear shift indicator Jam

I have expedition 2004 model XLT and its gear shift indicator Jam on 1 (at the end). It don't move back to 2 D N R or P. So how to fix it.

 

[goldeney4564]

Check under the truck where the linkage is and have someone try and shift the trans while you look at the linkage, if the linkage tries to move pick at it with a screwdriver and spray wd40 on it, if it doesn't move it could be a problem under the dash where the column is or it could be a problem with the trans