How do you change 1997 Aerostar shifter cable?

Answer 1

The steering column must be dropped to replace the gear shift tube. In my case, a torx bolt fell off at the base of my gear tube and caused the gear shift to miss reverse, neutral, and drive. Four nuts with built-in washers, two and two, hold the majority of the weight of the steering column.

To get to the steering column, the upper and lower shroud behind the steering wheel will need to be removed, as well as the lower cover piece underneath the steering wheel, followed by the metal plate. The small support behind the metal plate will have to be lowered on the side by the hood release to allow for the steering column to drop to a level to work on the shifter tube. Note: Don't forget about detaching the small wire connected to the small ball-shaped metal part to the right of the steering column that is encased in black plastic. The encased metal wire shows what gear the van is in. You have to unscrew the black plastic nut between the white plastic part. Take your time as the plastic threaded piece is very brittle and will snap easily.

Aside from the battery, I did not disconnect any electrical connections. Be very careful not to cause the weight of the steering column to dislodge or damage the many electrical connections underneath the column. If the problem cannot be identified or remedied at this point, then the airbag, the steering wheel, and the gear shift have to be removed to fix it.

Note: the metal clamps holding the gear tube in place are very brittle. Make sure they line up and are not overtorqued, or risk breakage. I broke two of them because of an issue with the alignment of the gear tube and the actual gear shift mechanism that moves the gears around. I did resort to using 2 sections (3 inches in length, overlapped for strength) of SS hose clamp as an upgrade on the metal clamp design for the lower fastener. I cut out 2 slits in the SS hose clamps with metal snips to allow the Torx bolts to slide through the hole and fasten into the steering column. Thanks to whoever came up with this idea on the internet.

Through a simple Internet search, you can purchase the gear tube ($30.00) and the gear tube clamps ($7.00 per clamp, but prepare for possible failure).