Replace correct C6 shift lever

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thomas1984

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7173 Mustang Supporter Member
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Nov 24, 2014
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Location
Kista, Sweden
My Car
1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with 460 engine, C6 automatic gearbox.
I had my '73 I bought last autumn at the car inspection a month ago to get it road legal. Turns out I do not have a NSS mounted on my C6 tranny, and you are not allowed to be able to start the car other than in P and N.

I bought a NSS and when I was going to mount it I was not able to because the shift lever does not have the indents/notches on it or allows me to even mount it the correct way. It looks like the OP have mounted wrong shift lever and also did some welding on it? How is it supposed to look like? I have tried to search for a correct one but they seem to be rare. What I also understand I will need to drop the tranny pan in order to access a nut from the inside in order to replace the shift lever?

2cpba0o.jpg


I dismounted the kickdown lever to show you the most interesting part. Also, the kickdown lever has no linkage to the carb.

I keep finding faults on this car and it feels like I did not make a good bargain when I bought it. Makes me also wonder how the car have passed the car inspection every year for the OP to get it road legal. :mad:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
To replace that shift lever you actually need to remove the transmission from the car.

Drop the pan, pull the pump and the clutch assembly, that will gain you access to the linkage. It is a big job.

Just check to see if you have a neutral safety switch inside the floor shifter.

If the car had a FMX transmission and somebody installed a c6 later there will be a fmx nuetral safety inside the floor shifter.

If you have reverse lights when you go into reverse then you have a fmx nuetral safety switch.

Check the firewall on the drivers side of the transmission tunnel for the neutral safety connectors there should be 2 one is reverse the other cuts ignition power when trying to start the car in any gear but park or nuetral.

If you see black tape over one of the connectors somebody could of hotwired the nuetral safety to bypass.

To check for a fmx neutral safety ,pull the shifter cover, you may need to remove the clock cover on the full floor console and pull the shifter handle. There are 4 screws for the cover. Once

removed look inside you could see the switch for the fmx.

So check to see if you have the fmx switch if you do it works the same as the c6 version and you should be ok unless it needs to be adjusted.

I have a c6 on my car incorrect linkage and a fmx safety switch.

Additionally the correct linkage looks like an S and has 2 shifter rods one connects to the c6 to select gears the other connects to the steering column and works the thieft steering wheel lock when the car is in park and key in lock and removed.

 
To replace that shift lever you actually need to remove the transmission from the car.

Drop the pan, pull the pump and the clutch assembly, that will gain you access to the linkage. It is a big job.

Just check to see if you have a neutral safety switch inside the floor shifter.

If the car had a FMX transmission and somebody installed a c6 later there will be a fmx nuetral safety inside the floor shifter.

If you have reverse lights when you go into reverse then you have a fmx nuetral safety switch.

Check the firewall on the drivers side of the transmission tunnel for the neutral safety connectors there should be 2 one is reverse the other cuts ignition power when trying to start the car in any gear but park or nuetral.

If you see black tape over one of the connectors somebody could of hotwired the nuetral safety to bypass.

To check for a fmx neutral safety ,pull the shifter cover, you may need to remove the clock cover on the full floor console and pull the shifter handle. There are 4 screws for the cover. Once

removed look inside you could see the switch for the fmx.

So check to see if you have the fmx switch if you do it works the same as the c6 version and you should be ok unless it needs to be adjusted.

I have a c6 on my car incorrect linkage and a fmx safety switch.

Additionally the correct linkage looks like an S and has 2 shifter rods one connects to the c6 to select gears the other connects to the steering column and works the thieft steering wheel lock when the car is in park and key in lock and removed.
Click to expand...
Thanks 72HCODE!

This is a real blow to me! :( I do not have the NSS inside the floor shifter. I don't have reverse lights and the two connectors are eagerly waiting for the NSS, lol! It's been hotwired by the PO, please refer to the picture. I guess this will be a work I will be able to do in like 5 years when I have my own house and garage. Right now the car is parked in an indoor parking lot. Ugh! This day just turned very ugly for me.

oqlkeg.jpg


So, does anyone know where I can order the correct shifter lever? So far I have been unlucky locating one.

 
Thats sucks to hear how much work it takes to remove a shifter lever on a c6.. I have never taken my car to get inspected and I have been driving it for three years. Maybe I should get that done before my luck runs out..

Wish I could help on this subject but I am useless here.

 
@thomas1984 that is a shame.

:(

somebody really booger-ed up that shift linkage on the car with a weld also.

the shift linkage looks like this

mump_0210_13_+detail_a_1971_c6_transmission+_shift_rod.jpg


then the neutral safety goes on top of it, this picture off google is not 100% correct either i'll take a photo of mine tonight.

What happens is the shift linkage is held on with a large nut inside the transmission and the kick down goes through the center.

there is not enough clearance to pull the linkage out by just taking the valve body out. you have to pull the entire clutch pack out and pull the 2nd gear band out to get to the linkage so you can swap it.

at that point you might as well pay for a total rebuild of the c6 because half the trans has to come apart to get to the linkage anyway.

i just went through this rebuilding a 1973 trans c6 for my 1972 mach 1

 
Thanks for the info 72HCODE. I was told buy the salesman that the former PO was a Mustang entusiast. I really doubt it as some things done to this car is just really absurd. I look forward to see your photo. :)

 
trust me mustang enthusiast doesn't mean much other then the guy liked to look at mustangs.

:)

 
On a C6 you can swap the levers with a little work and with the trans in the car. I have done it more than a few times. It is the same process as changing the selector seal except you are putting it back together with the new external arm.

After blocking the wheels so it does not roll.

Basically you drop the trans pan, remove the valve body, and use a big box end wrench to snake around the internal arm on the lever and loosen the lock nut inside the trans. That lets you slide out the old external arm and slide in the new one.

Reverse the process to put back together.

Be careful with the long thin valve body bolts - they break fairly easy. Be sure to get them in the right holes - some are longer than others. Not all need to come out to get the valve body out.

Before you put the pan back on make sure the trans can be moved all the way from low to park and that it locks the trans when in park.

98ht04.jpg


7D261 is the internal arm you are going to snake the box end wench around to get to the 33945-5 nut.

You are replacing the 7A256. The 7D261 is not removed so no need to remove anything other than the valve body.

2hwkvh2.jpg


Even with a lift this is a messy job. Imagine the last pic laying on your back under the car with trans fluid dripping on you.

Might as well replace the trans filter as well.

The hardest part will be finding the correct external arm.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
On a C6 you can swap the levers with a little work and with the trans in the car. I have done it more than a few times. It is the same process as changing the selector seal except you are putting it back together with the new external arm.

After blocking the wheels so it does not roll.

Basically you drop the trans pan, remove the valve body, and use a big box end wrench to snake around the internal arm on the lever and loosen the lock nut inside the trans. That lets you slide out the old external arm and slide in the new one.

Reverse the process to put back together.

Be careful with the long thin valve body bolts - they break fairly easy. Be sure to get them in the right holes - some are longer than others. Not all need to come out to get the valve body out.

Before you put the pan back on make sure the trans can be moved all the way from low to park and that it locks the trans when in park.

98ht04.jpg


7D261 is the internal arm you are going to snake the box end wench around to get to the 33945-5 nut.

You are replacing the 7A256. The 7D261 is not removed so no need to remove anything other than the valve body.

2hwkvh2.jpg


Even with a lift this is a messy job. Imagine the last pic laying on your back under the car with trans fluid dripping on you.

Might as well replace the trans filter as well.

The hardest part will be finding the correct external arm.
Click to expand...
+1

I had to replace that arm after the tranny was installed when I noticed that the replacement had a different shift lever. Really wasn't much to it once I figured out how to do it, just a little messy with the fluids.

 
I really appreciate your help guys! Thanks for the pictures, it will really help me understand how to do this later on as I do want a working NSS and correct shift lever. Another member, a fellow Swede, talked to me about a work around to make the car only start in Park using a micro switch. I'll probably give him a call so he can explain how to wire it. :)

Talking about removing the valve body, I found this picture marking the bolts needed to be removed.

Ford-C6-Valve-Body-Removal-300.jpg


This might also be of interest to others where to "snake" the box end wrench in order to remove the nut.

100_2735.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
I ordered a shifter arm for a '70 C6 from the link I posted earlier. I got some personal service from them to ship it to Sweden. :) I hope it will work! I'll post an update later on, hopefully I'll even do a write-up of this. There is probably more people that need this information.

In the meantime I've mounted a mikro switch with double sided tape to make the car only start in P. A real ghetto mod but atleast I will get the car to pass the inspection and make it road legal.

260vl0o.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:

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