2002 Taurus gear selector stuck in drive

[kristi02]

After backing from a parking space and shifting to D my wife reported hearing a clunking sound possibly from the steering column, and D would not engage. After calling me to come look at it she probably forced the gear selector back & forth from P to D until by the time I arrived it would only move from D to 1. The car was shut off and in gear when I arrived. By popping the hood I could manually move the linkage through all gears but the geat selector remained nonfunctioning. We could drive the car home by manually moving the transaxle range sensor. The blue grommet below the nut on the shift cable to the control lever was worn but the nut was secure. Any ideas on what she broke?

[GPFred]

Without having my Haynes manual readily available, my best guess would be the shift cable is broken or separated from the shifter in the column. My '98 Taurus had the indicator break in the column and I was able to fix it with super glue, that is when I noted that it had a cable shift. Good Luck.

[way2old]

If the cable isn't broken, odds are the shift tube is cracked. It is a little more involved to replace than the cable. The shift tube is made of cast aluminum and breaks quite often. My techs keep a spare one in their box. If it is the shift tube, also get 2 bushings for it. Hopefully it is an easier and cheaper fix. Let us know what you find.