My 96 Ford Thunderbird will not engage any gear including neutral no matter where the shifter is. It is stuck in park. I was wondering what are the problems that could cause this? I am hoping that is just a disconnected cable. Please help, my car is just not worth a new tranny and I have to be at work tomorrow morning.

Asked by ThunderchickenLS Jul 03, 2014 at 01:04 PM about the 1996 Ford Thunderbird LX RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

It drove and shifted fine on and off the freeway. When I got to my destination I put it in park
and did not even shut it off. When I went to leave the shifter handle felt way loose. It did
not click through reverse and neutral to drive. There is no engine sound change when the
shifter is put into where a gear should be. The engine revs but that is all. We could not
even get neutral to push it into a parking spot.

3 Answers

Thank you for your response. It was the shifter cable. It snapped in the middle. Now finding one that does not cost $270 is the new challenge.

I have a 93 T- Bird, and the shift cable broke, looked all over the US, very hard to find a salvage one. Thunderbird SC website has 3 of them for $75 to $85, with the shifter, but they are from Minnesota, kinda crusty looking. California Push-Pull company is repairing mine, just send them your cable, and they can probably repair it. info@push-pull.com

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