How-To: $5 shifter base fix (00-02.5)
 

So yesterday I began replacing my shifter cables and broke my shifter base. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...2/IMG_6443.JPG

I'm pretty sure it was already cracked, but I didn't feel like buying another plastic one or spending $150 for a short throw shifter, so I decided to fix my broken one. Here is what I did:
Bought a 4" 11/16 electrical panel cover and some bolts at home depot

Cut off the little knobs under the shifter base.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...8/IMG_6445.JPG

Cut the panel to size.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...2/IMG_6449.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...8/IMG_6450.JPG

Drilled holes in the base and then put the bolts through the metal plate and the shifter.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...2/IMG_6458.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E...2/IMG_6459.JPG

Then I added an extra support bracket made from the cut out materiel in the spot where the base started to fail and where I think it gets the most stress.(hard shifts from first to second)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p...2/IMG_6464.JPG

After everything fit nicely dry I took it apart and added liberal amounts of JB weld.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...2/IMG_6477.JPG

Now I just need to let it dry overnight and then put it back it the car. We'll see how it holds up but I think it will do pretty well.

I'll edit your title and we'll add this to the How-To when you're finished. Good job!

That's smart

Pretty cool, people can doe this if they see it cracking before it gets too bad.

That's even smarter!

Very ingenius fix on the shifter base, and very cost affective too. Nice work.

Very good idea. I will have to keep this in mind when I change my cable.

Actually neither of you have this style of shifter. This shifter base is on vehicles 2002.5 and older. 02.5+ MT vehicles use a different Tri-ax setup where the shift cable connects to the shifter arm above the pivot point, and the gate cable is operated by a rod is perpendicular to the shift arm at the pivot point. I don't think it is as susceptible to cracking as the old design. If you are planning on changing cables I just recently wrote about adjusting cables according to Helms instructions, and the Ford Special tool needed- which might be in your glove box. If you have a red C shaped plastic thing that has been in your glove box for a long time and you can't figure out what it is- it is for adjusting the shift cables.

Well...it was still a nice write up. Thanks for the heads up and I will your write up...thanks again.

Here it is installed. It seems to be working pretty well. I've been driving around without my center console so I can look at it. I can definitely see that the extra bracket is taking some of the stress when I'm shifting and I'm glad I put it on.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...488%5B1%5D.JPG
P.S. If you are taking pictures of your car's internals with a DSLR use a lens hood, mine saved my lens a bunch of times when I was shooting during this project.