Shift lever problem on ‘65 bird

[Maxiwoofus]

Hello and first timer here. I just installed a new shift lever kit and the rubber bushing at the firewall. My proble is that after reassembly if I pull the steering wheel towards me in the driver seat, the shift lever disengages from park into reverse or neutral. It appears that the collar separates from the steering wheel.
I thought I reinstalled everything ok....?
When disassembling, I replaced the upper bearing. To do so I had to jiggle the column in and out (about 2 inches) to loosen the old bearing.
it seems now that by juggling the column I have additional play in the column and it allows the steering wheel and collar to separate enough to disengage the shift lever
Did I mess up the lower column ( say near the flex disk)?
All advice is appreciated
Regards

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[inspector]

I've been through the process your talking about without acquiring the problems you've run into. I think you have to methodically disassemble what you have done and look for whatever is loose or missing.

 

[Seabird]

It’s hard to diagnose this without being there to see it. Check a few things. At the low end of the column there are two parts that should be replaced if you didn’t already, 1. the lower bushing 2. the centering cone. Those parts would not cause the problem you described even if they’re still the old worn out parts.

At the top of the column I can think of two things going wrong. First, your shift lever slipping is due to a worn shift detent or a groove cut in the end of the shift lever or both. Shift levers on this car are soft and they wear a groove against the detent. Replace both those parts. Secondly, there are two small square-headed bolts that draw the shift collar and column together tightly which are very easy to mess up during repair work. I would look for those to be the cause of your separation issue. The nuts that go on those two little bolts are one of the tricky jobs on this car.

 

[Maxiwoofus]

It’s hard to diagnose this without being there to see it. Check a few things. At the low end of the column there are two parts that should be replaced if you didn’t already, 1. the lower bushing 2. the centering cone. Those parts would not cause the problem you described even if they’re still the old worn out parts.

At the top of the column I can think of two things going wrong. First, your shift lever slipping is due to a worn shift detent or a groove cut in the end of the shift lever or both. Shift levers on this car are soft and they wear a groove against the detent. Replace both those parts. Secondly, there are two small square-headed bolts that draw the shift collar and column together tightly which are very easy to mess up during repair work. I would look for those to be the cause of your separation issue. The nuts that go on those two little bolts are one of the tricky jobs on this car.

It was the square bolts! Thanks