Shifting issue, plus others

My first real concern about my newly acquired Falcon is the jerk that occurs when I shift to Reverse and to Drive. It's also accompanied by a slight thrust in the direction I'm heading. It happens often but not all the time. I try to be as gentle as I can with the column shift and my foot is pressed hard on that brake pedal. The transmission shifts fine when I drive. Is this normal? It doesn't feel like it should be. I have a suspicison that it's something in my column shift. Does anyone have any pointers?


Also, my radio and horn doesn't work either. I saw on an earlier post that the battery cables were switched when a Falcon owner had a nonresponsive radio. Would this help in my situation? Or is it a fuse or wire? Any help would be appreciated.

My radio didn't work until I replaced the fuse located in the fuse box on top of the headlight switch.

My horn didn't work until I replace the small horn contact spring (2 of them), one in the steering wheel and one underneath the steering wheel.

What engine and tranny do you have? Is it the stock 144 or 170 with a Ford-o-Matic (2 speed)? What is the idle speed when you are shifting. If the idle was increased then I would expect things like this.

Horn: The 64 and earlier Falcon had a horn relay. It could be that. It could also be missing the brass contacts in the steering wheel. The horns could be bad (not likely that they would both fail). Get yourself a shop manual and a volt meter and start chasing wires. It's a simple car so you shouldn't have trouble finding the problem.

Radio: Check for a 12V power source going into the radio. If you have power then it's likely the radio. If not, check the radio fuse.

Thanks for the help. She's got a 170 with a 2 speed Fordomatic. I didn't think of the idle speed. I have no idea how I check that? I'll look into it.

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Originally Posted by Tex-Mex

Thanks for the help. She's got a 170 with a 2 speed Fordomatic. I didn't think of the idle speed. I have no idea how I check that? I'll look into it.

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You'll need a handhelp diagnostic tach. You can find one at the auto parts store or specialty tool shop - Tool Town or Sears. You'll also want to buy a good timing light and a vacuum gauge for tune up work.

I wanted to suggest motor and tranny mounts.

As and engine shift would make the clunk noise..


Nathan

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Originally Posted by Nathan289

I wanted to suggest motor and tranny mounts.

As and engine shift would make the clunk noise..


Nathan

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Nathan,

So the clunk noise is normal then?

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Originally Posted by Tex-Mex

So the clunk noise is normal then?

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The motor mounts are a good thought. The clunk is not normal. Look at the motor mounts and see if they are dry and cracked. They are rubber and rubber is not known for lasting 40 plus years with getting hard and dry. You'll want to replace them and the tranny mount to. Look at www.falconparts.com.

http://www.falconparts.com/search_re...btnSearch.y=12

I would also suggest a worn universal joint on either side of the drive shaft (in my experience, usually the rear) or a sloppy rear differential. As Pat suggests, it would be more noticeable is the idle speed to set high.

Typically on a flat road with the car in gear and IDLING the car would do about 5 MPH in gear. If you find it'll cruise up to 10 MPH or more then the idle speed is too high and that'll put a lot of wear and tear on the drive train putting into gear.

Typically the first thing to get hit are the u-joints and the transmission extension housing bushing. These can be quickly checked by crawling under the car and grab the driveline and see if the joints are noticeably loose. It's best to put the rear-end up on jackstands so you can really look closely as you work the joints for sloppiness. If all seems well there, you might want to rotate the driveshaft forth and back by hand and see if there is any significant slop in the rear-end. The rear-end is likely got 200,000+ miles on it, so it could just be pounding when you put in gear.

I doubt there's much in the motor mounts that could be wrong unless they've gone metal to metal or something.

Most of the tips on the electrical issues are dead-on, so get yourself a volt meter or a friend with one. Putting the fuses on top of the headlight switch was a really whacky thing, but more than likely some fuses are blown there and things that haven't worked for years will miraculously come back to life with juice restored.