Stick to Rotary Shift Knob Conversion w/ 3D Printed Rotary Shifter Holder

[Drayday55]

Are there any versions of the GSM that don't result in DTCs being thrown? I mean there are a lot of variations of these shifters around...Escape, Bronco Sport, Maverick, MME....some have the stepper motors in them some don't.

Get the older shifters from 2020 to 2022 escape, etc. That have the mechanical servo inside.

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[asianman35]

Just finished printing @mr.Magoo front shifter box for someone on the forum, and it came out really nice. Like I would have no issues using it as is without painting. thank you @mr.Magoo for sharing!!

I printed myself the first version from @ENDianDigital and I still love it, not going to replace it. I like the shifter in the back.

Here are some pics of the one I just printed.

 

[ENDianDigital]

Just finished printing @mr.Magoo front shifter box for someone on the forum, and it came out really nice. Like I would have no issues using it as is without painting. thank you @mr.Magoo for sharing!!

I printed myself the first version from @ENDianDigital and I still love it, not going to replace it. I like the shifter in the back.

Here are some pics of the one I just printed.

Wow, that's a fantastic looking print, nice job! Amazing design work too, @mr.Magoo! I just realized that's a two-piece console... what a great solution to the covered bolt problem!

I just talked to someone on one of the Lightning fB groups that's designing a Nalgene remix too in case anyone is looking for another option there. He said he'd be posting it up to Thingiverse soon.

 

[mr.Magoo]

Just finished printing @mr.Magoo front shifter box for someone on the forum, and it came out really nice. Like I would have no issues using it as is without painting. thank you @mr.Magoo for sharing!!

Very Nice!
Glad it came out alright, always some level of uncertainty due to printers and settings.

 

[CRAIGC540]

Now if a can just find a matching cover for a escort shifter. I have the cover for the screen already. I see covers for the Bronco and Mach E but no escorts. They look the same but who knows?

 

[21st Century Truck]

Now if a can just find a matching cover for a escort shifter. I have the cover for the screen already. I see covers for the Bronco and Mach E but no escorts. They look the same but who knows?

This is why I went with the Bronco shifter and not with the Escort shifter.

 

[CRAIGC540]

This is why I went with the Bronco shifter and not with the Escort shifter.

Time for someone to 3D scan the Escort shifter?

 

[mr.Magoo]

This is why I went with the Bronco shifter and not with the Escort shifter.

Time for someone to 3D scan the Escort shifter?

While it would be super cool if they did an EV version of the MK1 RS Escort, I'm guessing you're referring to the Escape, or have I missed something ?

 

[CRAIGC540]

While it would be super cool if they did an EV version of the MK1 RS Escort, I'm guessing you're referring to the Escape, or have I missed something ?

? Escape Escort one of those .

 

[drewfaulk]

Here's my shifter setup...

I didn't necessarily like the existing designs as they were a bit "chunky" and made an attempt to get it more OEM looking.

BIG thanks to @ENDianDigital, without his design/kick in the butt I probably wouldn't have done this, it started as a few mods and turned into a complete redesign.

Main differences are that the shifter is located at the front (the cable is long enough if you cut/push out the strap holding it to the side wall).
The shifter is tilted 10-15 degrees.
You dont have to cut the tabs.
It accommodates the Escape and E-Transit shifters.

I ended up using the E-Transit shifter, being black, it doesn't stand out as much as a chrome would.

I painted the tub with a graphite metallic and dusted it with flat black to try and match the color/look of the cup holders, followed up with a matte clear.

And, yes, I'll post the drawings, this was basically the prototype and theres a few changes that I'd like to make before posting them.

Love this design. Silly question: can you use the work surface with it? It’s hard (for me) to tell if the shifter sticks up higher than the surrounding trim.

 

[21st Century Truck]

While it would be super cool if they did an EV version of the MK1 RS Escort, I'm guessing you're referring to the Escape, or have I missed something ?

Yeah I guess I meant to write "Escape".

 

[mr.Magoo]

Love this design. Silly question: can you use the work surface with it? It’s hard (for me) to tell if the shifter sticks up higher than the surrounding trim.

Yes, you can.

The shifter sticks up about 3mm above the brim of the tub on the published version (it sits a bit lower on the one shown in my original post), but the tub itself sits about 6mm below the top edge/ chrome trim pieces, so there should be about 3mm (1/8") clearance between the shifter and the armrest.

 

[drewfaulk]

Yes, you can.

The shifter sticks up about 3mm above the brim of the tub on the published version (it sits a bit lower on the one shown in my original post), but the tub itself sits about 6mm below the top edge/ chrome trim pieces, so there should be about 3mm (1/8") clearance between the shifter and the armrest.

Great. Thanks much.

 

[Mike G]

So a few notes from my install today....

I actually did try to remove all the stuff needed to perform this task according to the workshop manual. It was a PITA, and 90% of it is unnecessary.

If you've read through it at all you know they want you to essentially remove the entire center stack, which is actually ridiculous once you know the routine.

I've attached the instructions here (again) for those who want to read along...

So my experience was on a Lariat with a 15.5" center display. I've seen the online video(s) where a guy swaps the shifter on a F-150 King Ranch with the 10" screen and that's a lot easier.

And the video made by @branden is a good reference...with one exception, and I'll talk about that below.

So if you're going to do this using the instructions on a Lightning with a 15.5 inch screen, I recommend you start at step 13. Skip every bit of removing the center stack. All of it.

Take the two left and right side covers off by prying outward on the rear of the cover and then when all the clips are unseated just slide it back. (When reinstalling you'll notice that the right side cover, for some unknown reason, is a little fiddly to get back in place, so you need to actually go around to the passenger side and lean down and check that your front tabs are going into the slots when trying to align it.)

After the side covers come off, you want to make sure your stowage compartment door is in the closed position so you can get the center trim off. Lift up on the rear corners of the center trim covering the shifter and cup holders. Then get out of the driver's seat and lean down and look for the front alignment pin/hole next to the forward most clip and press it up and out of the alignment hole:

That tab that the pin goes into will flex down enough to lift the pin out of the hole and you just wiggle it back with your index finger. With the pin out of the hole and sitting in the gap right behind the hole....go around to the right side and repeat the procedure to get the right side pin out of the alignment hole as well:

Then with the center trim piece lifted in the rear...disconnect the key detection module under the right rear cupholder, and lift the center trim piece clear, and then proceed to swap the shifter as shown in the video.

When you're ready to replace the center trim piece back in you'll probably have to first slide the left and right side alignment pins into their holes first (lean down so you're at eye level, like in the pics) and then with the front pins in the holes, and while holding up the rear of the center trim, plug the connector back in for the key detection module.

Left side trim piece is dead easy...but like I said for some reason the right side takes a bit of fiddling to get it back into place.

After I did the install I connected up FDRS and checked for DTCs...nothing found. So I selected the GSM module and then selected the 'VIN Write' procedure (just in case it had the previous vehicles VIN embedded somewhere in the firmware, I don't know if it did or not). I did not do a PMI. There's no way that would have worked, since this shifter isn't supposed to be provisioned in this vehicle application. But it works great..

And just to confirm, The shifter I used is a LX6P-7P155-LE part number, out of a '21 model Bronco Sport. And it's fully functional and throws no errors.

 

[digitaldad]

Left side trim piece is dead easy...but like I said for some reason the right side takes a bit of fiddling to get it back into place.

My left trim was a PITA to remove. I assume it was the first time removed since being built but damn that thing was wedged in there, very tightly. I thought for sure I had removed one of the metal clips from the plastic assembly where that thing was jammed into. Second time removal was no big deal.

The other challenge was lifting up the assembly, there's a small wire bundle at the bottom of (below) the cup holders...has very little slack from where its held into a bundle clip into the metal frame. Shoulda just cut that blasted thing off.

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