Folding Shifter Delete & Rotary Knob Swap

[PlattyDaddy23]

Can't wait till you get going on this man! Hopefully the shifter I sent from ebay is in good shape lol

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[OleMustyBag]

Tired of not being able to use the work surface in drive I'm actually considering one of these shitty twist knobs. I already have one of the shitty shift knobs in the MME and loathe the non-definite-position of it. Which of the lightning/expedition units won't spin freely?

I have the expedition rotary shifter in mine and you can feel the notches on it when you shift. It also doesn’t spin if you don’t have your foot on the brake.

 

[Ajzride]

@HammaMan The Mach E shifter is literally the worst ever, just a free spinning trinket. The Expedition and Bronco sport shifters aren't free spinning; they have a nice clicky feel to them, and they are even motorized. If you shut off the engine in D, you can hear and feel the knob moving back to P.

 

[powerboatr]

I had been knocking around the idea of replacing my folding shifter with a rotary knob for almost 4 years, since my first folding shifter went bad and the vehicle had to be towed for a replacement. The lightning guys beat me to it, and about a dozen of those guys have swapped theirs out already. They buy a rotary knob online and 3D print an assembly to go into the hole left by the shifter, which then holds the knob. One of the lightning guys sent me a kit for the swap since I had helped him with some other stuff. The version I have is from a Bronco Sport, so it doesn't have the shift +/- buttons, but I have never used those anyway.

It's about a 45-minute swap, and you have to pull off a bunch of trim panels, but there are only 8 bolts in total (4 on the shifter and 4 small ones holding the AC controls to the dash), It's a straight plug-and-play swap so you can put it back anytime you want.

Someone is sending me an expedition rotary knob with the +/- buttons, and I will be able to modify the 3D-printed parts to accept the bigger knob.

Overall I'm extremely happy, there is so much more room in the console area now, and it is easier to access the AC knobs, storage, and cup holders.

For those of you who are pushing the payload limits, there is a 5.1-pound weight reduction for the swap.

That looks just like the knob in our explorer st
I mean identical..
I miss the console shifter
My 250 is column...imo It's dumb
The plus and minus shift is on the stalk..it's not intuitive like a console shifter..
Imo its like flying in a helicopter..everything you need is right there. No reaching out. Just move a finger...
Oh crap I am lazy ?

 

[Henfield]

pretty cool. Kinda makes me want to convert to column shift seeing all that extra space. That or locating the shifting knob to the PTBA location might be cool.

I'm with you, but would want the SD console insert that has a sliding section to create two more drinks holders.

 

[Nassau]

This is a fantastic idea. If my shifter ever fails after the warranty is over, I am definitely doing this. For me it’s not worth the cost to do it before. Maybe selling the folding one on eBay to pay for the Expedition version might pay for itself though. Hmmmmmmmmm

 

[Ajzride]

pretty cool. Kinda makes me want to convert to column shift seeing all that extra space. That or locating the shifting knob to the PTBA location might be cool.

I agree a column shifter would be better, but that's an expensive and complicated swap; this is 45 minutes and completely reversible. The PTBA location is ideal, but that knob is way smaller and it would be a completely custom job.

 

[Ajzride]

This is a fantastic idea. If my shifter ever fails after the warranty is over, I am definitely doing this. For me it’s not worth the cost to do it before. Maybe selling the folding one on eBay to pay for the Expedition version might pay for itself though. Hmmmmmmmmm

The expedition shifters are running $80 - $150 on eBay. The etsy guys charges $40 for the 3D printed bin, I've seen lightning members selling the 3D printed bin for about the same. So $120 - $200 is the budget for this. Looks like the F150 shifters are selling for $160 - $225 on eBay.

 

[OldCrowEW]

very cool!

 

[s_c]

Just a warning - this may not work on 2024+ despite appearing to have the same shifter.

I remember seeing some people reporting this earlier but don't remember where, I'm looking for the thread to share this info. I'm working on a swap myself and reviewing the '21 and '24 manuals shared by others on here and the '24 floor shifter appears to move some of the CAN communication from "DIAGNOSTIC # CAN BUS HIGH SPEED 2" and "...3" to "ECU - POWERTRAIN # POWERTRAIN PRIVATE CAN" along with some connector changers.

Note I'm not an expert so I may be getting details wrong, but there are differences in the wiring diagrams so beware it may not be plug-and-play on 2024 *yet* is all.

 

[Ajzride]

Just a warning - this may not work on 2024+ despite appearing to have the same shifter.

I remember seeing some people reporting this earlier but don't remember where, I'm looking for the thread to share this info. I'm working on a swap myself and reviewing the '21 and '24 manuals shared by others on here and the '24 floor shifter appears to move some of the CAN communication from "DIAGNOSTIC # CAN BUS HIGH SPEED 2" and "...3" to "ECU - POWERTRAIN # POWERTRAIN PRIVATE CAN" along with some connector changers.

Note I'm not an expert so I may be getting details wrong, but there are differences in the wiring diagrams so beware it may not be plug-and-play on 2024 *yet* is all.

I don't believe the PCM private CAN is part of the TRON encryption, so hopefully, it doesn't affect this modification.

 

[Diligenthunter]

Has the expedition knob been tested?
If so can you post a part number?

 

[Ajzride]

Has the expedition knob been tested?
If so can you post a part number?

It's been plugged in and tested to work. No mount has been developed yet (except a 1 off hand made)

NL1Z7P155C

 

[Diligenthunter]

It's been plugged in and tested to work. No mount has been developed yet (except a 1 off hand made)

NL1Z7P155C

Cool, just ordered one.

I’ll patiently wait for a mount to be developed.

I have a couple printers (x1c, H2D, k2 plus, and generally only print in asa) hopefully we can get files?

 

[Ajzride]

Cool, just ordered one.

I’ll patiently wait for a mount to be developed.

I have a couple printers (x1c, H2D, k2 plus, and generally only print in asa) hopefully we can get files?

The files are on Thingiverse. Once the Expedition version has been made I'll send it to the designer to put with the rest.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6978586

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