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A recent post on Reddit r/MechanicAdvice is a call for help from OP Ihateauthority_, who sounds like he is panicking; however, it is not clear if it is because of the incident or that his girlfriend will find out about the incident.
It's a guy thing. Been there, done that, busted almost every time.
Falling Into a Car Crevasse
In an earlier article, we learned about the problems car owners face when their child drops a foreign object onto the dashboard, leading to serious car damage.
Related article: My Toyota Mechanic Hands Me a $2,500 Bill for My Rav4 And Tells Me It Is My Child's Fault ―The Problem That is More Common Than You Think in Some Rav4 Models.
In this case, however, the most significant damage may be to the owner's relationship with his girlfriend rather than to his car.
Helpful Post Responses?
Delving into the post responses piecemeal, I found some helpful responses in the thread, but they can be confusing for the non-mechanic to assess.
Two thread posts, however, are very useful and cover a range of potential solutions the OP may need or not have considered.
For example, poster Rainbow Cheez makes a comment addressing that earlier thread posts are not helpful for a non-mechanic and addresses another issue that is just as important as figuring out a repair that may cause damage to the OP's Mustang:
You underestimate how technologically or mechanically inept the general population is.
It was easy for you because you could figure out how to do it with prior experience taking shit apart.
OP is here because he does not know how to take shit apart, or else this whole post would not exist.
OP, either explain to your girlfriend what happened and get it out together as a team, or pay a mechanic who will have it out in an hour and not break every single plastic trim piece. Your girlfriend should not kill you over a "shit happens" mistake. It's not even lost; it's just temporarily inconvenienced. If you think she's going to kill you for this, you've got bigger problems, man.
Equally useful, but on another level, is this thread post that identifies the model year of the OP's car and what the poster similarly experienced:
What the OP Should Probably Do
Like the physician's code, the OP should "First Do No Harm."
In other words, prying into trim and taking out screws that look like it will get you where you will want to be in any repair is a disaster asking for more trouble.
Not only can you wind up breaking expensive, if not hard-to-find replacement trim, but the OP might also undo something that will lead to having to have his car towed to a garage to now fix two problems.
`First recommendation: Get a repair manual for your model. A quick search on the Haynes website will find him the physical and online repair manual he needs, which will greatly help the OP understand what he is getting himself into.
Second Recommendation: Find a YouTube video where someone is successfully doing what the OP is facing or something similar that shows how to access the shifter mechanism.
As an example video of what the OP is looking at, here is a helpful video showing what it takes and what to expect, as well as an important safety issue. While this model is not exactly the same as the OP's, it is close enough to at least provide him a heads-up on whether he wants to DIY attempt the repair or take it to a Mustang mechanic.
How to fix your Ford Mustang shifter that's hard to get into and out of Park
Third Recommendation: This is what I call a "DIY mechanic's Best Friend" ―Free online exploded diagrams of the parts assembly of whatever you are digging into.
When it comes to tackling a repair for the first time, those diagrams are better than many repair manual images because they often show every screw, spring, and whatnot that is part of your car's systems.
At the very least, it will help the OP come to a solution if he has any of those gut feelings that say, "Maybe I should not try this advice after all."
Tell Us About Your Similar "My Girlfriend is Going to Kill Me" Moments: Here's a chance to share how far you went to cover any car-related incident from your significant other.
Please tell us about it in the comments section below.
For additional DIY Guy Repairs, here are two for your consideration:
Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.
Image Source: Deposit Photos
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