Looking for a Stronger, Heavy-Duty Column Shifter for My 2015 Ram 2500?

[Megas_XLT]

My column shifter on my 2015 Ram broke out of nowhere this Monday right after work. I had to use my thumb to push the shifter into Drive just to get home. This is now the second time it has happened — I’ve already replaced the shifter once, and the replacement only lasted a couple of years before failing again.

I just bought another one from Amazon so the arm isn’t hanging loose, but I’m getting tired of constantly replacing this part. Right now I have a temporary fix until I can install the new one, but I really want something that’s actually built to last.

Does anyone know if there’s an aftermarket or heavy-duty column shifter made from stronger materials? Something reinforced or billet that won’t break so easily? I’m looking for a long-term solution, not another cheap replacement.

Any recommendations or part numbers would be appreciated.

 

[amurp15]

Maybe it’s something with your specific steering column, like if your truck is more difficult to shift than it’s supposed to be, or it could be the guy who installed your most recent one.

There is a torque spec for the bolt that clamps these shifters in, and a lot of people ignore it because it doesn’t seem like a critical spec. If you under torque or over torque, it could put stress on a point that isn’t designed to be stressed, and could cause a failure with fatigue over time.

If it was a common enough issue with the part ram would have a service bulletin or a recall about it. I’ve heard of a couple people with the same problem but not very many. I would just buy another OEM one and make sure to torque the bolt properly, or you can have one made from solid steel with a custom handle instead of a tube.

 

[One Mile Up]

@Megas_XLT --> might wanna check this out as well -- whilst yer at it (if you haven't yet)!

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a65332252/nhtsa-investigation-1-point-2-million-ram-trucks/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

 

[jaflowers]

It was a recall, had it done on my 2015 2500. Much later I read a post on here that helped ALOT. When parking your truck, shift it solidly into neutral first before putting it in park. When I started doing that my "hard shifting" in the mornings or whenever practically never occurred again.

Edit to add........shift into Neutral, put on parking brake and then into park. Never had a "hard to shift" issue since.