How hard is it to replace hollow tube and shifter cable on 1993 ford aerostar van?

Although not impossible, the steering column must be dropped to replace the gear shift tube. In my case, a torx bolt fell off at the base of my gear tube and caused the gear shift to miss reverse, neutral, and drive. Four nuts with washers, two and two, hold the majority of the weight of the steering column. To get to the steering column, the upper and lower shroud behind the steering wheel will need to be removed, as well as the lower cover piece underneath the steering wheel, followed by the metal plate. The small support behind the metal plate will have to be removed to allow for the steering column to drop to a level to work on the shifter tube. Note: Aside from the battery, I did not disconnect any electrical connections. Be very careful not to cause the weight of the steering column to dislodge or damage the many electrical connections underneath the column. If the problem cannot be identified or remedied at this point, then the airbag, the steering wheel, and the gear shift may need to be removed to fix it. Note: the metal clamps holding the gear tube in place are very brittle. Make sure they line up and are not overtorqued, or risk breakage. I broke two of them because of an issue with the alignment of the gear tube and the actual gear shift mechanism that moves the gears around. Through a simple internet search, you can purchase the gear tube ($30.00) and the gear tube clamps ($7.00 per clamp).