Can't get out of park?

[djelica]

Well finally I can offer some insights instead of just asking. Nice to contribute.

I was having problems getting out of park when the truck was cold. I was able to do a quick fix by reaching under the dash and pulling on the brake lock-out cable that keeps the transmission from leaving park if your foot is not on the brake pedal. I stuck on me again today so this afternoon I took a look to see if I could adjust it.

You need to expose the steering column guts. Remove 5 phillips head screws that holds the case to the column and then pry the case apart (a few integral clips hold it together). It’s pretty easy to slip both parts off. Unlock the up/down steering wheel adjustment lever and the bottom case slips over the lever.

Once you have guts exposed you then need to find the lock-out pin mechanism. Sorry I did not have a camera with me and a photo would make it easy as it took me a bit of time to figure out where the cable ends up.

Anyway the cable ends in a brass coloured barrel type mechanism that is on the left side of the column and in-line with it. The lock out pin is coming directly out of the end towards the steering wheel. The pin keeps a white plastic part from rotating when you try to shift out of park and the cable is not being pulled. It’s not obvious at first but eventually I figured it out.

The barrel mechanism is held to the column by a single 12 mm nut. I undid the nut and took the whole thing out to see if the cable could be adjusted. Well it can’t.

The whole unit is sealed with the cable housing crimped to the barrel. However the plate the barrel is attached to (and what the nut holds to the column) is slotted and not just a hole. I was able to simply push the whole mechanism back far enough on the slot to effectively take it out of play. I figured at this time I would essentially disable this mechanism for the short term (while still being attached properly) and see what happens. I may adjust it forward so that it does lock out again, but back enough to disengage when cold (the pin is tapered and there is probably a sweet spot where it will work great, although a did notice some wear on the plastic part that could be causing some of the problem). So, don’t remove the nut (it’s a bit awkward to get back on again). Simply loosen the nut and push the whole thing back and then retighten the nut and check if it is any better. Adjust as needed.

Hope this helps someone else one day.

Darren

[Green1]

Thanks! when it warms up again I'll have to do some digging around.
This weekend I had this problem twice, first time I reached under and pulled the cable and everything worked fine... this morning however I tried that and although the cable moved, it simply would not let the shifter come out of park no matter what I did, I ended up idling for a good half hour trying to warm the vehicle up before I was finally able to coax it out of park... something I'm not looking forward to doing frequently!

[djelica]

OOPS!

I spoke too soon. It happened to me again this morning, so I quickly took the case off again and I now believe the actual problem is with the key lock. I haven't been able to work it all out yet as I am in between meetings, but I will let you know what I find.

At first glance it appears that there may be a spring that allows the white plastic piece to move forward when the key is turned. Might be a problem with a sticky spring or something like that.

For now I am driving with the lower half of the case off and simply using my hand to pull the plastic piece forward allowing the whole thing to move as it should.

Let you know what I find.

Darren

[Green1]

As the general consensus appears to be that I do not know what I'm talking about, and cause more harm than good, I am removing this post so that others are not tricked in to following my ill-advised instructions.

[djelica]

This is not the time to be messing with small metal parts. -21.8c at the moment, but I have something to report.

I looked at it again and played around with it in gear, so that I was able to manipulate the plastic part freely. It is “sprung” to rotate with a torsion spring. The assembly was a bit slow,but it was working freely and I warmed it up with the heat gun and pretty soon it was quite smooth. I thought just like you said that a good application of the right fluid and the mechanism should work fine.

Then, I put it back together. Or at least I was going to put on the top cover and push the rubber sleeve back on the shift and under the plastic housing where it belongs. Not make it a target for a thief (and I have to say looking at this stuff I wonder how easy these things are to steal?) but easy enough for me in the morning until I can fix it for certain.

As soon as I had the rubber boot in place and the top case in on where it should be, I tried the gears again.

Stuck!

And then it hit me what the real problem is. It’s the rubber boot that seals the shaft itself into the plastic case.

Take a look how tight everything is down there when it is reassembled. You will see that the rubber boot rubs against the white plastic part that is turned by the torsion spring. When it’s warm the rubber boot is soft enough that the spring can deform it and push past. However in this cold the plastic is too stiff and the spring doesn’t have the ram to push past.

So I put the boot OUTSIDE the case and tried shifting again and it works no problem. With it in gear you can manipulate the plastic part and it worked freely, while when the boot was on it barely moved.

Try it with the rubber boot on with the case together and with the boot off and the case together. I’m going to wait and put the boot on the outside of the case for now, because a fix might be a judicial trim and I want to look at it again before I get the scissors out.

Hope this helps

[djelica]

Well this morning even with the rubber boot off the plastic part still did not move on it’s own volition (the torsion spring should move it).

It was really cold out (and dark) when I was looking at it yesterday and today I had a chance to try and get the boot to fit better. It still may need a trim but my next plan is to get some low temp lubricant spray and coat the moving parts and cables. Let you how it goes, but I am glad I let the case off as it makes getting going in the morning a lot faster.

Oh and I am starting up pretty well after second click of the glow plugs. I only have an in-line heater (element inside the hose), but I am glad I have it. I will up grade to a block heater in the further.

[djelica]

I seem to have conquered the problem (been -28 -29) but I am sorry I did not take pictures as they would explain it better, but for what it’s worth I will relay a few points. If anyone experiences this just ask and I can give more info if need be.

OK, I believe my problem was mainly with the white plastic part that rotates on a shaft that is fitted with a torsion spring. Expose the column, pull back the rubber boot and warm this area up with some heat source. Dry it out and drive the moisture away.

Put the transmission in neutral and you can spin the white plastic part on the shaft. Spin and warm and when it is warm and dry use some low temperature lubricant spray and target the shaft and spring. Get the shaft lubricated and continue to spin the part until it feels as slick as it will get. Try and get some lubricant down both lock cables.

Next you need to study the rubber boot that seals the shaft of the shifter in the plastic casing.

Note that the flange of the boot is a rectangle. The short axis versus long axis as you fit it back into place. When I put the flange where I think it should go and snap the case shut the problem comes back. There is not a lot of room in the column and it seems that cold stiffens the flange and makes everything a bit gummy.

Two things are moving right over each other at the same time

1) the gear shift with the boot moves as you try to shift

2) and the the torsion spring is trying to rotate the white plastic part that needs to move to allow you to shift.

I am finding that the friction is too much for the spring and it can not advance the plastic part that little bit needed to allow the shifter guide pin to get past the first block of the guide plate with the rubber boot where it was.

The first part of shifting out of PARK is a straight pull back. Look at the diagram on the left side of the steering case for the shift pattern, with the case off you can see the guide plate welded to the lower column and watch the guide pin move through it as you shift. Pulling the shifter back as you try to get out of PARK also advances the white plastic part to be in position (totally unlocked) for the torsion spring to advance it into it’s next position. This then allows the shifter to be pulled back far enough to for the pin to clear the guide.

So, if the spring cannot advance the plastic part that one little bit for the pin to clear the guide then you need to help it along. Dry it out, lube it up and move the flange of the rubber boot to the other side of the white plastic part (it works, but obviously does not seal the case in this position). Put it back together and hope for a Chinook.

[Green1]

As the general consensus appears to be that I do not know what I'm talking about, and cause more harm than good, I am removing this post so that others are not tricked in to following my ill-advised instructions.