Bought this car from John Q. Drove from Denver to Houston without issue. Drove around town for several outings. Drove into garage without noise or smoke and put car in neutral for the night. Next morning car would not shift out of Neutral. It leaks fluid. I tightened pan gasket bolts a tad and filled with fluid. Still won't shift but I really did not expect fluid level to cause this. Removed front seat so i can see shifter mechanism. I cannot tell what is supposed to move. All fingers move freely with pins sticking out back of shifter mechanism. Neutral can be disengaged by pulling backwards on button. Each gear finger engages the "plate" that i have to assume is supposed to rotate around an axle thereby moving the shift cable. The plate jiggles a bit left to right but cannot be made to move back to front which is what is necessary to make the tranny shift. I'm tempted to take a screwdriver and pry on the "plate" which must be "binding" but I fear boogering it up. Any chance something internal to the tranny failed sitting in the garage? Is this a bound cable? Help!!! The car has been sitting for six months.
Questions: In the mechanism, what is supposed to move to shift the car? I assume it is the "plate" rotating around the central axle.
If yes, is it wise to try and free that plate by prying on it with a lever", ever so gently?
I think I can isolate between mechanism and tranny by removing cable from mechanism to see if mechanism works when disconnected from cable which would imply that cable won't move and problem is in tranny but I fear not being able to reconnect that cable with that tiny clip given the lack of access and my ridiculous body size and lack of dexterity. Is it wise to try this?
If problem is internal to tranny, thoughts?
Does anybody have a video of a properly working mechanism?
Since car drove into garage, properly shifting and the problem cropped up while sitting, is it likely this is an internal tranny problem?
I think your name is Don? I have some pics from A functional torque flite button control, is that what you have? 1st pic is neutral, 2nd is d,3rd pic is R,4th is 2, 5th is 1 6th is A side shot of reverse and last is back in drive. The middle plate acts as A lever stop and sides of the unit must be tight. Is your cable adjusted properly at the tranny ? Also mine will "leak down" from the torque converter if it sits A number of months with out starting it. I will leak out the cable entry at the tranny. It over fills the pan capacity. Look in my and other previous posts in the rebuilds threads. Not sure if I helped let us know. Mark
Naldo wrote: ↑Wed Jun 03, 2020 10:17 am
Your pics did not post. Please email them to crownking62@yahoo.com. Thanks a million.
Better yet, Mark - if you mail them to me, I can get them posted here in the Forum for all to see. Sorry for the inconvenience.
BTW, there's a chance the problem is at the transmission end of things - a problem I once experienced, and I have advice from Dave Grove Automotive on how to remedy. It worked for me - but let's first see what Ricky MoPar has to say.
I would have to guess that the internal rooster comb inside the transmission is in the neutral position being you could start the engine.
I feel the cable some how came has come loose from one end or the other. I just worked on a pushbutton controlled Torqueflite last Thursday and the cable came loose from the bracket that holds the cable to the selector control box. Just years of use had worn the end of the steel bracket. Crimped it back onto the cable and it operated correctly again. There is also a little E clip on the pin. Of what you referred to as a plate.Pictures of selector just like yours.
I'm not being clear. The cable will not move. The neutral button can be disengaged by pulling backwards. It is not engaged. The gate in the mechanism will absolutely not move. I spent an hour and a half tonight firmly pushing the reverse and then the drive and have gotten the mechanism gate to move perceptibly, perhaps 1/64". I cannot tell if the cable is moving or merely flexing that 1/64". There does not appear to be anything binding the mechanism. As background, I drove the car all over and pulled into the garage. I put the tranny in neutral and went to bed. When I got up I could not get the mechanism to shift into anything but neutral. The mechanism appears to be new and appears to be working perfectly. This must be a bound cable or something "stuck" in the tranny that is keeping it from allowing the cable to move. I am a large person, applying additional force is not likely the answer.
Thanks for all the help! I think the fact that this happened after a trouble-free drive without symptoms like noise or smoking is significant. The only other thing I can add is that the fluid was low. I've filled it. Surely low fluid could not cause a seizing problem without some other symptom.
I can see the cable at the mechanism. I pulled the seat out and look at it as I push the reverse and drive buttons. The bit of exposed cable at the mechanism does not appear to be moving. This is not a connection problem. The microclip is intact.
Again, thanks for the help. Mopar folks are the best!
I've never had to touch my push buttons (except to pull the reverse button out ), but I have had to adjust the cable, which I did at the transmission with the pan removed. The reason I did so, was because I replaced the rubber grommet at the trans, and I had to remove the cable.
So here's the question: If getting under the car is a hardship, how difficult is it to disconnect the cable at the push buttons? Then you will have your answer - if the cable moves freely, you've got something jammed in the push button assembly. If it remains stuck, likely the issue is in the trans.
Either the selector cable is frozen up from rust, or the manual valve in the trans is locked up.
You'll need to disconnect the cable at the transmission to see which it is.
Rusted up cables are somewhat common, but I've seen transmission fluid turn to varnish from setting many years, which will require the valve body removal, disassembly, and cleaning.
Update. I pulled cable off at mechanism. Mechanism works fine. It is either the cable is bound up some kind of way or it is internal to the tranny.
My worst fears materialized. I used forceps to pull the clip off but the act of pulling the clip off was enough for the forceps to unlock so I lost that stinking little clip in that dashboard. Any idea how / where to get a replacement?
Thoughts on next step? The manual say the car has to be in low to remove the cable at the tranny end. Is that true? If I can remove that I can isolate the problem as the cable or the tranny.
As I recall, there's a lip at the bottom of the dash. You might try trolling along the lip with a strong magnet - there's a chance you could pick it up.
Don,
First try removing the small bolt on the adjusting wheel using 7/16 wrench or socket, on the transmission and pulling the cable shield back, there may be enough room to insert an awl or small screw driver and unclip the spring that hold the cable end. if it releases the end, you can check cable and see if it slides in the sheath. if it does then drop the pan to see cause of locked rooster comb or detent control. A stuck cable is rare, I only had one in 50 plus years of the hobby. and it was cause by the starter cable shorting to the shift cable... welding everything.
), but I have had to adjust the cable, which I did at the transmission with the pan removed. The reason I did so, was because I replaced the rubber grommet at the trans, and I had to remove the cable.