Re: 54 Patrician won't come out of Park

Posted by HH56 On 2013/6/10 16:43:30

I'd work it a little as best you can and get it back to the home lock position. Use the wire brush again or maybe even a strip of emery paper around the shaft followed by another liberal dose of fluid. If you have a small screwdriver or can fold a piece of emery paper the approximate size, gently scrape as many of the low areas between the splines as you can reach. The lever has very little clearance so any built up rust in those areas will also hinder movement. Be careful what you pry against and keep it close to the shaft or hub end but gentle use of a screwdriver between those two parts might bring it down a bit farther once the splines are cleaned and dosed again. Maybe do that once or twice.

I'm also concerned about the gearshift handle staying in the out position. To do that I would think the inner rod spring has completely lost it's tension or the rod is also stuck or has become disconnected from that lever somewhere.

There is a long spring which pushes against the bottom end of the internal rod. That should be keeping the lever you are working on pushed against the detent plate and also the operator lever pulled in toward the dash. What does the operator lever feel like when you try to push it forward -- does it go toward the dash or try to move any. Do you feel any kind of spring tension or does it feel like it is trying or actually moving anything in either direction?