Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Got the car home finally just barely fits in the garage. over all car is in really good shape. trans is stuck in park though. any ideas thanks for the welcome to the site.soon as I have time to clean it up I'll post some pics.

Congrats on the new baby.

Sticking in park is a real 55 "thing". For now push the car a little forward or back to get the load off the parking pawl and try again. If no go, then get the car up in the air safely, high enough you can scoot under. The shift linkage is at the driver's side rear corner of the tranny and enters just above the pan. Pry the shift lever there up and forward and she will pop out unless there is more serious trouble inside.

My Patrician had a real problem with the "Stick in Park Thing". What I found that worked for mine was being careful putting the selector into Park. By that I mean slowly lifting the lever for the detente then dropping it into position as soon as the lever clears. Lifting and pushing the lever up towards the roof as far as it will go was a sure way to "lock the lever" on mine. Since I started using a gentle approach to Park, I've had no more "stuck in park" troubles.

I also got under the car and made sure that the transmission shift linkage wasn't completely horizontal when in Park which can cause "lockup" problems as well.