Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Having difficulty getting transmission into park. Also on occasion it will not go into gear selected. Obviously need some adjustments somewhere in the system. 55 Packard Clipper. Thanks for any suggestions

Most likely this lever

That's a midifed lever. But the same.

Orginal was cast

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Is the problem that the shift lever is difficult to move? If so, how difficult is it to move between the other gears?

There is a grease fitting at the bottom of the steering column that in my case hadn't been touched in years causing a problem.

The shift lever moves freely. The problem occurs when I shift from drive/reverse to park and it just won't engage. Sometimes I shut the engine down and then it might go into park but that is not a solution of course as it works only sometime.

It looks like the one in there now has been modified in fact manufactured from copper tubing. I wonder if length is not correct and may be an issue. This car is new to me so still learning.

55s did have some early park issues which were all covered in updates but there is no way to know if your car saw a dealer after the sale to have had them all installed.

There were 3 primary known reasons for sticking in park. Some are linkage related and others are parts refinement. All are covered in the service articles which you can read or download from the literature archive. Go to the service index, 55-6 Twin Ultramatic and then look for the three written about park issues. Those will give you ideas on what to check but on the revised internal parts there is no easy way for someone unfamiliar with Packard Ultras to tell by a glance whether the part is early or revised. The linkage issue is generally noted as a problem in getting out of park, not going in but have a look anyway. If the long rod and lever at the trans is almost in a straight line or even dropping down slightly when it is in park that is the early issue. If the end of the lever at the trans is pointed up maybe 5-10 degrees then is is the revised lever and issue is probably inside the trans.

On the gear select issue there can be a couple of reasons. Loose linkage or loose bolts and deteriorated rubber at the pivot arm positioned between the frame and engine/transmission where rods transition from vertical to horizontal is one place to look. The other or more common issue is a setscrew inside the transmission shown in the photo below. The screw can loosen or threads in the lever can strip letting the setscrew loosen and the lever that operates the manual valve used to select a gear range moves on the shaft. This valve also controls the detent feel so if you can move the operator lever up and down and there is slop instead of a noticeable detent feel between gears a loose lever is suspect. Easiest way to prove whether it is the setscrew or loose linkage somewhere else is disconnect the rod at the outer transmission lever and manually move the outer lever. If there is slop it is the setscrew. If it is tight then look for worn or loose linkage issues between the operator lever and transmission.

If the linkage feels tight but the indicator is off so it is hard to tell where the indicator is pointing, on early 55s the needle in the quadrant pointing to the various PNDLR letters could have moved and needs adjusting. That assy is located under the rubber flap covering the bottom of the steering column where it passes thru the dash.

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> The problem occurs when I shift from drive/reverse to park and it just won't engage.

Will the car just roll and not stop in this case? That would be the Parking Pawl not engaging with the gear.

That's a good question, I have never taken my foot off the brake until I can get it into park. I'll try. Thanks

Does it feel or sound like it even tries such as clicks when it rolls? If you hear clicks it could be the pawl is not entering the notch in the gear possibly caused by something bent or worn.

If there is no sound or attempt at all to engage it could be the assy on the manual shaft that pushes the pawl up into position to enter the park gear has issues. A broken roll pin or spring could be letting the shaft rotate without moving the assy or issues with a different pin could have let the roller that actually pushes against the pawl move out of position so the pawl is not going up high enough to engage the notch. There is a pin behind the engagement assy to keep it upright and not go past vertical so as to keep the pawl fully engaged. If that pin has broken it could be allowing the mechanism to go too far and let the pawl drop down out of the parking gear after it was engaged. All have been reported by others.

To check any of those items will require draining the fluid and removing the pan. The condition of the engagement mechanism and manual valve lever will be easy to see. Most of the pawl will not be visible enough to see much of anything without further disassembly

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