Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Top of the am to all. I have a 1955 400 and a new generator solved the charging problems. She was running great but now I can't get the trans out of park. This is on a dead level surface.

I understand this is common but no trouble in the last 5 years. I see that I must drop the pan but please tell me what must be done from there.

For good measure the parking brake wont release either. Please clue me in on that too- best MC

For the parking brake, do you mean the handle won't retract towards the dashboard or the wheels are just locked up? Since you might have both issues I would put a jack under the rear differential and get it jacked into the air. Then see if the wheels are locked up which would be a stuck brake. Or if you can spin the wheels then only you are stuck in park.

With the car in the air in this manner, you should be able to at least get it out of Park as well.

You will need to use a tapered hub puller to get the rear brake drums off and from that point you can remove the parking brake cables from the car as an assembly by disconnecting them from the brake backing plates and the lever inside and get the entire cable and guides thoroughly lubricated with wheel bearing grease.

Once those are freed up and you verify that the rest of the brake system looks okay, then your parking brake should work as normal once you readjust the cables.

To fix the park issue requires dropping the transmission pan and lowering the transmission below the level of the frame but for the time being you can just put it in neutral when you are parked and starting the car and then just use the parking brake to keep it from rolling assuming you get the parking brake fixed.

If the operator lever moves OK thru out the ranges but if it is the transmission that still stays in park and there is not a problem with the emergency brake sticking then dropping the pan is the approach.

There could be one of two issues in the unit: First is the pawl has stuck in the park gear teeth which was a known issue and was corrected by changing the pawl and/or park gear to differently shaped and hardened parts. The second is the lever connected to the manual shaft inside the transmission that moves the range select valve could have come loose or a pin that connects the lever to the valve link has dropped out. Either situation are also known issues and would prevent the operator lever from placing the transmission in a range so the car would not move.

Mechanically, If the inside operator lever seems to be stuck at the park position and does not want to move more than a tiny amount in spite of mild force and continual jiggling, since it is a 55 then before dropping the pan look at the shift linkage on the drivers side of the transmission. The linkage and lever at the transmission end was an early 55 problem because of the way the two pieces lined up where gravity could place them into an almost straight line. The lever and the long rod was supposed to be changed to a different design when the car was in warranty but perhaps yours was one of the cars that seldom exhibited the early problem consistently enough and parts were never changed.

The rod end of the transmission lever visually needs to be at an upward angle and positioned so the rod end can push it back to rotate the lever. If lever looks to be fairly flat and is almost in a straight line with the long rod then push up on the lever and rod to get it out of park. If that solves the problem perhaps the linkage has worn or a bolt at one end of the linkage idler mount in the middle or even at the lever to transmission shaft has loosened allowing the rod and lever to change position and now cause the problem to show.

If the linkage is OK and moving the lever by hand doesn't help then time to look at the parking brake or drop the pan and find out what is happening inside. You could possibly need to remove the rear housing to manually disengage the pawl from the park gear and figure out what needs to be changed or repaired.

Quote:

Glad you mentioned the brake issue as all the symptoms need to be considered together.
Especially as you are on a level surface and have had no problems in the last 5 years.
Do you typically apply the packing brake?

It is possible that the parking brake is keeping the transmission parking gear loaded so you can't shift out of park.

Work backward from the parking brake. Check the equalizer lever and cables. Check that the cables aren't stuck in the tubes.
If the cables are stuck, remove the drums, cables and tubes and clean
If the cables are not stuck and the brakes are still applied raise the back of the car and see if the wheels can be turned. They won't move much if the transmission is in park.
If still stuck, back off the brake adjusters and remove the drums until you find the problem.
A good time to inspect and service the mechanical and hydraulic components.

With the drums off any load on the parking gear should be released (unless the problem is in the differential), try shifting the transmission out of park.
You can disconnect the shift linkage and try the shift using the manual control valve lever directly. You can turn the driveshaft wile operating the manual control valve lever.
If it is still stuck in park, take off the pan and take a look.