stuck in park

[uglydukwling]

I'm trying to revive a '62 that's been parked for a couple of years. I got it running, but when I tried to move it, I couldn't get it out of park.

I disconnected the linkage at the firewall, and everything else moves freely, so the problem is in the steering column.
Is the shifter tube a tight enough fit in the column that it could be locked in by corrosion?
The shift lever seems to move as far as it should toward the steering wheel, so it's likely the latch is releasing.
I started to dismantle the column from the steering wheel end to gain access to the latch, but it doesn't look like I can.

It looks like I'll have to take the column out and dismantle it like the manual says. The major obstacle so far is getting out the set screw that holds the steering shaft to the coupling at the steering box. From above, I can get a fingertip on it, but not an allen wrench. Is access any better from below? Of course, to get the car on a hoist, I have to be able to move it. I can start the car in gear and drive it, but to reverse, I have to turn it off, get out, reach under the hood, shift, get back in, re-start. Kind of a pain, and also probably not really safe.

Does anybody have any suggestions or short cuts? I'd hate to go to the trouble of removing and dismantling the steering column, and then find out there was an easy way.

[Steve K]

I'm trying to revive a '62 that's been parked for a couple of years. I got it running, but when I tried to move it, I couldn't get it out of park.

I disconnected the linkage at the firewall, and everything else moves freely, so the problem is in the steering column.
Is the shifter tube a tight enough fit in the column that it could be locked in by corrosion?
The shift lever seems to move as far as it should toward the steering wheel, so it's likely the latch is releasing.
I started to dismantle the column from the steering wheel end to gain access to the latch, but it doesn't look like I can.

It looks like I'll have to take the column out and dismantle it like the manual says. The major obstacle so far is getting out the set screw that holds the steering shaft to the coupling at the steering box. From above, I can get a fingertip on it, but not an allen wrench. Is access any better from below? Of course, to get the car on a hoist, I have to be able to move it. I can start the car in gear and drive it, but to reverse, I have to turn it off, get out, reach under the hood, shift, get back in, re-start. Kind of a pain, and also probably not really safe.

Does anybody have any suggestions or short cuts? I'd hate to go to the trouble of removing and dismantling the steering column, and then find out there was an easy way.

Are you sure pulling the lever toward you is releasing it? Could it possibly be something as simple as a frozen neutral safety switch or something blocking the movement of the lever?

[uglydukwling]

No, I'm not sure that pulling the lever toward me is releasing it. The lever appears to move as far as it should, and from the picture in the manual, it looks like it has to release if the lever moves. I was hoping to get access to the latch from the top of the column to verify this before trying to take the column out and dismantle it. I removed the snap ring that holds the bearing to the shaft and tried to pull off the piece that houses the bearing (I believe the manual calls it a flange, but the manual is in the car, so I'd have to go out and check). It looks like the flange should slide off, either bringing the bearing with it or leaving it on the shaft. I pulled as hard as I dared and it wouldn't come off. Has anyone succeeded in getting access from the top of the column?

I wouldn't have thought that the neutral safety switch could lock the shifter as solidly as it appears to be. I've pulled hard enough on the lever, so that the switch would probably have broken by now if it was the problem. However, the switch is accessible without removing the column, so I might as well take it off, just in case. It looks like it should only take a few minutes (famous last words).

Anyway, back to the question: does any one have a suggestion for either removing the column, or dismantling it in place?

[Milsteads Garage]

Just for the record I have never seen or heard of any lincoln doing this. The steering wheel is probably the worst part of disassembling the column and the spring that holds the top bearing, also take the shaft loose at the rag joint. Nothing else unusual to watch for.

[norgale]

Squirt WD-40 into the area where the shift lever enters the column. Hold the lever back and wiggle the steering wheel vigorously. That linkage is juststuck and should wiggle free. Pete

[TonyC]

*Huh* when I saw the title to this thread, I thought he meant that he had taken his car to a local park and it died on him there.

---Tony

[Macho]

Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum and looks like I have the same problem with my 62 convertible that has been sitting for 10 years.

I wonder if he ever got it sorted. Tonight I will try the WD trick norgale suggested..

[Macho]

Didn't help. I also wiggled and pulled pushed steering wheel and lever to all possible directions.
I think the orange indicator is little bit too far on the left, could it have gone too far or something? Its not in the middle of letter P but right left to it, or is it the right place?

Or maybe here is something I don't know. I haven't started the car yet, does it need vacuum or pressing the brake to release or something?

[TonyC]

Not for '62. You should be able to shift it with no blockages. That is very odd--it could be that the shift tube is seized inside the column. That is really the only thing it can be, being that you disconnected the transmission linkage and that moves freely.

I think the only course is to remove the column and tear it down. Go slowly with it, just in case all of a sudden the shift tube frees up in mid-surgery, and keep note of what you did that freed it up.

I must say, I had not experienced such a thing either.

---Tony

[Macho]

Yes transmission linkage is disconnected. I yesterday tried also to smack the column with rubber hammer but it also had no effect.

The situation before this was that engine mounts were totally shot so the engine&transmission had sunk downwards. At that point the linkage was still connected so I wonder if the heavy packet has pulled the column linkage very hard and caused this somehow. But this is just speculation..

[TonyC]

Should clear all weapons before loading them. That prevents stuff from getting shot.

But collapsed mounts are very unlikely to cause that kind of damage to a shift tube. The linkage would be more likely to be damaged, and yours isn't. Although I've never seen it happen before, it's likely that something inside the steering column has jammed or seized the shift tube, independent of the engine mounts.

---Tony

[Macho]

Haha, yes I think so too, it's something mechanical.
And now with the new engine mounts, the linkage still does not reach to connect to the transmission unless I use a lot of force. So it's almost like somebody has pushed the selector back beyond P and it has stuck there.
Lets see when I have the time to take the column apart.

[Macho]

Ok, I did some investigating. And unfortunately the problem seems to be deep in the column.

The shifter presses the button in that I coloured green. The button moves perfectly in and out, but the mechanism stays locked and does not rotate.

[Dan Szwarc]

Why does it look like there is no upper bearing in your steering column?

Does the column shaft wiggle or move laterally?

If the upper bearing or bushing has failed, then you may have shift tube binding against the column shaft. Not easy to fix. You need a column pro.

[Macho]

There was a bearing which was in very good shape, I just took it off when trying to see all places at the column. No, there is no extra movement in the steering shaft, it seems to work normally. Also the shift tube is not totally binding, there is a little bit of movement. It feels like the locking mechanism just does not free it when the button is pressed..

Does anybody have the column diagram or pictures of the disassembled mechanism, would be handy?