Hard shifting out of park

1991blacksc

Registered User
Hi everyone, I have a 94 sc that I just replaced the shift lever on. Now about 2 weeks later I go to leave and it would not shift out of park, after some wiggling and hitting it finally went. Than later tonight it did it again, so I tore it all apart and everything looks fine, the plastic rod is not broken and I figured out that if you just hit the button really hard it will work, almost like something is binding. Just kinda hoping someone has had a problem like mine, thanks for any help, Matt Cool.
 
Did you spill anything in your car recently? I spilled a coke in my SC about a month ago and two days after that I had a similar problem. Spraying some windex into the button and letting it evaporate did the trick.
 
Make sure none of the wires (like the one for the OD button) are pinched or snagged anywhere. That happened once on my friend's Grand Prix.

-Nick
 
Thanks for the replies, I just tore into it again tonight and I think it something to do with the little cable that goes to the underside of the shifter (wish I knew the name of it!) it is what lets the tooth disengage from the park position, I think it has to do with the safety switch for the brake pedal being pressed down before shifting. I could not figure out how to make it work so I took the cable off of the plastic piece and now it will just shift all the time, even key off, but at least it works. If this is a bad idea hopefully someone will say something. Thanks again, Matt Cool.
 
It sounds like it could be your brake switch.

Have someone stand behind the car and you gently start pressing on the brake. Have them tell you when the brake lights actually come on. This same switch also controls you being able to shift out of "P." I'm not sure when this was implemented by Ford...my '89 didn't have this, but my '92 does. I think '90 was the transition year, with '91 having the same set-up I have, but I'm not 100% sure.

If this is the case, it's a small switch that is just above the brake pedal arm as it goes under the dash. It's a pain to get to simply because of the location. Otherwise, it's an easy fix. I've done it myself, so I know.

It is important to know though because you may not have any brake lights until you press very hard on the pedal. There is also some adjustment on the switch, so you can adjust when the brake lights actually come on. However, if it's doing it now, that means the switch has taken a dump (or very close to it) and I recommend replacing it. It's a cheap part.

Hope this points you in the right direction.
 
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