Transmission won't shift out of park (not shift cable)

[WW73Indian]

Hello all.

I was hoping for a little assistance and after reading the string of post I think I found the right place to ask the question.

I have a 1973 D-22 440. I had just driven it to a local garage to get the annual safety inspection renewed. I got a call that the garage could not get it out of "park". I did not want to be too forceful but after just driving it and lots of test drives after brake repairs, I was a bit puzzled that it just quit shifting. Though I did notice it seemed as if it was not shifting gears as it should have on my way there.

I looked in my manuals and though I never found anything that said it could be the cable, after seeing the posts, it looks like there have been similar problems with respects to not shifting.

I tried best I could to look behind the dash and everything looks to be intact there. I looked under the chassis and did not notice anything out of the ordinary or a loose cable but I could have over looked it.

Any ideas on what else could be preventing me from shifting besides the cable? Then I will have to address the issue why it seems not to shift when it should.

Thanks.
William

[Oz]

I know you already read the topic about the frozen shift cable.  However, how do you know it isn't the cable?  Even though the manual may not identify it as a possible issue, in the course of over 30 years, it's proven to be the number one cause.

You can't tell just by looking at it.  You need to disconnect it and check the cable itself.

But what else could be a possible cause?

Next is low transmission fluid level.  I didn't see that anyone checked it.  If it started to slip while you were driving, that's a good indication.

Last would be a transmission issue itself.  If you have an A727 transmission, it's not very common to be an internal issue as that is one of the most reliable, hard to kill transmissions ever made.

[OldEdBrady]

Sometimes (depends on years, models, etc.) if you have a steering wheel that is supposed to lock when the key is removed, and if the wheels aren't just right, it will lock the transmission, too.  Some will even prevent the vehicle from starting.  If you can start the vehicle, but can't shift, try to turn the wheel slightly, THEN start it, and then release the wheel.  As I said, different systems do different things, but at least it's worth a shot.

[khantroll]

Oz, what is the correct procedure for checking the cable? I ask because I am having the opposite problem (transmission doesn't want to shift out of drive).  I searched for "frozen" and "stuck" cables, but my Google-Fu must be failing because all I returned was the FAQ, the replacement cable thread, and this one.  i??

[Oz]

In the frozen shifter topic, Malodin describes what he found.

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=2936.msg6280#msg6280

You'll have to remove the cable starting at the shifter on the dash, then try to operate the transmission from park to drive.  That will identify if it's shift lever.

If not, disconnect the cable from the transmission and see if it binds when trying to move it by hand.

[72-d24]

This conversation has me thinking: just out of curiosity, how hard should these big old rigs be to shift? Any other girls out there have difficulty with it? People keep joking that I just need to grow some more muscle, but after reading some of these posted threads, I wonder if there isn't something I could/should do to make it shift easier? I have never driven anything this big before and didn't know what to expect, so it seems reasonable to me that it needs all my strength (and a bit more than I got at times). i??

[WW73Indian]

Thanks to everyone for your replies and assistance.

I recently had the pan gasket replaced, topped off the fluid, and dip stick shows its not low but I will double check again when I get back to it. 

This morning when I met the tow truck, I crawled back under and looked around as I figured I would have to disconnect the cable to get it into neutral to support towing it. I found that the cable was stuck to the exhaust pipe as it had melted itself to it. There is lots of slack in the cable so I suspect it was tucked away to keep if from hanging down and I never noticed. Though in hind sight I remember a burnt smell while driving.

Hopefully the part numbers listed in previous posts are still valid and I will remove the old cable, check it out, and have a new one on its way if that does not fix it.

Thanks again to everyone. I will share what I find.

[Froggy1936]

I have seen many problems That persons ask for help Before completely investigating the problem . This is an example of a very obvious condition that could have been found with just a look  Makeing this entire post unneccessary !  N:( Frank

[Oz]

But... particularly if it's the first experience owning a vintage RV, you don't necessarily know what to look for to investigate an issue.  I know I needed a lot of guidance in that area alone when I got mine.  That's why there's no such thing as dumb, or unnecessary question.

[TerryH]

But... particularly if its the first experience owning a vintage RV, you don't necessarily know what to look for to investigate the issue.  I know I needed a lot of guidance in that area alone when I got mine.  That's why there's no such thing as dumb, or unnecessary question.

[Dr. Righteous]

Hate to sound like a squawking parrot repeating things but..... Brrrrak--Shifter Cable! 

This was the FIRST repair I had to do to my Avco.  I pulled in to a side road so I could back it up the hill and found it was stuck in drive.  The cable completely seized in the jacket. 
After some checking; I found this was a very common issue on MHs build on Dodge chassis. 
They are not available from any source so I had to have one customer made.  $90 and made from much higher quality parts than the original, it works great. 

[M & J]

Name your source. Others may need the same service.

[cosmic]

Love the new avatar oldrockandroller.

I second that. post your source..

[M & J]

Joanfenn gave that avatar to me.