stuck in park

"The Kid" is closing on his house today. backing his van up a steep hill with a heavy trailer, he put it in park and got out to make sure he wasn't going to hit anything. Now, its stuck.

I leave in a bit over an hour to help him out and loan him a car if there's not a quick fix.

He did jack up one rear wheel to relieve pressure, no joy.

Any quick ideas?

Karl

If a rear drive vehicle, jacking up one rear wheel probably would not relieve pressure through the differential. Usual fix is to push (jog) the vehicle against the direction of the jam to relieve pressure; then take it out of park.

I leave in a bit over an hour to help him out and loan him a car if there's not a quick fix.

He did jack up one rear wheel to relieve pressure, no joy.

Any quick ideas?

Karl

Geez, if that thing is sitting on a hill with a loaded trailer and just that parking pawl stopping it.....

Sounds like a plan, I'll bring a come along to try and pull it backward and an old tire to push on it if that don't go.

karl

I always forget the basics in situations like this. I'm one of those guys who will have the TV or computer ripped half apart before I realize that it's unplugged, or that the circuit breaker to the plug got turned off when we were rewiring that switch and oh yea, we never turned it back on, etc.

Of course, other than a jammed transmission, the only basic that I can think of is the linkage.

Be sure to check the linkage.

And don't get rolled over by a van, then a trailer, if you happen to be underneath when you get it unjammed.

Ever taken a transmission apart, and seen just how heavy that pawl actually is? It's a pretty stout piece of very hard steel.

Only if the differential is a locking type. Even limited slip will relieve pressure. My opinion is that the parking pawl is beginning to shear and is unable to withdraw from the drum. phil

Could be, but more likely he let it get on the pawl before setting the brakes. Has he reversed the order, he wouldn't be in this pickle. He's the one who has the diesel truck issue, too. I hope the rest of his move is uneventful.

Pete Keillor

Karl... Do you have a large prybar, some kind of a strong plate and a helper?

Assuming this is a four wheeler trailer...

I would

1) Put chocks under the trailer's rear pair of wheels 2) unhook the trailer 3) Put the plate under the front wheel of the trailer 4) Push front tires of the trailer, to move back, inch by inch, with a big prybar 5) Have your helper move the chocks back too

This should move the trailer away from the truck.

Then your truck is not pushed as hard.

i

If this is a van built in the last decade or so, check the brake light fuse and the lights themselves. If they don't light when you depress the brakes, that's your problem.

I found this out the hard way. I can't give you specifics, but that is a VERY common problem with recent vehicles stuck in park.

Some stupid lockout circuit, that won't let you shift to park unless the brakes are on?

Argh.

Yup. Or it won't let you shift *out* of park. Maybe both, I dunno. And apparently it's very common.

I just Googled it to be sure, and I see that the same problem is mentioned all over the place. It happened to me in my 2004 Ford Focus. A lot of people with F150 pickups seem to have run into the same thing.

You have more adventures that you are entitled to.

I also found out about this the hard way. You learn to keep spare brake light fuses. In my case I replaced it with a relay. Seems to be specific to Ford products. Good catch ed

I probably have seen several, but the only one I really paid attention to was way smaller than I would have liked it to be. I've never trusted them since, always using the manual brake on hills, and angling the steering to direct toward a curb or other stopper.

Backing it up somehow should help. Is it an older Ford? Any time I borrow my Dad's Econoline, he reminds me to apply the parking brake before putting it into park on any sort of grade. Even unloaded, his van can be a PITA to get out of park if this drill isn't followed.

Jon

I had the opposite reaction: I'm much more trusting of the pawl after having seen how large it is.

Maybe they were different transmissions :)

Some seem to have an brake hydraulic interlock. Wonder if that is hte problem.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller