bad neutral start switch??

Have an '87 4x4 pickup that every once in awhile will not start in park(auto tranny, of course). When it does this I can crawl under the truck and simply touch the neutral start switch and get back in and it'll fire up and give no problems for awhile, however it never starts in neutral even if I push on it. Is there some kind of adjustments or do these things wear out over time? Oh yeah, my reverse lamps rarely work but if there's weight in the back of the truck they do. Related?? I was told it was but can't see how. Are they hard to replace?? Where could I find one for an old '87?? Thanks for any info!

Reply to
Robbo
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Pop into your local dealer and splash out for two new switchs, the outlay wont kill you but if your keen on crawling under the truck on wet roads and dirt, be my guest.

Reply to
Scotty

Well, just got back from the stealer...$200 FOR A F'N SWITCH???!!!! WTF!!! LOOKS LIKE I'LL BE HAULING A DAMN CREEPER WITH ALL-TERRAIN TIRES ON IT THIS WINTER TO CLIMB UNDER THIS POS!!! WHERE DO THEY COME OFF CHARGING THAT KINDA TIN FOR A DAMN '87 PICKUP??????!!!!!!! WTFlyingF!!!

Reply to
Robbo

I assume you tried locating one through a local autoparts store? Dealership items are always overpriced but also the only place to get obscure items for a particular vehicle.....

Reply to
Mac

Stupid question, but have you tried starting the truck in Neutral instead of Park? And have you tried moving the shift lever through its range of travel?

Fords had a problem very much like this -- the symptom was similar anyway. The cars would not start in P, and the driver had to wiggle the shift lever a bit to hit the switch so the car would start. The trouble was that the switch would not be depressed by the linkage at rest, and the car thought it was in R and would not start. We had to push the shifter forward -- floor shift -- to get the car to recognize that it was in P, or pull the shifter back to N, and the car would start just fine.

I don't know that your trouble is the linkage or not, but your description of the fix that you do makes me think the linkage is the trouble. The old Fords that I had could easily be shifted out of P and back, but the new cars have to dick around with the brake pedal before the shifter can be moved. Try pushing the shifter more towards P, and try putting it in N, if this works then you'll know the linkage is out of whack. At the very least, if it works, you won't have ot get out and climb underneath ...

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

I'm with Mac, try locating the Neutral Safety Switch through the after market. This part should be needed on millions of cars and trucks, and ought not be a unique part that can only be purchased through the stealership.

I did a search on eBay for "toyota neutral safety switch" and got no hits, but eBay suggested a couple of variations, and also displayed a vendor,

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that has what the call an Ebay Store. His store displayed a dozen or so Neutral Safety Switches for about $75. I'd give this guy a call and talk it over with him ...

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Snce your trouble is intermittant, I don't think it's the linkage -- it could be. My guess is the contacts on the switch are dirty. You should also try -- in addition to cycling the shifter -- taking the switch off and seeing it you can spray it with contact cleaner ...

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Well, you could take ya tool kit to the local car park and "find" one. Or a wrecker maybe?

Are you absolutely sure that its the switchs? Not just a dodgy connection?

Was the $200 for both units?

Your other option albeit somewhat dangerous is to bypass the neutral switch until you can find one.

Another option is to remove the old unit and toake to yoru local auto shop and ask if theres a unit there thats the same diameter etc and you may get it for $20 and just have to change the connection terminals or something. Theres more than one way to skin a cat.

Reply to
Scotty

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