97 Dodge Ram Transmission

Aug 02, 2006 3 Replies

Hey All,



Quick question about the automatic transmission on my dodge ram. I've noticed from time to time that when I go to start the truck, it wont start (even though its in park). I have to shift it down into neutral, then it starts right up, and I can shift into drive, rev, or park, and its good to go. It's done this a few times. This morning I tried starting the truck, and bam, wont start. I go to shift into neutral, and it wont shift out of park. I tried pushing the brake, thats stiff as hell, can barely push it. After a few seconds of pumping the brake and trying to shift, i am able to shift into neutral and start the truck. I am new to mechanics and trying to teach myself, any ideas of what the problem might be? The truck is a 4x4 AT with 155,000 miles on it. While driving, it shifts fine. THANKS!



DocRitter



i'm no mechanic either but off the top of my head i would be looking at the shift linkage,maybe it came loose or got bent up.other possibility would be the safety switch

There are numerous plastic bushings in the shift linkage, when they become worn (or fall out) the linkage gets sloppy and the transmission shift lever position doesn't match the column indicator.

Crawl underneath and have someone shift through the gears while you observe all of the pivot points for lost motion (slop).

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