Now the truck died at my wife's work. Wont start. This happens every once in a great while (happened a week ago, long time ago before that). I drop it to neutral and it starts right up. Probably an alignment thing in the tranny. Didn't work this time. She says the battery is strong so I have no idea what's wrong with it. Maybe that voltage gauge dancing around the last several weeks was trying to tell me something. And her Jeep is up on jackstands in the garage so now we have no vehicles. I give up!

 

Try wiggling the shifter a bit while holding the key in the start position.

 

Some 4+ years ago I replaced the shift linkage bushing. The old one was shot and this no-start problem became near permanent. I replaced it with an OEM bushing and hasn't been a problem at all until recently. Can't say this is my problem but it's on my suspect list.

Here's the linkage


New bushing installed. July, 2017

 

Isn't there one on the other end as well?

 

Sorta. The blue thing. I didn't change that out. That's original. I had a hell of a time finding the OEM bushing. Found 2 and bought both of them so I have a backup. I understand Dorman makes them but Dorman also makes crap. But you take what you can get. Again, don't know if this is my problem or not. I looked at that bushing a few weeks ago and it looked fine but that doesn't mean anything.

 

If wriggling it allows you to start, it's the first place I'd check. That, and the OTHER bushings in that chain.

RwP

 

I have to wait till morning and get a lift to the wife’s work. She needs to find a way to work too.

 

Telling the wife what to do over the phone is almost a waste of time. She panics. She gets hysterical. She gets mad. On and on. She knows nothing about cars. Doesn’t want to know anything about cars. Telling her to jiggle the shifter can mean a thousand things to her. She had a scheduled day off tomorrow and she borrowed her friend’s spare car. So we’ll go out there tomorrow and I’ll check out that tranny linkage. If it’s not that then I have no idea what it is.

 

Then it's time to crack open the voltmeter.

Could be a bad starter, could be a failed ignition switch, could even be a failed neutral safety switch.

But I'd start checking that linkage, since wriggling it with the left foot hard on the brake pedal and the left arm easing the shift linkage through the gears slowly will test it well.

RwP

 

Part #s for the 2 Torque Shaft bushings

To the frame: 5211845 Grommet
To the Trans: 3575434 Bushing (this is the blue one)

I have a A518/46RH Tranny...whatever they're calling them these days.

Ralph, funny you mention the neutral safety switch (NSS). I had mine go out at least once and I believe twice during my 28 years with this truck. I keep pretty good notes. I thought it went out again in 2016 because I'd get this intermittent no-start popping up and that NSS was the first thing that came to mind. So I put in another new NSS. Well about 9 months later (translates into 1,000 miles cuz I wasn't driving it much back then) the no-start popped up again. It was at that time I determined the grommet (torque shaft to frame side) was bad. It had popped out so it was obvious. So I changed that grommet and it has been fine ever since until about a week ago when I encountered the no-start again. Dropped it to neutral and she fired right up.

BUT...not only do I have a backup grommet that I bought, but I also kept the previous NSS that I know is still good because it was the grommet causing me the no-start, not the NSS. I do NOT have a spare blue bushing but I at least have 2 of those 3 possibilities.

I'm going to bring some tools I think I will need. Maybe I can do emergency surgery in the wife's parking lot if necessary (I mean, it is a hospital). If I recall, that NSS was easy to swap out. Unplug the connector, wrench it off, wrench the new one on, plug it back in. Don't remember if trans fluid pours out but I'll be ready to slap in the new one if it does. Ralph...is there a wrong way to plug it in? I grabbed my old NSS. There are three pins at the connector side. All the same size, all equally spaced. All centered and symmetrical such that it appears I could plug it back in two different ways. See pix below.

BUT...I will definitely check out the linkage first. Visual inspection to start then the Ralph/HeyYou wiggle tests. I'll have the wife with so I can even have her shift while I look at the linkage action to see if it looks OK. Of course, I never looked at it when it was OK so not sure if I'd know unless it is obviously cheesed out.