my trucks shifter sticks,it will start ,and the steeling wheel ,will turn,but the shifter will not move,,it will ,unlock after after moving the wheel back and foth,

 

The same thing happened to me today. I couldn't get the shifter to move until I pulld the shifter boot off and pushed the lock in.The lock stayed where it should during the whole drive. After shutting down, I turned the key forward to see if the lock would release like it should. It did not move again till I pushed it in. I am heading out in a few minutes to check this problem out. I'll let you know what I find out.

Andy

'02 Quad cab SLT 4wd 4.7

 

Just returned from the garage and here's how it went. I started turning the key back and forth between the forward position (before the starter goes) and the off position while watching the lock and its actuators. After a couple tries, I noticed the lock start to slowly release when the key went forward. The small spring that provides the force to unlock the shifterlooked fine. The next thing I thought of was that the mechanism was sticking from a lack of lubrication so I oiled it up with some 3-in-1 oil. Now it works exactly like it should. As soon as I turn the key to the "On" position, the lock instantly snaps out of the way of the shifter.

Its easy to pull the shifter boot off and do this if you have not tried already. The tricky part is getting the lube in between the bar that slides back and forth. I used a bottle of 3-in-1 that had a telescoping tube that extended into the column which made it easy to get the oil where it needed to go.

If this doesn't solve your problem then good luck on your investigating.