Hi there,

New to this site, so I hope I don't duplicate a thread. Also not great with transmissions, so I hope to get some advice!
My van: 2001 1500 5.2L V8
My issue: Parking operating finger does not line-up in the center of the neutral safety switch port. This causes my van to be unable to actually achieve being put into 'park' because the switch will not have an electrical connection. Thus, I cannot start the van in P. The Neutral operating finger does line up in the center, and so I am able to start the van in N. There does not seem to be any obstruction to any of the shift linkage components, and the van will shift readily into all other gears and drive (seemingly) normally.

My question(s): Have any of you had similar experiences? How is it possible to have my transmission shift lever line up the finger perfectly when in neutral, but become offset when in park?

Any advice welcome! Thanks!

 

Is all of the linkage original?

 

Hi alloro, Yes, to my knowledge everything on the van relating to the transmission is original parts, aside from what I've done to it myself. I have recently replaced the transmission solenoids also, if that information is of any use.

 

Recruit a friend/wife/ neighbor to operate the gear shift while you take a look watching the linkage, see if you can help it to move it to the park position once you see the location should be and find out what the cause may be...

Has it been this way for a while or did this problem recently begin to happen?