ken, where is the lever you mentioned? in the case? have to take tranny out?  i have same problem as kansas and as you can tell i'm new at this.  how big a job was it for you to fix yours?  can you walk me through it.   thanks!!

This is a pic of a FMX trans. It si very similiar to the Fordomatic.

marv

`Hi Kansas,

I had similar problem ,what was wrong was the detent lever has another lever beside it it like a half moon flat plate with indentations on the side of it ,as you select gear when you go to park the part that shoves the parking lever on the drum was just worn away with use ,I replaced the plate and it worked fine. You just need to drop the sump and check when it goes into park it is shoveing the parking lever far enough across to catch the drum,

If it is that There is only one half inch to remove to replace it.

I am no expert the guys on this site are the experts but I hope this helps,

Edselken Ireland.

Ken

Jim:

I don't have source for the parts as they will no longer be available new. You will have to purchase used parts somewhere. There is likely someone on here who has a scrapped transmission.



I would take the car to a tranny shop unless you are very comfortable in doing this yourself as the valve body likely will have to be removed as it is very tight in there for the fingers. Have them remove the pan to look at the internal linkage. It could still just be a cotter pin has fallen out of the park pawl linkage. If a cotter pin has fallen out the spring on the park pawl will lift it away from the output shaft drum so you will not hear any noise from contact when driving. You will need a new gasket for the pan, some new o-rings for the tubes on the valve body and an inch pound torque wrench to re-torque the valve body. I would replace the filter at the same time unless it still has the screen mesh filter which can be washed out The gasket is the same as a FMX so the tranny shop likely has these parts.



If the park pawl is broken you could try an ad in the classified section of this site as some members may have a spare.



If you have no luck in obtaining let me know, I am in Canada. It likely would be cheaper for you to get one from the US. I take it you are in the US with your handle.

marv

marv

check linkage your way this AM/still no park,must be inside case. Do you have a source for parts?

thanks for help    jim

The pawl should not hang up unless the cotter pin broke and let the pin fall out the linkage. You can replace the pawl or replace the pin with the trans in the car. You will have to remove the pan. You maybe be able to get at it without removing the valve body. It will be a very close fit.

 

Here is a pic from the shop manual.

You could also have an adjustment problem. Before I would dig into the transmission I would try the easier.

WITH ENGINE SHUT OFF and a helper in the car to apply the brakes should the car try to run away:

Remove the cotter pin from the shift rod lever by the bottom of the steering column and manually pull up on the shift rod so it goes fully into the park position then try to rock the car by hand to see if the park has engaged. The early Fordomatics had a very shallow cog on the output shaft drum so did not have a lot of engagement for the pawl to hold the car in park. Many 55/56 have run away if left in park without the parking brake set. You just hear a ratcheting noise as the car rolls away.

The later transmissions like FMX or Cruiseomatic had a much heavier duty notch in the output shaft drum and also much heavier park pawl.
marv

marv

everthing is fine shift like it should/linkage is in good shape/worked when I stoped for gas/I make sure car is stop before going into park/next ? can the pawl hang up and not go into the gear and if it can hang up can it be fixed without pulling transmission?

Do you have the rest of the gears in the proper relation to the indicator?



If not some of the thing to look for are; your shift linkage may have fallen apart or has badly worn bushings in shift tube lever at the bottom of the steering column, a broken motor mount can cause the engine to shift from proper position so the transmission cannot reach the park position.



If the shift lever goes up into the park quadrant properly you have likely broken the park pawl. This can happen if not coming to a complete stop before putting the transmission in park.

just lost park on my fordomatic no loud noise or any thing/it acts just like its in neutral/whats next step after checking linkage?