I have a 1971 Camper Special. When left in Park, it tends to slip into Drive and move on down the road. Without me. One time I wasn't behind the wheel and it was only by luck I caught the sucker and stopped it. What's going on here? Also, I have to futz with the Shifter Lever to get it to a place where it will start. Is the transmission (Automatic) shot or is it just a linkage problem? If it is the linkage, what exactly can I do to fix it? I don't want to junk it. I think these are awesome cool Pickups. But I won't sell it as it is. It's dangerous. I don't plan on completely restoring it, but I would like to stabilize it so that someday someone can. I'll have to junk it if I can't figure out what is wrong !! Please Help !! Thanks .
the moving of the shifter is an easy fix. on the bottom of the steering column is a switch. which makes contact with a lever the is hooked onto the columns shifter tube. the switch is adjustable with loosening the two screws that hold it to the column. with the shifter in park. move the switch towards the lever. which should be move it to the passenger side. until the lever pushes the switch over all the way. the switch is called the neutral safty switch. the jumping out of gear thing i am not completely sure about. there is a parking pawl inside the transmission. it is a gear looking thing with a lever that hooks into the gear and keeps it from turning. if its worn it could slip out of gear and go down the road. i would think it would slip into reverse before it went into drive. but i could jump into drive if the slipping was forcefull enough to put it there.
Thanks Fordman. So if I understand correctly, to figure out the slipping into gear thing, the transmission needs to be torn apart? That sucks.............
Thirdtry, im no tranny expert but you may be able to get to that lever by just pulling the pan. Pm, average 250 and ask him. he is the local expert on trannys. Fordman is also good but may have not went into enough detail for you. But don't give up on your bump for a minor issue like this.
yeah the linkage is also in the pan before it goes back into the tailhousing to the parking pawl. it is possible that something has happened insid ethe pan. you could try just taking the pan off first to see if anything is messed up in there. if you dont find it you can pull just the tailhousing i think to examine the parking pawl gear and rod. if the gear has to be replaced you will habve to pull the trans and rebuild the trans just to get all the way to that gear i think. but it might come off the rear splines. i just dont remember.
An automatic that falls into gear is almost never the trans. It is the shifter on the column causing the problem. On the back of the turn signal switch housing is a detent plate and it locks the shifter in place. If it is damaged then the shifter can fall into gear. If the detent plate and shifter are in good shape then loose linkage is causing the problem. A bad trans pawl will cause problems but the shifter won't move. Hawkrod
This is an earlier one but the detent plate is the steel plate held on with two screws and the oval hole is the park lock:
Hawkrod, thanks for taking the time to post the pic. What would the shifter plate look like if it wasn't in good shape? Is it really obvious if it is screwed up, or do I need to know more about what I'm looking for? You say, "if the detent plate and the SHIFTER are in good shape". What about the shifter am I looking for? And what about the linkage is loose. Hope this is not too much trouble, but I think this thread will help people on this forum for a long time. Good information !! You guys are just awesome !! Thanks for the tips. Might just save this old beast after all !!
I was helping another member out with this problem a while back. Check out the following thread, where I posted a bunch of pictures showing you what your problem is:
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-O-----O- Keith
'67 F-100 2WD SWB ~ '69 F-100 4WD SWB w/7" chop ~ 1975 F-250 Ranger XLT Supercab Camper Special My '67 restoration video -> Posting and you!<-a MUST watch for all!!
Wow ! Thanks ! It will take me a while to pull everything apart and compare my stuff to the pics you posted (and then find replacements), but it seems like you really nailed the problem. I wonder how many Bumps are still on the road rather than in Junk Yards because of You and This Site ? Has to be a lot !! May be a while, but I promise I will respond when I get this fixed. Remember, there is a really nasty place in Hell for people who don't tell The Forum what finally fixed their problem !!
In addition to fixing your column, I suggest setting your parking brake.
BTW, be careful with the column wires. I learned the hard way when I had to replace the collar on mine. I cut the wires on top to get the turn signal housing off to replace the collar and I probably should've cut and pulled the wires up from the bottom because I had a lot of issues electrically. I'll have that column out soon enough and disassemble it and possibly rebuild it so this information is helpful to everyone.
One time I wasn't behind the wheel and it was only by luck I caught the sucker and stopped it. What's going on here? Also, I have to futz with the Shifter Lever to get it to a place where it will start. Is the transmission (Automatic) shot or is it just a linkage problem? If it is the linkage, what exactly can I do to fix it? I don't want to junk it. I think these are awesome cool Pickups. But I won't sell it as it is. It's dangerous. I don't plan on completely restoring it, but I would like to stabilize it so that someday someone can. I'll have to junk it if I can't figure out what is wrong !! 
Please Help !! Thanks . 
