Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Truck $lipped from N to R while running (long)

[HomerDog]

Left my truck running in N with parking brake on while I was in my cargo trailer at an RV storage lot. truck stayed there for 5 mins and then it got real quiet in my trailer--ran out just in time to watch my truck drive 20 feet in R and smash a motorhome I usually jam my parking brake on as I park on an incline but this time I had just gave it a couple of clicks since I was on level ground--it obviously wasn't enough. $1100 estimate if they don't have to replace the bedside, $2k plus if they do. Not sure of cost to fix motorhome but I'm confident it will be a lot. Question is my gear shifter has play in it but it shifts through the gears just fine and seams tight when it is in a specific gear, it's just the handle that has some play in in. Does this sound like the linkage or just the handle? Can this be tightened or are there parts that are worn and need replaced? By the way, shifter was still in N after it hit. I went through the range of gears and everything appears normal. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[dresslered]

I am still trying to figure out what you have exactly described. It sounds like the truck just stayed in neutral and rolled backwards (parking brake didn't hold). I would think that if the truck actually slipped into reverse, it would have actually driven through the motorhome! I have heard of other instances where the parking brake didn't hold, but why didn't you use "park"? I have the same concerns since I have a manual transmission. We just can't rely on the parking brake.

 

[HomerDog]

David-

Truck did not roll back--It went into reverse and DROVE into the motorhome! I (used to, not any more!) leave it in N beacuse I read on this site that it is better for the transmission to idle in N versus park. As mentioned befeore, truck was still in N after the fact. I'm trying to figure why this happened.

 

[dresslered]

I was once told a story a few years ago about a friend of a friend that owned a dodge truck (so I didn't give it much credit). The same thing happened to him... ... but TWICE! Both times the truck was in park, however. The first time it almost drove he and his family off the side of the Grand Canyon and the second time it drove through the dealers service bay. The problem was never resolved so he finally sold the truck and am told that he will never own a dodge vehicle again (understandably).



If the truck somehow really slipped into gear, I can definitely understand how the parking brake wouldn't hold. But as to how it can switch back to neutral again, it is surely a mystery. I am not really familiar with how the automatic tranmsission works, so hopefully, someone with more knowledge can chime in. Is it possible to be just partially engaged into gear where the bands are slipping enough to make one think that they are in neutral?



Not sure why this got moved to the 12V forum. Hand brakes and transmissions are found on all the various years?

 

[emjay]

I've noticed that the detents on the manual valve aren't very crisp -- could be that you were in-between N and R and the vibration set it off and then the clunk (or smash) knocked it back. Sounds a little far-fetched, admittedly.

 

[Joe G.]

I suspect that the shift indicator is not right. It is just a little lever that is easy to bend on the side of the steering column. A cable goes from the lever to the little red marker. If the little cheap lever is bent or the cable is not on it right then the marker will not point correctly.



It does no harm to idle in P. All the references to idling in N instead of P that I have read concern the pump pressure. In P in a stock trans there is very little or no pressure in the valve body. In N there is. This is only important when you first start up and the torque convertor has drained overnight. Idle in P does not fill the convertor, in N it does. Most all modified valve bodies have pressure in P as well as N.

 

[HomerDog]

Please let me clarify the story for those who think it sounds fishy. I'm NOT saying the truck was in neutral, went into reverse and hit the motorhome, and then magically went back to neutral. What happened is that the truck was in neutral w/ the parking brake lightly set for about 5 minutes. It then went into reverse (it was on level ground so it would be impossible to roll back) and hit the RV. When I got there it was still trying to back up but the motor home was preventing it from going any further. The first think I checked was the shift indicator and it was still firmly seated in N-neutral but the truck was obviously in reverse. I put it into drive and pulled up. I went through all of the gears and everything else appears to work fine. I've tried to get it to do the same thing with me in the vehicle with no luck. BTW, If I smash the brake all the way down (which I did not in this situation) it will hold the truck in reverse but not in drive. So, what I'm trying to figure out is does this sound like a gear shift or linkage problem or is it something internal to the transmission. Please help, I can never trust this truck again to run with out me in it.

 

[Joe G.]

It sounds like a linkage problem to me. You might disconnect the link to the lever on the transmission. Put it in a gear by moving the lever then check to see if the link lines up with the hole when the dash indicator is on the same gear.

 

[Jetson]

Yep, it sounds like the cable is a little off and the trans did not get completely past the detent and settle into N, or it went a little past N, and was a little into the detent for reverse.

 

[emjay]

What Jetson described I believe is likely to be true, because one day I took off, and it wouldn't shift right, like limp mode. The MIL lit up, but when I got home and went to put it in park, I noticed that is was actually in between D and 2. After I stopped and restarted, it never did it again, and the MIL went off a few days later. That why I mentioned the weak detents on the manual valve.



HomerDog, I think the best solution is put it in P. If you're really concerned about cooling the trans, get a VB kit that oils in P.

 

[fest3er]

When all is said and done, the only thing you can trust is the mechanical position of the shifter.

Do the following *without* looking at the shift indicator:

• Pull the shifter rearward and shift from park into reverse.
• Release the shifter.
• Now shift from reverse to D *without* pulling the lever rearward.
• Now push the lever up into neutral without pulling it rearward.

*That* is the only neutral position I would trust in general, regardless of what the indicator shows. But this assumes the shift linkage is adjusted properly. So if you aren't in neutral when you hit the shift-stop, the linkage is out of whack.

Fest3er

 

[sewman]

I know this is slightly off topic but I just gotta tell this story!

When I wwas about 14 yrs old we had a F@#d pickup that would never start worth sh*# & as usually a 2 person job one in the truck to keep it running & another one to take off the cables.

Well,I had a big idea that after it started I'd put a oil can under the brake pedal so the rpm's wouls stay up. We'' it was a 64 v8 w/auto & a loose shifter I don't know why I had it in park it never stayed there but I did. So you know the rest of the story

went in Rev I put my foot on the brake & away I went doing pinwheels in our barnyard (which Dad didn't know iI had been praticing) I FINALLY turned the key off & my Dad came over & asked whet in the H did I think I was doing?

Luckily no damage !!

Bob

 

[Smoke-This]

Well not be out done

my 93 w/ manual trans decieded that I had not set parking brake tight enough went for a 250 ft stroll thru neighbors gar wall after jumping off 30 " bank entire front of dodge was thru stucco wall

this at about 5AM ended up with police three fire trucks and every neighbor around watching big-rig wrecker pull my DODGE out of house and back up hill made for good storys at block partys