Truck will not start in park or neutral

FEDUPINLA

MEMBER
1976 FORD F-250
5.7L
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

I bought an old truck. The steering wheel was on crooked and chewed up the turn signal switch. I replaced it and very carefully reconnected wires properly as they had been and according to diagram. Now I cannot start my truck in park or neutral. I have to drop in down somewhere between first and second. Obviously with the brake on. Once it is running I can put it in P, R, D etc. I had a guy look at it last year and he said he adjusted the linkage, but it is doing it again. I thought the previous owner did something creative because he swapped the 390 for a 351M. Any suggestions?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,742 POSTS

Adjusting the linkage aligns the transmission so it is in "park" when the shift lever indicator shows "park". That is fine for all the other brands of vehicles that have the neutral safety switch in the transmission. Ford's engineers put that switch on the base of the steering column, and it needs to be adjusted separately. As you have found out, with this design, it is possible for the safety system to be defeated that allows the engine to be started in gear.

You should find two small bolts that can be loosened, then the switch can be slid one way or the other to adjust it. Some people center the switch when shifted to "neutral", but I prefer to do it in "park" since that is where you typically start it. When it is correct in one position, the other one should be correct too.