I would sometimes be able to get the shift lever out of park but it would be so hard and it would also be hard to shift through the gears. It feels rough or something is stuck. Yesterday, it completely stopped shifting out of park. So now I have to turn the truck off before I can get it to shift out of park. I tried taking the bolts on the gear lever (the ones with the torques ends on them, behind the steering column) off and re-tightening them but that didn't help. I also tried messing with the brake light switch by moving it around, which actually fixed the problem temporarily then it went back to getting stuck again. Now I'm stuck again. I need help ASAP! Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark

 

You need to go and see if your brake lights work or not. The shift release solenoid is wired in parallel to the stop lamps. No brake lights = no release from park.

Since messing with the stop lamp switch temporarily changed the symptoms, odds are high that either the switch is bad or the wires adjacent to the switch have broken inside the insulation and have become intermittent, an occasional problem on the 97 and 98 models.

The Torx-headed bolts have nothing to do with this issue.

 

Re:

Yes, the brake lights don't work and that's why I figured that it was the brake light switch but wanted to confirm. I just bought the brake light switch from AutoZone but I'm still not sure if that's the right part that needs to be replaced or if it's the wiring itself that needs to be repaired like you said. Is there a way to find out which one it is? Or how can you tell of the wires have become intermittent?

Thanks Again!

 

Yes, the brake lights don't work and that's why I figured that it was the brake light switch but wanted to confirm. I just bought the brake light switch from AutoZone but I'm still not sure if that's the right part that needs to be replaced or if it's the wiring itself that needs to be repaired like you said. Is there a way to find out which one it is? Or how can you tell of the wires have become intermittent?

Thanks Again!

 

You'd have to get up in there with a meter or test lamp to test the switch or the wiring and actually make the needed voltage checks.

Since you already bought the switch without doing a proper diagnosis, you might as well replace it and see what happens. Luck does happen sometimes.

 

I've replaced the switch and had no luck. It was a wire that had no power after all, which is now fixed. Problem solved. Thank you so much for your help.