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1964 push button shifter help! test drive, reverse stopped working, no start. car stuck down street!

Evan Frucht

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took for test drive last night after doing the rear brakes. the push button unit has always felt a bit flimsy (not sure if that's the right word) and not very smooth or firm feeling. it doesn't have the felt gasket that is supposed to surround buttons, so maybe that's all it that is, idk. here are the other issues worth noting.

- since I got the car its sometimes doesn't want to start after fully warming up. 95% of the time its starts right up. but every once in a while after its warm, u turn the key an literally nothing happens, except for the amps gauge doing what it should. no sound, no click, nothing. silence. BUT THEN.... I noticed a week or so ago that after that happens, if I hold/push in the neutral button all the way down it will start.

-yesterday drove the car a couple miles, got to a point where I was gonna turn around and go back, and then the shifter WONT GO INTO REVERSE. more specifically, the button wont push in and hold in where its supposed to. I didn't want to force it, I was able to push it in about halfway but it did not want to push in further. also the park lever seemed to get stuck halfway going back up. but not stuck enough that I couldn't push it back up. the detent did not feel normal. which might be related to this > I got a peep from under the dash and the PARK LEVER has a decent amount of side to side play

also the SWITCH attached to the bottom of the shifter seemed a little loose and was rotating a bit.

Park seems to still work, and drive was still working but basically the shifter mechanism seemed to have gotten jammed up somehow. not sure how possible or common that is though

so I walked a couple miles back home last night and am going to walk down there now to see if I can figure it out. trying to avoid towing it back if I can, LOL!

my main worries are that something is messed up within the tranny.

also worth noting that the transmission might be slightly overfilled at the moment but not by much. and it might be normal I remember draining some out after I filled it too much.
 
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Your shifting mechanism needs to be in good working order. Also the cables.

Here is the procedure for shifter/cable adjustments. Read down to the section that applies to your car. ("Method 3" is the one I like) Get familiar with how it all works. Sounds confusing at first. Feel free to contact me.
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/transtech.html
Also...
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/mopar-push-button-transmission-park-cable-tech-tips.html

The switch under the shifter is the backup light switch. The one on the transmission is your safety neutral switch. Cable adjustment is important for this to work.
 
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Your shifting mechanism needs to be in good working order. Also the cables.

Here is the procedure for shifter/cable adjustments. Read down to the section that applies to your car. ("Method 3" is the one I like) Get familiar with how it all works. Sounds confusing at first. Feel free to contact me.
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/transtech.html
Also...
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/mopar-push-button-transmission-park-cable-tech-tips.html

The switch under the shifter is the backup light switch. The one on the transmission is your safety neutral switch. Cable adjustment is important for this to work.

Thank you. I've already read both of those links you've sent me but still have no idea. I don't think any of the specific issues they mention pertain to this, but could be wrong.

I just got back home and was able to get the shifter out of the car so I have it with me. I immediately noticed the large spring that connects the park lever to rest of the shifter assembly was broken in half. now I'm wondering two things

A) is that the source of all the issues
B) where will I ever get a replacement spring

The part that makes me think it might be the shifter assembly (and not be the cable adjustment into the transmission) is the fact that all the gears and kickdown were working fine until this happened.
 
That spring holds the park leaver in and also out. If the park leaver isn't released it wont let you select a gear. If the spring is broke, it wont hold the leaver and park cable out when driving and could allow the park to disengage when in park.

Let me look for a spring.
 
This shows the broken spring, most of it is gone. Couldnt find the other broken part...

The spring connects the parking lever to the part that cable attaches too (that part is crimped around the cable so I left it attached. and that part is bolted onto the shifter assembly.

20190114_120445.jpg
20190114_120453.jpg
20190114_111536.jpg
20190114_113921.jpg
 
That spring holds the park leaver in and also out. If the park leaver isn't released it wont let you select a gear. If the spring is broke, it wont hold the leaver and park cable out when driving and could allow the park to disengage when in park.

Let me look for a spring.
Thank you! if you have a spring, great! but even if I can just get the dimensions/specs of the spring I can most likely get one from McMaster Carr. maybe if you have a spare shifter assembly you would like to keep together, you could just give me measurements of the spring that's on it or something like that.
 
I have a spare shifter but the leaver and spring are missing. Heres a pic of what it looks like. Might have to get one from Joe Suchy.
20160717_213103.jpg
 
Buy it screwing around looking for a cheaper price is it worth your time?
 
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Ok, thank you for the info! I should be able to get it working again once I have the part.

Does anyone know the part number for the thick felt gasket that goes behind the shift buttons?

Thanks
 
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upon closer inspection one of the long clips, that holds each of the buttons depressed after they get pushed in, is broken too. and that is an internal part of the mechanism that is riveted on and seems to have never meant to get replaced. probably no part number for it. might be time for a new shifter assembly...
 
upon closer inspection one of the long clips, that holds each of the buttons depressed after they get pushed in, is broken too. and that is an internal part of the mechanism that is riveted on and seems to have never meant to get replaced. probably no part number for it. might be time for a new shifter assembly...

There's a bar that pivots to return the buttons to neutral. It's attached by a pin that goes from one side to the other. Thats the only thing I can think of. In my opinion you can replace anything on these shifters. The pin that I'm referring to might need modifying or replaced if its broke.
 
There's a bar that pivots to return the buttons to neutral. It's attached by a pin that goes from one side to the other. Thats the only thing I can think of. In my opinion you can replace anything on these shifters. The pin that I'm referring to might need modifying or replaced if its broke.

The part that is broken on mine (in addition to spring) are 2 out of the 5 total clips that "grip" onto that bar, keeping each button depressed after they get pushed in. Those 5 "clips" I'm talking about are riveted onto each of the parts that slide back and forth (the parts that plastic shifter buttons grip onto) 1 for each gear selection.

When the clip is broken, The button will push in and release the other buttons, but won't stay pushed in.
 
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You're talking about these...
View attachment 705527
Yessir

Thanks for the pic! My neutral button is halfway broken (1 "arm" of that clip is broken off, suprisingsly it still hold the button in, just not quite fully) and another button (don't remember which one) is fully busted and doesn't hold the button in at all--- maybe it's my reverse button and it broke the other night? Hopefully...
 
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