Swapped my 63's damaged park lock cable out a couple weeks ago with a good used one from a member on this site.

Cable is in and seems to be doing a fine job and NOT leaking like before. BUT...

Now when I hit the Reverse button after a cold start, the car shifts into Reverse: I can hear and feel it shift, but the tranny acts like there's some kind of brake engaged. Pushing the buttons between Reverse and Neutral several times will NOT allow the car to shift into Reverse. Hit Drive, BAM, the car shifts into Drive just fine. Hit Reverse, and NOW the car shifts into Reverse, no problem! Until I leave the car sitting for a time, then the problem rears up again.

What adjustment is necessary? I didn't touch the shift cable during the park lock cable swapout. Wondering what happened.

Below is from my 1963 FSM. My suspicion is that when you engage reverse, that the park/lock pawl is engaging, and not allowing the tailshaft-driveshaft-drivetrain to move. There isn't much adjustment on that cable. But just a bit of movement in the grasp of the cable housing at the transmission.





Item number 5- If you haven't pulled outward on the cable housing to remove any cable slack, it may still be engaged.... My hunch.

Please post what you find so we can all learn what fixed it!

I think the torque converter is draining back into the pan. I'll bet you don't have drive either after the car has been sitting. Not until the torque converter is refilled that is.

_________________
Joshua

In point 2 do I push the screwdriver 'up' or to the 'side' of the spring?

The small screwdriver is inserted vertically. I want to say ( but can't remember for certain) aft of the spring, and applying pressure forward on the spring.

THANKS.

As it turns out the end of the park cable was not correctly attached to the spring which activates the slide to lock the pawl/sprag.

When I try to attach the cable end it does not seem to lock in (I can still pull it out without using a screwdriver to unhook the spring.

Any ideas I how to correctly connect the cable?

You may need to have someone hold the PARK lever so the cable stays fully extended, as you push the other end thru the sleeve / lock spring.

One thing to check...
Look to see if the lock spring is still in the sleeve's groove and protruding into the sleeve's inner diameter.
(use a flashlight to look into the cable's entry hole & down the sleeve's bore)

You may have to move around the end of the lock spring to get it back into the small groove, in the sleeve.
DD

(the shift cable has the same lock spring design so see the photo below)

When I installed the cable, It was disconnected from under the dash. By securing the dash end with zero slack, I was able to generate deeper penetration (no comments, please... just grow up) into the transmission. I then reconnected the dash end, before proceeding to the last (#5) step.

Of course this assumes that the delicate spring is in fact functional, and not damaged in any way.

I've not personally had the trans apart, and cannot speak to the magic within.