I thought I might post this about powerglides not holding in park. I had this issue years ago on my car and apparently it still rears it’s ugly head once in awhile especially on the aftermarket cases.

Here is what I did to solve it. First of all drain the fluid. I recommend next that you have the transmission turned over, preferably on some type of stand or secured on the bench. Remove the pan bolts and then you must remove the transbrake solenoid and then the valve body in order to get to the parking pawl and the rooster comb setup. There are articles with pictures on the web to show how to do this. Be careful when taking out the tab and spring that connect to the back of the rooster comb detent lever. Now remove the rooster comb guide plate.

First thing is to check the rooster comb and make sure nothing on it is cracked and that the comb is going all the way forward to engage park. Sometimes the rooster comb will hit the front of the case if it’s cracked or not adjusted properly. You can even take a grinder and lightly touch the front of the comb to make sure it clears the case. If you are still running a stock shift lever look it over and make sure it’s not bent.

Next is the parking pawl itself. I recommend that you take a couple of pictures with your phone so you can refer back to them during reassembly. There are some pictures on the web if you don’t but it’s nice to be able to refer back if you haven’t done this before. Remove the two bolts holding the parking pawl guide and take it out and set it aside. We’ll get back to it later. You can now remove the parking pawl spring. Note how it fits down in the case, that’s what the pictures are for.

Loosen the lock nut on the low gear band and back the adjuster out with an Allen wrench. You don’t have to completely remove the adjuster, just enough to let the cast iron fork that holds the low gear band fall down slightly. You need it out of the way so you can remove the pin holding the parking pawl in the case.

Next is to remove the clip holding the parking pawl pin. I put a paper towel in the case and I use a magnet close to the pin to make sure the clip doesn’t fly off and fall down in the transmission. Use two flat screwdrivers to push the clip off and slide the pin forward over the cast iron fork and remove it. The magnet is your friend here so it doesn’t get away either.

Now you’re finally ready to address the actual problem. The protrusion on the parking pawl lever that engages the gear set is tapered slightly. Aftermarket gear sets have the the slots milled in them in a U shape and don’t seem to hold as well as the factory slots. Put the pawl in a vise and Carefully grind the tapered areas on the protrusion into more of a square shape. Don’t go crazy, you just want it to engage the slots better.

Now you’re ready to work on the parking pawl guide. If the bolt holes on it are not already slotted you can do that now. The idea is to allow the guide to move more towards the center of the case which in turn forces the parking pawl to engage the gear set deeper. Reinstall the parking pawl lever and pin. Don’t forget the clip to keep it from sliding forward. After you slot the holes then check the fit of the pawl. Some aftermarket cases are thicker and you may need to grind the casting flash off the parking pawl guide to allow it to push the lever deeper into the gearset.

Now you’re ready to reassemble everything. Check the fit and make sure the pawl engages the gear and turn the input shaft by hand to see if it’s locked up. Now put everything back in reverse order. Hopefully your problem is solved.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cashflow,

2 thumbs up!

I know I have never had any issues with my Reid cases but my son does with his old JW case. On the bench it works perfect but on occasion he has had it jump out of park

I believe the detent for "Park" on our Pro Bandit shifter could be longer..It appears to me that if the shifter could be moved forward .060" more, it would engage the Park Pawl as it should...I have adjusted the shift cable and the shift lever many times...I have a clean release of the Ball and socket on the shift lever in each gear, however when it comes to Park , there isn't enough "throw" to lock it into Park all of the time...If you push on the shift lever you can feel and hear it click in...I'll look into the Remedy Posted thanks for sharing

My fault for not mentioning adjusting the shifter cable. I might have missed something else so if anyone sees anything please correct it. A lot of these guys have forgotten more about powerglides than I will ever know but even transmissions from some of the most popular shops have had this issue.

I almost had a bad accident in Abilene when my car rolled out of the trailer and I vowed I was gonna get to the bottom of the problem. So far, so good.

Thanks for posting that information. Perfect timing, I'm planning on tackling that very project this weekend. I'm going to attempt to fix it without removing the transmission.

Good luck 2doggs, you’ll need some luck doing it upside down. Only good part of that is if you drop something it won’t go in the transmission.

Nice share Vern.
I’d add a check of the existing shifter may help. I’ve seen lots of misadjusted shifter cables and wrong levers.
1- Put the shifter in neutral. Remove the clip from the clevis. The clevis pin should slip in and out of the lever hole.
2- Put the glide shifter in low. Again, the clevis pin should slip in and out of the lever hole.
3- Last check Park. Again, the pin should slip in and out of the lever hole.
Above is normal and the first test needed.
In steps above, manual check the lever is in the correct location when you pull the clevis pin out. Park is full park. Low is all the way and neutral is 3rd detent from Low.

If the neutral is off, adjust the clevis on the threaded cable to result in 1 above.
If the neutral is set and the shift throw is short for both park and low, you have a lever issue. Could be the wrong hole is being used. Options are change holes, drill new hole or replace lever. If long, same deal.
Bottom line is, you center on neutral and use a lever hole to match the actual shifter range.

Thanks Paul,

My B&M shifter instructions showed to put the shifter in neutral and then click the reverse lockout lever and this was considered the true neutral point.

I have done that ever since I installed it and no issues with shifting.

2doggs,

Were you able to get the park problem fixed?

It's easy to screw up this parking pawl installation even if you're experienced. I screwed up the last one I assembled and had to sort it out laying on my back. Fixed but, not fun. I have a stash of small PG parts squirreled away. But I like the ATI rooster combs and shafts better.

Thanks for the reminder as I need to rebuild my spare.

quote:

Originally posted by Cashflow:
2doggs,

Were you able to get the park problem fixed?

I believe that it is fixed. It took just a very minor cable adjustment and now it seems to be going solidly into park.
Thanks for asking, John

Here was my issue we kept over looking thinking the problem was somewhere else.