I have a 84 f-250 that wont come out of park. The brake light is on. I think I have found the culprate but want to be sure. Is this the brake switch?

 

Yes, that's the stop (brake) light switch, but what does that have to do with the truck being stuck in park?

Usually when the truck is stuck in park, the parking pawl inside the transmission has locked up tight.

 

he's probably figuring these trucks do like all newer models wher you have to push the brake in to switch gears which you dont.

 

isnt that was is stopping my truck from going in form park to the gears? The truck was parked for 4 years but shifted when it was parked. Brother in law said to replace the brake switch. He also mentioned something about the plunger looking thing behind the brake boost.

 

explain your reasoning. you have to give a lil bit more detail behind what your thinking.

 

so i pretty much has to yank the tranny apart?

 

Does it have a tilt steering wheel?

 

The brake light switch itself has nothing to do with the transmission.

When the truck is parked on an incline, people make the mistake of putting the gearshift lever into Park FIRST, before setting the handbrake.

When this occurs, the truck can roll...just enough...that the parking pawl inside the transmission will lock up tight.

Now the lever has to be YANKED out of Park, and there's another associated problem that WILL soon occur.

Inside the steering column is a half moon shaped detent aka shift gate that the tab on the shift lever fits into. Yanking the lever from Park will eventually snap off the individual gate between Park & Reverse.

When that gate has snapped off, when you put the shift lever into Park, it can slip out of Park and into Reverse.

Not pleasant!
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EDIT: What does a tilt wheel have to do with the trans being stuck in Park?

The tilt wheel mechanism inside the column has no contact with the shift lever, shift tube, transmission or anything related.

 

Are you sure you don't have a problem with the key position or the key tumbler lock?

 

sounds like this guy aint listening. i ask him to explain his reasons behind what he was thinking but says "so i pretty much has to yank the tranny apart?" makes no since at all.

 

It only makes sense if the parking pawl has locked up (see post #8)....but there are other possible reasons mentioned by others.

 

Ok lets start over. Truck was given to me. It was parked and everything worked. I know it sat there because it was my fiance's uncle. It sat there for 4 years and wasnt started. Everything worked when it was parked except some carb issues. The truck was on crushed rock. It wasnt covered or anything. The underneath has a lot of cancer that needs to be taken care of. I put in a new battery and + post, changed the oil, and fired it up. It runs and everything seems to work. The BRAKE light is on and stays on after running. It wont go into any gear. We unhooked the driveshaft to get it on a reacker. When I go to put it from P to N it doesnt do anything. It has the symptons of not having the brake on when trying to shift it. When the brake is pressed the brake light is still on and it will not shift. I checked all the linkage and its connected and looks ok. I went to the linkage on the tranny and it doesnt seem to move. What is the next step? Should I hit it with a hammer to try to free it up?

 

It was also not on an incline when parked.

 

Ok thanks for the more detail. not trying to be a jerk but more info=better answers. These trucks did not have the i guess safety feature like new trucks where you have to push the brake in to shift the tranny. chances are it sounds like the linkage inside the column has come undone. just a starting point.

 

The brake light could be on because of your emergency brake switch or the switch in the proportioning valve is closed telling you that you have low fluid which you most likely do from leaking wheel cylinders from sitting so long.

The brake switch on the pedal only turns the rear lights on and off and has nothing to do with your symptoms.