VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 1960 Chevrolet Impala shift handle stuck

A little background: We've worked on the brake light switch several times in an attempt to get his turn signals and brake lights working properly. We have taken the steering wheel off and replaced the brake light cable but never gone beyond that.

As of now, the Impala will not shift out of park. The shift handle seems to be unable to push the shifting tube down so it clears the finger that blocks rotation in the engine compartment, if that makes sense. The trouble seems to involve the highlighted item "A" in the diagram linked below.

During "troubleshooting" with a large flathead screwdriver dad managed to "adjust" (aka bent) the shifting mechanism in the engine compartment (highlighted item "C" in diagram) enough that the shift tube can rotate in and out of park without pulling back on the shift handle, which is not ideal safety-wise but is at least enough to get the vehicle on the road if needed.

Anyone have any advice as to what might have gone wrong such that the shift tube rotates freely but will not move up/down to clear the blocking mechanism?

As a further complication (and perhaps indication that something's BEEN wrong), there's an locking plate of some sort in the upper steering wheel assembly (highlighted item "BB" in attached diagram) that has been welded into place, and all the documentation I can find tells me it should be removable. I think we will have some amount of issues pulling the steering wheel and solving this problem due to the welded plate...

Diagram with highlighted points of interest:




Picture of welded locking plate:

The shift tube may need lubrication (insde of the steering ccolumh) I had this problem with my 1957. Peel back the rubber boot where the lever meets the column and shoot some WD40 insde so it runs down the tube, Also find any other openings in the column where WD40 could be injected.
This method also helped another member with a 1960.

We already tried a fair amount of WD-40 but it didn't seem to help.

Maybe a LOT of WD-40 would, though...

Wasn't stuck. Dad replaced one of the screws holding the brake light switch in place with a slightly longer one that squeezed the shift tube. We fixed that and it's fine now.

However, after taking the steering column out, we noticed this bit at the end of the steering shaft, that slips onto the power steering spindle.



I'm assuming this shouldn't be open like this. What's this even called? Can I simply push it back together and not worry about it?

Is that simply an unusual 1960 version of a standard universal joint, similar to this?

https://www.performanceonline.com/s...ng-universal-joint-economy-ujoint-black/

Standard GM steering column coupler...typically filled with grease in a sealed casing, with the rubber boot allowing for
some movement.

Here is one example, showing a complete replacement kit, but you may not need all those parts....

https://www.southeastchevyparts.com...olumn-Shaft-Coupling-Kit-OEM_p_1101.html

After pulling the entire steering column out, we found out the actual problem was one of the screws holding the turn signal switch in place was about 1/8th of an inch too long, and had pinched the shift tube.

Five minutes worth of work turned into about ten hours total thanks to that little screw!!!