Critter:
Not sure if this will help since it was reversed of your situation, but at least it's information.
"I lost my ability to put the car in Park. Between the transmission mechanic's vacation and my own, today is the first day I've been able to have him look at it.
He pulled the transmission pan assuming he could reach the pawl from there. Ended up going to the computer and found the Parking Pawl was mentioned specifically on our birds.....and the entire transmission has to come out to reach it. He thought that was odd, and thought Ford knew there was a problem with the pawls. He has a call in to Ford.
I should also mention that a month or so ago, I had the front rubber U-joint replaced, and he found it very loose. I don't know if the dealership didn't tighten it properly as the mechanic said it required a special tool. He feels this could have caused the parking pawl problem."
Now for those who don't know what a Pawl is:
"A parking pawl is a device fitted to a car's automatic transmission that locks up the transmission. It is engaged when the shift selector is placed in the Park position, which is always the first position (topmost on a column shift, frontmost on a floor shift) in all cars sold in the United States since 1965 (when the order was standardised by the SAE) and in most other vehicles worldwide.
The parking pawl locks the transmission's output shaft to the transmission casing by engaging a pawl (a pin) that engages in a notched wheel on the shaft, stopping it (and thus the driven wheels) from turning.
Most manufacturers and mechanics do not recommend using the transmission's parking pawl as the sole means of securing a parked car, instead recommending it should be used as a backup for the car's parking brake. Constant use of the parking pawl only, especially when parking on an incline, means that driveline components are kept constantly under stress, and can cause wear and eventual failure of the parking pawl. Replacement can be an expensive operation since it generally requires removing the transmission from the car.
To keep the tension off the pawl, it's a good idea to first apply the parking brake and let the car "rest" on it before putting the car in Park position."
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl"
I hope this is helpful for you
