billsheets

My 1995 c4 Corvette will not shift out of park. Help!!!
The car is a 1995 Pace Car with 16,000 miles. The transmission has never done this before. Car is in my garage and I can't get it out unless I can get the transmission out of park.
I have taken the console apart and can see the shift mechanism but I don't know what to do from there. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

ctmccloskey

Hello billsheets,

First of all let me "Welcome you to the Corvette Forum"!

This site has some incredible people on it and they can frequently answer problems without ever seeing it in real life. Their one limitation is that they can't help you without sufficient information. If you could spend a bit of time and tell us more about the car, any modifications and mileage and anything that might be pertinent to this issue of not getting it out of park.
Are you the original owner?
Mileage on car?
Any problems with Transmission before?
Is pressing the brake releasing the shifter to move?
Has this ever happened before?
Do you have an alarm system on this car? Stock?
The guys who really know the 1995 C4 Corvettes will need to know the basics before they can go on from here.

There are plenty of fellow Corvette owners who like helping others, that is what makes this Forum so great. One thing we do like is to have people post online what they found causing the issue, this way we share the knowledge and we all learn.

PatternDayTrader

There's a solenoid/actuator attached to the shifter that is malfunctioning. Pretty much everyone just removes it. I think a few people have tried to repair the solenoid itself. But removing it is going to permanently solve the problem.

billsheets

where is the solenoid located?

PatternDayTrader

Attached to the shifter.

markKlein

It's a solenoid, if I remember right it is black. It is a cylinder and attaches with two ball joints, like the struts on the hatchback. Unplug it, then just pop it off at both ends with a screwdriver. Throw it away, just be aware that now it will be possible to start your car even if the brake is not pressed in.

PatternDayTrader

Correct.

markKlein

You are correct, not sure where my head was that day.

Rbee775

Mine will be in the garbage this weekend.

Marky_Mark

Mine was doing the same thing. What I found was the solenoid plunger was getting magnetized, and was sticking magnetically to the bottom of the solenoid. I fixed mine by adding a rubber O-ring to the shaft that was thick enough to prevent the plunger from touching the bottom of the solenoid. To get the O-ring onto the shaft, I cut the O-ring, put it on the shaft, the added a drop of super-glue. I made sure that I didn't get any glue on the shaft, and it moved freely with no magnetic sticking when de-energized and fully retracted.