700R4 Trans Question - won't go into park

Thought i'd see what the board of trustees has to say about this problem. I'm in the final stages of testing my truck. It has a 350 with 700R4 backing it up. I have not hooked up my driveshaft yet. Figured i'd test it without first. I have a Lokar shifter, and when i run the engine - it's idling at 1k rpm nicely, I can shift through all the gears, but it won't go back into park. It grinds like when you miss a shift with a clutch. When the engine is shut off. It goes into all gears including park.

I have double-checked my linkage, and it is correctly hooked up between tranny and shifter. Ideas as to what's causing this?

One more thing, i have not hooked up the wiring from the transmission. I had started to run a toggle and was going to use that to actuate the overdrive.

Is this an electrical issue i don't know about? Does the electrical harness somehow control the transmission when you put it in park, like a clutch? Or is there a problem with my transmission?

Looking forward to some valuable advice.

Thanks!

 

When you try to put it in park without a driveshaft there is nothing to stop the trans from spinning. When you apply the brakes this stops the trans so it can go into park. It should work right when you get the driveshaft in.

 

Makes perfect sense! Thanks DirtyJoe!

 

+1....

 

^ ^ ^ Yup! ^ ^ ^

Do that too many times and you'll need a new park lock.

 

Or a ring gear for the rear planet.

 

Yep seems everybody got it right. Just don't do that too many times. Make sure the engine is off before doing it again. Put the drive shaft on and I'm sure it will be just fine..... GOOD LUCK........