Hey people,I have a 84 Camaro w/700R4 trans that since I have owned the car has had a erratic shift problem from 1st to second jerking your head back most everytime at an un usually high RPM I noticed also a gradual change in the physical location of and feel of the shifter itself,when I start the car it acts like it's between gears and moves slightly backwards although it is in "park"Now there is no "park" or the park position is now "reverse".When I bought the car a few months ago someone attempted to steal it and punched a hole in the column breaking the ignition part that connects to the linkage which in turn I presume connected to the park lock cable.The ignition lock is still functional as far as unlocking steering and shifter but does not crank engine over I have to use a pair of pliers to pull the linkage up on side of column to start the car.Would the fluid levels either too high or too low cause the gear selector position problem or is this a mechanical issue with the linkage ,broken part in the column or what?No clue here?????

 

If someone broke the linkage, and since you said park is now reverse I would say the shifter cable is broken. Put the car in "park" by what the shift plate says. Then get under the car, and reach for the transmission lever. Can't miss it, it is the only thing under the tranny with a cable and lever. See if you can push that forward one more click (towards front of car). If you can the shifter cable is broken. No big deal if it is. Go to a junkyard and get a new one, cost me 2 dollars.

The cable is held onto the lever by a bolt that can be a pain to get off. Then there are two bolts holding it to the transmission pan. Take it off the lever, and take the two bolts out so it falls. Then disconnect it from the shifter that is inside the car. I don't remember what it looked like to disconnect it, but I remember it being self explanatory. Push it down through the hole/gromit, and replace it with the new/used one.

The whole process is really straight forward, takes 20 minutes, and is easy.

 

For some reason I don't think the cable is actually broke,seems more like it may have stretched or something got loose and caused the whole thing to move because it does not click or lock into the selected gear.You can move the shifter up and down through gear selection but seems like there's not much resistance plus at times it does find "park" but not very often.I manually shift the car most the time because it does not shift into second without snappinig your head back.This car since I bought it from day one has had issues,carb leaking,ignition module,trans mount,torque arm bushing,u-joints,tach burnt,and last week water pump went out.Also failed to mention that had to put a cable stop or crimp on the end of the TV detent cable because someone cut the factory stop on the end of cable that attaches to the throttle linkage on carb.So in the six months or so the car has been a money pit.I bought it for $300 off of craiglist just couldn't resist buying it at that price.