Steering Column Repair: Transmission shift lever very difficult to come out of park., chevrolet el camino, hello buddy

Question
Hey Jay,
My name is Buddy Cannova & I have a 1976 chevrolet el-camino with automatic on column (transmission is turbo 350) & just yesterday out of the blue shifter would not come out of park. Finally I could get it to release but only by being forceful. Once out of drive it goes in other gears like always but once put back in park it gets stuck. Its my work car so I* have forced it again to get to work but I'm afraid I will break something or end up having to get towed. I can work on my own stuff but have not ran into this problem and am not knowlegable on this. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks again, Buddy

Answer
Hello Buddy,
If this is a tilt column, then I suspect the bolts are loosening on the tilt mechanism causing a misalignment. If not, it could be a simple shift lever adjustment under the hood. If it is tilt you will need to disassemble the column to find the worn parts and/or tighten the tilt mechanism bolts.

Hope that helps.
Have a great day!
-Jay