Nissan Repair: car wont go in park, bobby pins, factory manuals

Question
99 nissan sentry will not go into park


Answer
Matt,

Disassemble the shifter and look for debris and to see if the shifter interlock is hanging up.  I have seen things like bobby pins and even dried Coca Cola jamming up the shifter.  If the shifter is clean and smooth the problem will be with the shifter cable or even the transmission.  The cable is easy as you only have to remove it from the transmission and run the shifter through the gears.  If it is smooth you know that something is jammed in the transmission valve body.  If you get to that point I would recommend a transmission shop.  Otherwise you will need to get some good documentation before removing the valve body as you do not want to misplace any check balls or springs.  nissantechinfo.com is the place for factory manuals and diagrams.