So there was some black ice and no spike tires and my wife slipped, did a 180 with our '92 4-runner and ended up in the ditch backwards.
She was not going fast and there doesn't seem to be much damage, but when we wanted to pull the car out of the ditch I couldn't get it out of park.
Then I found out that if I pushed the 'shift lock overdrive' button I could move the stick. But only when I hold that button, as soon as I let go I cant't move it anymore and it will stay in park.

We pulled the car out with a tractor, but then when I tried to start it, it just makes a big 'cluck' sound, as if the car is actually in gear; the starter comes out but can't turn the engine.

Any idea's on this one?
I really miss this car, now we all have to walk 20 minutes to get to our house.

 

Good that no one was hurt (badly, anyway). You're driving a very tough vehicle.

You should not be able to shift out of park with they key to "off" or your foot off the brake. The shift-lock over-ride (overdrive??) is for just this purpose; an emergency requiring shifting out of park without electrical power.

My guess is you have some damage underneath - shift linkage is where I would look -- second.

An automatic transmission has a torque converter, so it can't hold the starter from turning. I would start there. Put a socket on the crank bolt, and carefully turn the engine over. Key-off (you don't want the engine to accidentally start!) You're pushing against the compression of the engine, so it will take some effort, but you don't need to turn it very far to determine if it is bound up.

 

Yes, very glad nobody got hurt. My 7 year old daughter braced her legs on the dashboard to get her seat-belt off, climbed out of the window and got a ride to school from the neighbors (because she didn't want to miss school).
Both my wife and daughter didn't even got a scratch.

When you talk about shift linkage i image something mechanical transferring the movement from the stick to gearbox, I'm I right?
And you say it is not possible for the transmission to hold back the engine, so you think it is not really the 'into gear', also right?
So it is not really in Park.
Is there a way to get underneath the car and put the gearbox into park without having to deal with the stick?

And yes I will try to turn over the engine (I actually made a bad attempt already by pulling on the v-string's).

 

You probably have the A340H (the sticker on the door pillar will tell you). http://web.archive.org/web/201408160...39removala.pdf To connect the PNDL shift lever in the cab to the transmission requires a linkage. It can get out of adjustment, broken, bent, ...

Remember, you can START your truck while it is in Park; the parking pawl will keep the wheels from turning the transmission (and rolling away), but it will not keep the engine from spinning.

But you don't want to try to start the vehicle in anything other than park or neutral, so the PN switch interrupts the starting circuit to keep you from putting power to the starter solenoid. (If you jumper the PN switch you can spin the starter in any gear; the torque converter doesn't put enough load on the engine at zero speed to keep it from spinning, but it won't do the transmission any good.) You say you hear a loud "clunk" as though the starter solenoid is pulling in, but the starter motor isn't spinning. So turning the crank by hand is just to eliminate something jamming the starter ring.

If the engine will turn, you could have bad solenoid contacts, so the solenoid pulls in but doesn't put power to the starter motor. You could have broken the starter power cable. You could be mistaken about hearing that clunk, and something in the starter circuit (the PN switch?) means the starter solenoid is not getting power. Work systematically.

Do you feel this is over your head? There's no shame in deferring to someone who gets paid to know these things. (a mechanic)

 

Well, maybe there is the shame in not having the money for that.

 

not in today's world

 

If it laid over any length of time, it might be hydrolocked by motor oil that seeped into one, or more cylinders.

Pull the spark plugs and try to crank it.

 

Alright, I think I have something to work with: check if engine will turn (spark plugs out), check if the starter motor comes out, look at the linkage to transmission to see if anything looks bend or out of place.
Thanks everyone for replying.