The Park lock is mechanical so all that is telling you that the pawl in the trans is locking into the lock ring. There are a number of things internal that could be going on. Just for giggles, did you check the fluid level? I know you said there weren't any leaks but loosen the fill plug and make sure fluid comes out when you start to remove it. (assume is one of those words I don't like using when it comes to diagnosis). Other than that I think you've narrowed it down to the trans/transfer. This unfortunately is beyond the scope of most owners to address. (I don't know your skill level so I can't say you shouldn't do it). This is sounding like a trip to a pro is the next step.

 

I hate to throw it out there, but it sounds like you have had a hard fault failure, something mechanical that won't throw a fault.
How mechanical are you?

 

Put the transmission into "1" See if you can start off.
Put the Transmission into Reverse.
See if you can start off.

 

Thanks for the latest series of suggestions. I have checked fluid level, in fact I overhauled the fluid and flushed what I could get at.

As to how mechanical I am: I would be confident enough to remove and repair either front or rear diff and axle components. I would also attempt the exchange of the transmission had I access to a lift that I don't here in NC, I did in Ohio where I was an Engineer/ production Manager for a Tier 1 conversion company for Ford (Natural Gas conversion and later seating, also recall and campaign work).

Can I get at the Transfer case and remove it without too much interference from the transmission? I would probably tackle this and the removal of drive shafts and center diff if it could be done just on jack stands. I can probably get 18-24" lift on the frame? Would I be able to see any faults even if I did this?

Let me know, I do hate taking my vehicles to dealers and have serviced all my vehicles from Brand new my self. Having seen and heard of some of the horror stories coming in from the main dealers. Or maybe I'm just paranoid I guess.

Once again I thank you all for your help and consideration.
Paul.

 

What is your diagnosis of the problem?

 

I would say no since I just pulled the transfer case out of mine this morning (doing a reseal) and I'm working on a hoist and have a trans jack. I honestly don't think it's possible, but in an emergency stranger things have happened. You could take the cover off for the intermediate gear and see if it's broken but I highly doubt that (there are a whole lot more delicate pieces in there than that gearset).

 

Paul, when you put the tranny in any gear, does the RPM drop down based on the load from the tranny? If while in gear, do you hear any noise from the tranny or the t/case and be specific?
I am still thinking the tranny is gone, if it were the t/case and it exploded, it would be noisey as hell.

 

Thanks once again for your suggestions.

There is no unusual noises from anything in that area. I would have thought a mechanical failure would have thrown some swarf or other metal parts about that would make a noise.

When I shift from P to N to D I can hear a solenoid engage/disengage and the revs actually rise slightly as though a load has been removed from the engine.

The torque convertor is it just like a big solenoid actuated clutch? If it where not disengaging would this mean the engine force is never transmitted to the transmission? Could this indicate a filed torque convertor solenoid? Or am I looking at this too simply.

Are there any points I can see the engine shaft rotating and rule out some things.

At the moment my list of possible suspects are:

Linkage between engine crank and torque convertor.
Torque convertor
Linkage from torque convertor to transmission.
Transmission.
Linkage from transmission to transfer case or central diff.
Transfer and or central diff.
Drive from transfer case to either front or rear differential (I know the shafts are not rotating but what about the part that they link into)? If I where to lock the central diff using the manual method for 4 wheel roll testing would this be safe to rule this out?

I will investigate these a bit further and see if I can rule any out. Any body have any further ideas.

Thanks so far
Paul.

 

I'll bet you can get the entire transmission out with just jack stands and a transmission jack. A buddy of mine swapped the transmission in a D1 on the ground, with no two post lift at the time.

 

I just gave up and had the vehicle towed to a dealer who seems to have LR in the lot being worked on all the time (either means he's good or never gets them fixed so they keep coming back!). Anyway as I was loading onto truck low and behold the S and M lights started to flash I quickly dug out the OBD tester and found a P0722 (no speed sensor fault).

Not sure if this is per-tenant to issues but wish I would have had it happen before!

Any new ideas?

Thanks
Paul.