Strange tranmission behavior ..... gear selector between N and D

[davem]

I have a 2001 XLT V-6 with 144K miles. I just had a tranny fluid drain/change (not a flush) a couple weeks ago and it seems to be shifting fine. But I had something strange happen yesterday:

About 100 miles into a trip, the wife pulls over to the side of the road, puts it in Park, for me to take over driving. I shift from Park into Drive and begin to merge back onto the road .......... the Explorer is moving, but I notice its not shifting as I expect and the RPMs are way higher than normal.

My son noticed the gear selector was not exactly in 'D'rive - it was kinda between Neutral and Drive. So I shifted back to Park, then into the proper Drive position and it drove/shifted normal.

So what kinda of mode/gear was I in when the gear selector was not in the proper position ? Never had that happen before.

Thanks.

 

[koda2000]

a common problem is that the 2 torx bolts that hold the shifter to the steering column get loose and eventually one will fall out. they're a T50's (i think) and kind of gold colored. if you, or maybe your son, can get your head way under the dash and look up you can see them. when they get loose enough they cause the PRNDL to become misaligned and will even prevent you from putting it in PARK.

 

[davem]

OK, I can check that .............. but still wondering what gear I was in.