starts, but no shift

here we go again fellas i have a 90 xj 4.0 automatic 4x4 stock cept a 3" lift

I have been having some issues with it not starting the past few weeks, my thinking was the NSS was going out on me because i would wiggle my shifter and it would fire. the reason i didn't replace it right away is because i wasn't sure because it seemed like i had a bad ground somewhere when it would act up i would have real dim lights and such. anyways to cap this off one day while it was acting up i left the ignition in the on position and looked at the battery. The battery was sizzling all kinds of acid out by the posts so i replaced it with a new one today.

this probem has seemed to gone away now however now after the Jeep starts i cannot push the button in to move it to any other gear. so i have been putting the truck in Neutral to start it and then the shifter moves freely until i put it in park again the it wont budge and i seem to be getting a clicking noise from the steering column when i try to push the button in

any ideas


Thanks
Harold

The shifter lock rod in the column is bound up. The rod goes from the ignition switch (on the column behind the instrument panel - I am not talking about the lock cylinder) to the shifter. This can bind up and cause some headache; in fact mine is slightly bound up but nowhere near as bad as yours.

You may have to drop the column (two bolts on the underside) and mess with the rod a bit.

Sequoia

thanks a million you seem like your dead on

Also you can take the NSS off easy, and fix it yourself if you need to. Put it in reverse, and if the lights dont come on, you need a new(or refurbished) neutral safety switch. 25 bucks on ebay. Also, sometimes when your tranny fluid gets bad the shifter will be a little crazy. I just drained mine and it was a pink color, then replaced it with new fluid, and it fixed all my shifting problems. I also took out my NSS and cleaned it, and fixed the problem of only starting if you throw it in neutral, etc. That little cable can be a pain too, mine freezes sometimes when it gets cold because ive been stuck in bogs before. Clean it all up and get rid of any crap around it, its easy to take the drive indicator plate off.

Seems funny it started after you changed the battery.
Could there be some kind of anti-thieft that needs to be reset?

my reverse lights haven't worked since i bought it almost a year ago, i just figured something wasn't lined up in the shifter housing. and the Jeep does have a bunch of anti theft stuff on it, an old alarm that doesn't work and a Chicago colar and who knows what else. its really strange though how i can start it in Neutral perfect and go through all the gears just fine but as soon as i let go of the button in park i have to shut it off and put it in neutral to be able to get it into drive again, in all honesty it doesn't feel like the rod is getting hung up in the steering column or i think it would be inconsistant wouldn't it? it only does it in park and i can move the shifter freely in any gear and release the button no problems at all, until it goes back into park then it wont let me push the button back in only when the key is in the on position running or not so every time i start it i have to put into neutral before i turn the key so i can get to Reverse or Drive