This is the second time I have replaced the PNP switch in my 960 and I decided to try something a little different to remove the switch. This time I removed the switch in about an hour and most of that time was spent thinking about it and setting up for the job:

As before jack up the front of the car and secure the front wheels on a set of ramps by setting the parking brake and chocking the back wheels.

Removal:
Put the car in "N" and with a 4 inch grinder fitted with a cutoff wheel, or similar tool, remove the exposed part of the switch shaft flush with the installed switch shaft nut.

Remove the two nuts, disconnect the connector, remove the wire ties and slip the switch off the shaft and off the car.

Install:
Dress the switch shaft with a file to remove the burrs; install the new switch, wiring, connector and tighten the shaft nut just enough to feel it tightly snug to the switch shaft…don't over do it; bend the keeper washer to hold the nut; install the other small bolt and tighten it enough to hold the switch to the body of the transmission. You will be tightening it down later.

Now place the car in PARK, and rotate the switch so the car will turn over the engine at that selection point…I used a screwdriver and tapped it lightly with a hammer to rotate the switch.

Check that the backup lights will turn on when the selector is in "R" and the car will turn over the engine in "N." Keep rotating the switch by tapping it easily until all three conditions are met, i.e., the car will start in "P" and "N" and the backup lights will work in "R;" tighten down the small bolt and re-check the operation of the selector one last time.

Notes:
In my opinion this is way too sensitive a switch and is too difficult to adjust for this application.

I believe the cause of the switch failure is it's close proximity to the exhaust system, without an aluminum deflector to reflect the heat; over time the switch is heat soaked many times and it fails.

By the way the brand of the switch is Scan Tech and it works fine at a much lesser price.

Dear fotajoye,

Hope you're well. I do not operate a 960, and post, in the hope of further explanation, that will help others.

What is the reason to cut-off, "the exposed part of the switch shaft"? Is it because this "exposed part" usually is so corroded, that the nuts cannot be removed? Would it suffice to use a wire brush to remove the corrosion?

I ask, because altering factory-installed parts - as a general rule - should be avoided. Thus, when I recently replaced exhaust manifold gaskets, I wire-brushed the stud ends, to ease nut removal. The nuts came-off easily, once - with the help of PB Blaster - the corrosion bond was broken.

Thanks for your further advice.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Spook:

The problem is all the things to remove to get to the part; something I wouldn't do normally; however, see the following to see how involved removing the PNP switch really is:

Under The 700/900 FAQs; Table of Contents;
Transmissions:

N960 AW30-40 W/E Lights Flashing: Gear Position Sensor PNP Switch Replacement.

If there is an easier way, please explain as I'm sure others would like to know.

There may be, at least for some.

When I replaced the PNP switch on my 1995 960 last year, I discovered a much easier way that leaves the ATF cooler lines and the exhaust pipe in place and without having to do anything irreversible to any car parts. In his PNP Preventive Maintenance FAQ entry, Rafael Riverol alluded to a method without touching the exhaust pipe or ATF line but he never described it. I would hazard a guess that his discovery was similar to mine.

Conventionally, one has to disconnect the rigid metal ATF return line because it does not allow sufficient clearance for the PNP switch to clear the transmission shaft, both in the removal and installation. I was reluctant to unnecessarily disconnect the ATF line for fear of inadvertent damage making the job more complicated than it should be. I looked further upstream and discovered several metal clips that hold the two ATF lines together and it is this mutual bracing that gives the lines the unmovable rigidity. By removing those clips, one can in fact flex the return line sufficiently to remove and install the PNP switch. That’s how I did mine anyway.

A word about the alignment of the PNP switch; with GOOD lighting and making sure the gear selector is STILL in neutral after all the manipulation in fitting the switch on the shaft, one can very easily line everything up as described in Method 3 in the FAQ. It is actually easier to do it than to describe it. I did the alignment this way on mine in under a minute without a lift in my driveway.

I hope this information may help somebody in the future.