'93 MTX - Reverse Issues

[Pro*banshee]

Hi, First post here

I tried searching the forums, but couldn't find an exact answer

My SHO won't go into reverse! Last night, shifted in perfectly without a problem, no grinds or anything since I started engaging another gear first.

I woke up this morning, and I could not put it into reverse! I tried pushing a little bit and then pretty hard and it still didn't even go. I was worried about bending the shift rod so I ended that, I tried to coast forward a bit to perhaps get the synchros right and engage it into gear, no dice.

The other gears all engage smoothly, the shifter is still nice and stiff with no play or drift in it; this is the first clutch still as far as I can tell (120k). The reverse gear also does not engage when the engine is off, clutch or no clutch.

I've done my research, and reading over the forums I've decided that it could be either:

1. Transmission shift rods dying (I think this would make shifting into other gears tempramental though)
2. Clutch/Pressure Plate/TOB dying (120k, and I'm pretty sure no clutch change the whole time).
3. Lockout mechanism? I have my chilton guide, so I'm going to pull off the center console tomorrow to see if there's a lockout mechanism that is keeping me from shifting into reverse
4. ?

If anyone has any input I would be happy to hear it, thanks for reading

 

[Phoenix]

I got the exact same problem , seems to be a couple guys having the 5th synchro is "stuck". The 5th gear can also have a small grind when you put it in.

But first , unhook your rod shifter at the tranny , put a screwdriver in the hole and go through all tranny speeds directly on the trans. This will eliminate the rod shifter. When you think its in reverse , start car clutch in , de-clutch to see if it reverse , if not , my money is on the 5th synchro.

Usually the TOB/clutch failliure , you will have trouble getting it into ALL gears.

There's a huge thread about this from a guy that had that issue.

My 2 cents.

 

[ultimatesho]

id agree its not ur clutch set up.......although its probably on the outs with that many miles if its the factory one

another thing to remember is reverse is not synchronized in the MTX-IV tranny........sometimes you have to try putting it into 1st or 3rd then down into reverse before itll take all the way

ive never had any experience with the lockout mechanism so i havnt got the slightest clue about it

 

[SHO#7]

Welcome aboard...

I agree with putting the car in the air. Disconnect the linkage at the transmission. Engage the gears manually. One at a time. See if you can get reverse that way. That will point you in the correct direction. You can look at how the shift rods move to determine what direction to move the manual linkage.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[cetroutt]

i've found with mine if it doesn't take reverse right away if i lightly let out on the clutch it slides in. or if i put it up into 1st it will then take reverse. it's almost like a reverse lockout sometimes.

 

[Bizzy]

Are you trying to put it in reverse with the car running? Have you tried to put it into reverse with the car off and without using the clutch pedal? If not, try it. If it will go into reverse with the car off then more than likely your pressure plate has broken fingers. Keep in mind that severely broken fingers can keep it from going into gear (any gear) even with the car off. Reverse is typically the first gear you notice pressure plate problems.

The reverse lockout is inside the trans and is designed to keep you from going into reverse from 5th gear only. I highly doubt that it is your problem, but stranger things have happened.

Try putting it into reverse as I describe above if you haven't already. Then if it still won't go, try putting it into reverse manually as the guys already said. If that doesn't work then you might consider dropping the trans to see what's going on inside.

 

[Pro*banshee]

New symptom!

I got it into reverse today!

I forgot exactly what I did with the clutch, maybe it was halfway out, but I tried rocking 1st and then 5th gear and figured 'what the ****' and pushed it a little (used a decent amount of force), felt it go a LITTLE in, then I pushed the clutch in all the way and pulled it back into reverse, it popped right in; and I moved backwards.

THEN, when I pulled it out it was a pain in the ass to get it into other gears, I had to push a little hard to walk into other gears, but when I got moving things smoothed out. I got to my job and pulled into my pull-through parking spot (parking is an active thought process now!!!) and dropped to second, then it clicked RIGHT INTO reverse without a problem, with a less-signifigant gear changing problem like I described above.

It reversed just fine when I left work tonight, I backed into my driveway and it clicked into first even easier than when I left work. I shut the car off and it changed gears like it was nothing again.

Ideas?


Thanks for the help already by the way.

 

[Bizzy]

Well, I think you have issues with your pressure plate fingers or that something "let go" inside the trans. Either way you'll have to pull the trans to find out. You might consider draining some of your trans fluid to see if you have any sparkles in it. You really need to get under the car and see if you can manually change the gears. It's a 5 minute thing to do.

It should be noted that bad motor mounts can cause shifting issues. How are your mounts?