MTX reverse gear problem

[Chayes]

I recently lost my reverse gear somehow. I have yet to crawl underneath my car and tear things apart trying to figure out what happened. Reverse is the ONLY gear I cannot engage for some reason... Every other gear works just fine. Im wondering if anyone can lead me to a thread that contains a solution to this problem, or if anyone knows off hand what might have happened. I would like to know what I am looking for before I start taking things apart. Any help is appreciated.

 

[LJRuddy]

What year is your SHO?

 

[1993MTXSHO]

what do you mean cant engage? doe it grind every time? or jsut stiff and wont go in? does it go in but just not engage the gear when you release the clutch? does it go in when the cars off?

 

[Chayes]

My SHO is a 1995, and my car does not grind when I try and put it in reverse... though it used to, it is just stiff and will not go into gear... but my reverse light does go on...and it does not engage the gear when I release the clutch and no it doesnt go in when the car is off either...again thanks for any help you can give me...

 

[dpsutphin]

I am not a transmission expert, but it sounds like you may have something broken or loose either where the shifter rod goes into the transmission, or where the shifter attaches to the rod. If that is not the case, it is probably internal.

Good luck.

 

[dantheman68]

1. Check the shifter linkage... partially broken rod shifters can cause this

2. Does it go in the "slot" but not engage?... there is a lockout pawl that prevents shifting from 5th to "6th" that ive heard can sometimes break to lockout reverse permenently

3. Is there any fluid in the transmission?... any holes

 

[Chayes]

Im going to try and get underneath of it and open up the linkage box and see if I broke something. a lockout 'pawl', what is that?? And yes i would assume that there is fluid in the transmission.. as it does not leak and its MTX...but is there really any way to check the fluid? Nothing appears to be broken... but it might be in the box so I will start by looking there.... then invesitgate further ... also it DOES go into the slot... it just doesnt engage reverse..

 

[Jrodm12]

so you cannot put it into reverse with the car off? Its stiff to try and put it in. You could very well broken something internal binding up the shift rod inside or maybe the shifter fork on the gears itself is broke tho i cannot be sure cause i dont know if reverse shares a syncro with any other gear i dont think it does tho...

 

[1993MTXSHO]

so you cannot put it into reverse with the car off? Its stiff to try and put it in. You could very well broken something internal binding up the shift rod inside or maybe the shifter fork on the gears itself is broke tho i cannot be sure cause i dont know if reverse shares a syncro with any other gear i dont think it does tho...

there is no reverse gear syncro thats why reverse will grind if not engaged correctly

I say disengage the linkage and try to put the trans into reverse directly from the tranny, by hand under the car youll have to move that thing the linkage is connected to and see if that works. Im not sure which direction is reverse, have someone move the shifter around to each gear and watch and youll be able to figure out which way is reverse.

 

[Chayes]

Well reverse would have to push the rod in... i believe. I will take a look in the linkages and make sure everything is connected. Then I will try and put it into gear by hand. Ill reply later as to the outcome.

 

[ultimatesho]

im wanting to say rev. is to the right and in.........but i could be wrong so i would double check that before takin my word 100%........

 

[Chayes]

well it makes sense, but I will have to try and see if it will go into gear that way... and then I will check to make sure the linkages are still connected... hopefully I didnt break anything too serious

 

[Bizzy]

there is no reverse gear syncro thats why reverse will grind if not engaged correctly

That statement is not entirely correct.

It is true that reverse is not synchronized, however it does share the 5th gear synchro so if you damage the 5th gear synchro you can sometimes lose reverse and/or 5th gear. Ask me how I know this.

First things to check are the attachments from the shifter to the trans. Make sure there's no slop and everything is tight. Check your boss, make sure it's not broken.

How do all the other gears feel? If they're just as stubborn you could have some broken fingers on your pressure plate. Reverse is typically the first gear to show signs of damage but when it starts to get really bad all the gears will be stubborn to get into.

How are your motor mounts? Is there any slack in your clutch cable? How old is your clutch/pressure plate/TOB?

Other than that, I'd say something is wrong internally.

2. Does it go in the "slot" but not engage?... there is a lockout pawl that prevents shifting from 5th to "6th" that ive heard can sometimes break to lockout reverse permenently(

The reverse lockout mechanism keeps the transmission from being shifted into reverse from 5th gear only. I've never seen one broken before, I don't see how it could break actually since it's spring loaded and only moves in one direction. However, I never say never and I suppose if it did break that it could cause some issues with getting into reverse.

Chayes, I'm in Michigan also so if you need any help just give me a shout.

 

[ultimatesho]

when u try to put it in gear by hand it takes barely any force at all.........i used a screw driver thru the shaft when i was trying mine..........

but make sure you unhook the linkage from the tranny first otherwise ur not really checking the tranny itself yet.......

if it goes into gear that way its not your tranny............

 

[1993MTXSHO]

That statement is not entirely correct.

It is true that reverse is not synchronized, however it does share the 5th gear synchro so if you damage the 5th gear synchro you can sometimes lose reverse and/or 5th gear. Ask me how I know this.

First things to check are the attachments from the shifter to the trans. Make sure there's no slop and everything is tight. Check your boss, make sure it's not broken.

How do all the other gears feel? If they're just as stubborn you could have some broken fingers on your pressure plate. Reverse is typically the first gear to show signs of damage but when it starts to get really bad all the gears will be stubborn to get into.

How are your motor mounts? Is there any slack in your clutch cable? How old is your clutch/pressure plate/TOB?

Other than that, I'd say something is wrong internally.



The reverse lockout mechanism keeps the transmission from being shifted into reverse from 5th gear only. I've never seen one broken before, I don't see how it could break actually since it's spring loaded and only moves in one direction. However, I never say never and I suppose if it did break that it could cause some issues with getting into reverse.

Chayes, I'm in Michigan also so if you need any help just give me a shout.

really interesting, i figured since it wasnt synchronized it didn't have one but i guess its on the same shaft or something? This is why i don't build my own trannies yet

 

[Bizzy]

It's a very common misconception. You're not the first to say it.

Now you can say you learned something today.

 

[Philthy]

I'm in the same position as Chayes only my shifter wouldn't even move into the reverse slot. I got my tranny out last night and next Monday I'll be cracking it open to see what I did.

I found these on Autozone's web site, so I thought I would steal them from faceless, greedy corporate America but, you know, still give them credit.



http://www.abusivemotorsports.com/troy/SHO/Tranny/Internal Shift Linkage.jpg



http://www.abusivemotorsports.com/troy/SHO/Tranny/MTX-V Exploded View.jpg



http://www.abusivemotorsports.com/troy/SHO/Tranny/MTX-V Gears.jpg



http://www.abusivemotorsports.com/troy/SHO/Tranny/MTX-V Parts List.jpg

Also, some time ago I found a few pages that talked about fixing an MTX V. The only thing I remember was it was pretty detailed and one of the things it said was "loosen the shift detent plunger bolt." It went on to say that you could remove it, but you would be sorry. I removed mine and I'm wondering if that's what made reverse fail and me be sorry. Anyone ever remember seeing that write up and have the link to it? I'm fairly certain I found it from poking around here, but it was hosted outside.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

I learned something today... except it was really yesterday that i learned it

 

[Bizzy]

Troy,

I did a write-up on the MTX dis-assembly procedure. It can be read by clicking here.

As for the detent, for what reason did you remove the bolt? Did you move the shifter or anything in the trans while it was out? If the answer to the latter question is no, then I doubt that is your problem.

When taking the transmission apart, the reason why we tell you guys to only loosen the detent bolt instead of removing it is because when lifting the case up for removal, the shaft comes out of the area where the detent plunger and spring are. If the bolt is gone, the plunger and spring will literally zing out of the case and across the room. Since that bolt is not attached to anything internal of the trans it's ok to just loosen it up.

 

[Phoenix]

Chays , you have the EXACT same issue as me on my white 94 , and it's not the linkage , I tried it with a srewdriver through the tranny shaft.

It's not grinding or anything , it just wont go there.

This automn/winter , I'll dismantle the whole thing , I'll let you know what the **** went wrong.