.:No More Reverse...Help Please:.

[Yoon]

Howdy,
Just a few days ago, my reverse stopped working..let me elaborate. Firstly the car is a 1990 SHO with the notorious cable shifter. It is hard to explain..but all forward gears including 5th will go in normally. When trying to go to reverse it will go half way then get really stiff and not go all the way in gear. After doing this..ALL gears became stiff and notchy. Then, I shifted up to 5th, and this oddly loosened everything up again making all forward gears normal. Most importantly reverse is inoperative...any ideas? The clutch was replaced with the upgraded 9.75" factory ford clutch just 5000 miles ago. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

-Bobby

 

[91 SHOplus]

Reverse can be a bear to get into in these cars as it is not synchronized. When trying to get into reverse put the car in either 1st, or 5th, then hit reverse from there all in one motion.

 

[SHO--ripper]

Usually putting the car in first then reverse works. I had an 89 that wouldn't go into reverse sometimes. I thought it went a few times when in fact i just had to put it in first and put it in reverse with a little force. You reverse was working before right? Mabye your new clutch has to be adjusted. Try lifting up on the pedal with 10 pounds of force. If you hear a few clicks it took some slack out of the clutch cable.

 

[sdpatt]

There is an interlock on the shifting gate to prevent moving the shifter from 5th directly into reverse. It sounds like the linkage to this interlock is loose or damaged and is getting dislocated when you try to shift into reverse. Shifting into 5th may be resetting the interlock and its spring loading. Have you ever been able to shift from 5th to reverse? Was the transaxle opened up during the clutch service 5,000 miles before? Here is a photo (thanks Beth) of the shift gate with the selector in 5th gear. You can see that the interlock will prevent the entry into the opposing slot - reverse. The interlock pivots CCW when the shifter is moved through neutral to allow entry into reverse.

<small>[ July 28, 2003, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: sdpatt ]</small>

 

[Yoon]

sdpatt:
There is an interlock on the shifting gate to prevent moving the shifter from 5th directly into reverse. It sounds like the linkage to this interlock is loose or damaged and is getting dislocated when you try to shift into reverse. Shifting into 5th may be resetting the interlock and its spring loading. Have you ever been able to shift from 5th to reverse? Was the transaxle opened up during the clutch service 5,000 miles before? Here is a photo (thanks Beth) of the shift gate with the selector in 5th gear. You can see that the interlock will prevent the entry into the opposing slot - reverse. The interlock pivots CCW when the shifter is moved through neutral to allow entry into reverse.

Scott, no I have never been able to shift from 5th the reverse..the interlock was working as it should. I don't think the transaxle was opened up during the clutch service as it was working flawlessly ever since the clutch work until a few days ago. Is there any way I can fix the interlock..judging by the picture it seems like it is not an easy thing to get to. Thank you for your help.

-Bobby

 

[Yoon]

Any ideas of how to get to the interlock? it looks like it is on top of the tranny towards the front of the console..like under the dash where the storage compartment is on a '90. Does this seem right? Is it something i can open up and take a look at? Thanks.

-Bobby