Sometimes it won't go into reverse

[Aquaticmind]

Hi folks,
Occasionally my 2003 manual 5spd won't go into reverse, I've been replacing bushing and while I love the improved shifting feel, it happened again yesterday. It just would not go into reverse. so I pushef the car backward in neutral and now it's fine again... for now... would worn shifter tower bushings cause this? Any help is appreciated. Iinkages ends, and diesel geek bushing set all replaced and adjusted with the alignment pin.
Thanks

 

[Seatman]

Was the pin snug at the gearstick end? I used to use a 5mm drill if I remember right, very snug fit. Doesn't take much to make shifting a bit awkward

 

[Aquaticmind]

Was the pin snug at the gearstick end? I used to use a 5mm drill if I remember right, very snug fit. Doesn't take much to make shifting a bit awkward

It was tight.

 

[Metal Man]

It will happen once in a great while that you won't be able to engage reverse because it is not synchronized and the gears are not lined up right. Shift back to neutral let the clutch out then try again. If you have no problems finding the other gears we'll assume the linkage is OK.

 

[BobnOH]

It will happen once in a great while that you won't be able to engage reverse because it is not synchronized and the gears are not lined up right. Shift back to neutral let the clutch out then try again. If you have no problems finding the other gears we'll assume the linkage is OK.

Had many cars that do this. Neutral, then maybe a quick RPM blip, back in, always works.

 

[Aquaticmind]

I'm going to replace the gaskets inside the shifter tower and see if that helps.. I've looked for some how to links but haven't found any that are particularly good. If anyone has a good link to a how to. It would be appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Aquaticmind]

Hi all, just for closure's sake this is how things have wrapped up.

I replaced the shifter tower bushings and replaced the tranny fluid. The tranny fluid was last replaced at 100K, so about 180K ago. The old tower bearings looked fine but I saw no notable lubricant on them. Since I had already bought a replacement bushing, I used the 3/4 bolt trick to knock out the old bushing and installed the new one. I put some bearing grease on the new one and installed it. My top seal was still in good condition, so I didn't have the scum that some people had mentioned.

So far, shifting is much better and it hasn't gotten stuck in reverse or been unable to go into reverse, however, not much time has passed.

So, for anyone trying to track down shifting issues, might as well do this one too. It is pretty straightforward and really made shifting smoother - or was it replacing 200K old tranny fluid... the world may never know. Fingers crossed, I can keep getting into and out of reverse.

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Hi all, just for closure's sake this is how things have wrapped up.

I replaced the shifter tower bushings and replaced the tranny fluid. The tranny fluid was last replaced at 100K, so about 180K ago. The old tower bearings looked fine but I saw no notable lubricant on them. Since I had already bought a replacement bushing, I used the 3/4 bolt trick to knock out the old bushing and installed the new one. I put some bearing grease on the new one and installed it. My top seal was still in good condition, so I didn't have the scum that some people had mentioned.

So far, shifting is much better and it hasn't gotten stuck in reverse or been unable to go into reverse, however, not much time has passed.

So, for anyone trying to track down shifting issues, might as well do this one too. It is pretty straightforward and really made shifting smoother - or was it replacing 200K old tranny fluid... the world may never know. Fingers crossed, I can keep getting into and out of reverse.

That happened to me before. To get reverse I would push down and left like I was shifting to reverse holding slight pressure then hammer fist down lightly on the top of the shifter with my left hand worked in a pinch. Actually after doing that a few times I havent had a problem. May have had a burr or hang up somewhere. I have replaced bushings and so on in the shifter mechanism, so this may have been an anomaly but it worked

 

[Matt-98AHU]

5 speeds have a "sliding" reverse gear that engages teeth on the 1st and 2nd gear selector collar. No synchronization, just beveled teeth that just bash into eachother, especially if the car is still moving (please don't do that, you will just do damage to the teeth).

Some accidental bashing of teeth can damage them, making for flatter spots where the teeth should be beveled to help make engagement easier. So, entirely possible you just occasionally roll over a "bad" spot that is extra difficult to engage, but when you move the car just a little bit, you're now lined up with teeth that are in better shape and things engage much more easily.

From my 02S-02J 6 speed hybrid series:

 

[Aquaticmind]

Hi all,
Thank you for all your insight and assistance.

I've had some successes, some failures, and some insights. Successes, I think I replaced every bushing in the shifter assembly, including the ones on the shifter tower in the tranny, and by in large it now shifts much better.

Failures - I still occasionally can't get it into reverse, but this is less frequent now.

Insights - while parallel parking the other day, I was reversing with the wheel turned all the way left and bumped the curb on the passenger side. Pulled forward, but could not get it back into reverse. Drove like that for a day and while in a drive-through line, wondered if an "opposite" bump might get reversed back, so I rolled backward into the curb with the wheel turned to the right and bumped the curb on the driver's side. Wouldn't you know it, I was able to get back into reverse.

Drove like this for a few days. Went over a big offset entry drive into a parking lot that rocked the car side to side and lost reverse again, cut the wheel hard, and was able to push it into reverse. So I played that game a few times and there seems to be a pattern.

This all makes me think it's a loose engine mount, the mounts are new (~6 months old) from ID parts, so I don't think they are warn out.


So anyway I'm looking for insight into identifying and fixing loose engine mounts. Could it be a loose subframe? Is any specific mount most likely loose? Could it still be an internal tranny thing - one video I watch indicated the cup on the shifter tower could get warn out - any of these symptoms suggest that? Just looking for some insight as I prepare to keep tracking this issue down..

Oh, and now I'm getting a slight creaking sound when I let the clutch out from a stop and start to move the car, this just started and I think it's connected to the reverse issue.

Cheers and thank you for any insight.
~James

 

[lost1wing]

Go back and put the rig pin in the shifter tower and shift lever. Loosen the adjusters on the cables. Make sure you push the slack out of the cables before locking them. It sounds like you are just a bit out. If that doesn't make it better, pull the slack out of the cables before locking them.