That is what it is for...

 

update. (a lame one) it was pretty crappy out yesturday, so i still didnt get to change the tranny fluid... but i did pull the shift lever out to find ZERO oil in there. I filled that up and it shifts much much smoother, but no reverse. When i did have it out i forgot to look at the bushing on the lever. After i got it back together ill pulled the little cover off the side of a spare tranny to have a look. Im thinking its a possability that a piece of that spring or bushing could of broken and got jammed up in the corner not letting that square piece go into reverse position. Am I out in left field or is it a possability?

 

my issue ^

what are the odds somethign is broken and jammed up in there right under the shifter? (spare trans)

 

even tho it may be working better than usual, there's not supposed to be oil in there.

 

well, i didnt fix it, but i know how to get it into reverse... do donuts in a parking lot to get the tranny nice and warm. then she will pop right in with ease. (most of the time) bumpity bump to get some more ideas on my issue

 

based on your video, you're trying to get 6th instead of reverse....

the whole point of reverse being where it is is that it shouldn't be easily reached from fifth like you are trying to do in your video... from neutral, push really hard to the right, till it won't go anymore, THEN ease it down. sometimes the clutch is necessary to line the gears up, but the car is so light and the ratio is plenty large enough that weight on the shifter should force the gears to mesh.

a pic of what i'm trying to say:

 

If you look closely, the stock shift **** actually has that little notch showing where reverse is.

 

guys... i know how to shift my car into reverse. this is my 4th 1st gen rx7, all my other ones (including my spare trannys) shift into reverse fine. the problem is in the tranny/clutch/somthing mechanical, not my shifting abilities. anyone else got any ideas?

 

but the vid shows u coming straight down from 5th, not moving shifter more right then down.

 

When I go into reverse I basically smack the shifter all the way to the right as far as it will go...then down.

 

please show a video of attempting reverse from neutral, because i can't fathom any real world situation of shifting into reverse from 5th...

 

^but can be done. just sitting the car, not moving, shifting thru the gears. he's just not pushing the shifter farther to the right when he came out of 5th to go to reverse.

 

I completely agree, however the reason reverse is where it is, is to prevent detonating your drivetrain by doing exactly what is shown in the video.

 

that's true if one could actually get the tranny IN reverse while moving more than a few miles an hour.

 

I just went out and sat in all of my s2/s3 cars to duplicate your video and mine doesn't go into reverse like that either. The shifter has to be moved significantly farther to the right before it will even begin to go back into reverse.

Isaac

 

I know this is a crazy thought, but check out your reverse lights switch. If the crush washer is too crushed or missing, the sensor can thread too far in. Doing so actually blocks the lock out plate that triggers the switch. So instead of sliding past the switch, it hits it, and you won't be able to get into reverse. This happened to me when i swapped from my auto to manual.

 

I explained all of this to him by PM already. I'll have to look at this video I keep hearing about.

Right now I can't decide if the OP is having a very bizarre (but real) issue with his tranny, or he's just really hard to get through to.

 

it's post 28, click on the top image to see the video.

 

i know that the lever has to go over to the right farther than it does when its in 5th to go into reverse. i can feel it go over farther for reverse, but when you pull down to go into reverse it just hits a wall. its a bizarre issue with my tranny. it will go into reverse when the tranny is hot now.

 

Starting to sound more and more like your reverse switch. try just backing it out a couple turns. Just need to lift the car a bit and a decent size wrench. You won't want to drive like this obviously cause youll lose some gear oil, but it will probably give you either a solution or something you can eliminate from the factors

 

Ignore the audio, it's my gf's annoying little sister. This is to prove that I know how to shift my car into reverse if I do the same thing when the tranny is cold, it doesn't work. I just hits a wall. I push it all the way over to the right and down.

 

 

see. it goes right in perfect after driving around a bit. when it sits, say when im at work or over night, no go.

 

Internal trans issue. It sounds like the hub is worn, and the slider is getting stuck or binding. When it's hot, lube has made it there and the tolerances have loosened up. The shift fork may be heavily worn on that side of the slider also. Could be dogs worn out, engagement teeth for the mainshaft reverse gear are fubar. Any number of things.

Does it go into reverse okay with the engine off?

It's not hydraulic, as stated above, or you'd grind into other synchronized gears.

The only thing left I'd try is move the shifter to the 5/R neutral spot. Clutch in - clutch out - clutch in - 5th - reverse.

Here is a picture of the inside assembly. Reverse is the gears nearest the centerplate, on the left.

 

My 7 always had issues getting into reverse, synchros not lining up, i learned to shift into 5th then into reverse to stop the grinding