Shifter stuck in reverse!
 

I'm having a strange problem. I drove my 84 S-model all day, stopped for a bit, then when I got in I reversed to pull out of my parking spot. Then when i went to put it in first to start going, the shifter wouldn't move. It was stuck in reverse! I had to spend the rest of my money on a tow QQ... I don't thinkit's the forks, don't know why i just dont think it is.

I think there was a thread on this just recently, either here in 1st-gen or in the West forum....

IIRC, the recommended action involved removing the reverse light switch and carefully prying the shaft forward - - but don't go by my memory on it, which is fuzzy. Try searching here and in the West forum, see if anything comes up.

And good luck!

Drop the trans, undo the shift fork from the shifter selector, unbolt the tail shaft housing, and put everything back together with a new shifter selector, and new shifter bushings/return spring. I've done 2 of these, you can get a little "extra" throw and the shifter fork just moves beyond its range and pops out of the "gear" shift forks.

Here's the thread I remembered seeing... jump down to post 11 to get to the meat.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...everse-575825/

May just be a temp workaround if worn parts are causing it, but it may be enough to get you back on the road for a while.

That totally worked thank you so much! However, today when I backed out of the driveway, it got stuck again! How can I permanently fix this/ prevent it from happening again?

According to the details in the thread (which granted are for the Miata variant of the transmission), the problem stems from insufficient spring force on the neutral detent of the 5-R rod. You may have a bad or weak spring(s) or other worn parts that are letting the rod overshoot.

Permanent fix will probably require repairing whatever is wrong, as lim_fc3c says.

I notice that the Mazda fix for the Miata trans covered in that link increases spring force by removing spacers from under the spring retaining bolt (which is accessible from outside the trans, somewhere on top) and by switching to a reverse switch with a stronger spring on it. I don't know firsthand if the Miata switch would work on an RX trans, but it might be worth looking into as it could save you from having to deal with more invasive repairs for awhile.

good luck with that man