I put in a used tranny. All the gears work fine except reverse. It is very hard to shift into reverse and even harder to shift out of it. What exactly is wrong and do I need a new tranny?

 

bump

 

try shifting into 1st or 2nd, and then into reverse. your synchros are probably worn.

my routine is start the car in 1st, go 2nd, then R

 

do you have high quality fluid in there? redline's synthetic MT90 made shifting much smoother for my car when it began to feel notchy going into certain gears.

 

From Icemark a while back:
There is no syncro for reverse. Shame shame for those that made up the answer "the syncro is going or bad". There is a syncro for the 5th/reverse hub assembly, but it is not related to the actual reverse gear operation.

Lift the clutch in neutral, press it back in, then slide it into reverse.

And make sure the car isn't moving.

 

actually is the car is rolling backwards at like 5mph it might be easier :P

 

Whoops, yep, there isn't.

However you still should be shifting into reverse from either 1st or 2nd. (i cant remember which) because it's in line with reverse on the trans. Wish I could remember where i read that but it has always worked pretty well for me

 

Your not alone...I think many of us thought there was a syncro on reverse. Sometimes I've experienced difficulty in getting it in reverse, and have even put it in 1st and let clutch out slightly, then into reverse.

 

yes there is a syncro on reverse.. let me quote and reference this...

if you look on page J2-3 of the 1989 Mazda Rx-7 Factory service manual
it says in the table:

Item/Transmission Model:
Sunchronization Mechansim

then the next column reads

R-Type:
Forward: Syncromesh
Reverse: Syncromesh

 

Update:

I cannot easily shift into reverse even when the engine is turned off. I can put it in reverse but it takes a bit of effort and I don't feel the little click when it goes in. When I shift out of reverse I put so much effort in it that I accidently put it in 5th.

 

i get the same problem with mine (although it doesn't sound as bad as in your case ) whenever it gets stubborn i shift into 1st, 2nd, then R (as others have said). sometimes it takes a little force too. hope that helps!

 

i always shift into 5th and then slide it into reverse. Common problem on this tranny. Also some good fluid will go a long way. I also added Ford's LSD additive to the tranny. small bottle costs like $6. It helped a lot.

 

i ahve a problem of getting it into 1st sometimes, sometimes i either have to rev the engine with clutch in and it slips in to 1st, i think the rev rotates the transmission on it's mounts a little therefore lining up the gates.

Or i have to put it part way into 2nd and ease it into first.

Sometimes if i do this too slow or it doens't go right it hiccups and u feel and hear a bit of metal to metal grinding. However i haven't had this problem happen ot me in the past several weeks.

It come and goes.

I have no idea... i'm getting ready to change the clutch andlong with it all hydraulics, front cover, all bearings, and all seals.
and flywhele too.

Lets hope that fixes everything.

 

I had the same problem after having my tranny rebuilt on my 90 a while back. There are two sensors that screw into the transmission, one is for the reverse lights and the other is a neutral sensing switch I believe. If you forgot to put the washer on the reverse sensor it will be very hard to get into reverse. Hope this helps.