matts86fc3s

my first post here, becuase nopistons.com is not helping much, hopefully you guys can.

Problem:
i have an 86 base and the trans was ok but reverse felt real nasty and was sticky, you had to push hard to get it to go in (did not grind tho) and had to push with all your might to get it out, so i put a new clutch in and hoped it would help out a little bit. nope. so i bought another trans and before puting it in the car shifted the gears through and made sure it was good. all gears including reverse felt good. so i swapped transmissions. but now with the new transmission it wont even go into reverse... like its not even there, theres a wall there. and while i have my old one out i put the shifter in and it goes through all the gears perfectly??!!! so why when they are in the car do they not want to go into reverse but when i pull the trans's out of the car they are just fine? car has new stage 3 clutch, (i did not machine the flywheel or put the new pilot bearing in tho), shortshifter, and slave cylinder.

deadRX7Conv

I'll assume that you did the clutch jop correctly even though you took shortcuts.

Is the clutch bled properly?
Are the shifter bushings new? shifter oiled?
Are you using good gear oil? topped off?

Don't expect a 20year old tranny to be perfect. This goes for the used one too!

Get one of the trannies rebuilt with new bearings/synchros......

And, never do a clutch job with replacing bearings, without resurfacing or replacing flywheel, without rebuilding or replacing hydraulics....
The tranny front cover should be inspected and front/rear seals should be replaced. The clutch fork and pivot also should be inspected.
There are also a bunch of points that need to be greased prior to reinstalling tranny.

matts86fc3s

yes, clutch was done right, just didnt resurface flywheel or replace pilot bearing. has new slave cylender with correct amount of fluid and has been bled. has new shortshifter with new bushing and oiled properly. tranny was filled up with recommended gear dope, 80w90, see the thing i dont get is....

when i have either of the transmissions IN the car, reverse doesnt work. but when i take them OUT of the car and put the shifter in them, both reverse gears in both transmissions go into gear just fine and feel good. a buddy of mine says it wont go into gear becuase i did not resurface my flywheel, but wouldnt that make it not go into any gear?? why then when i put the trannys in my car does reverse mess up? what could cuase this?

Marcus_F

Will it go into reverse with the engine turned off? If not, you've got some type of mechanical blockage involving the chassis. You didn't run over something, like a spare tire in the middle of the road at say, 80 MPH just before this started happening, did you?

If it will go into reverse without the engine running, it's not releasing and it's time for another clutch job. This time you may want o consider replacing the pilot bearing, and using a Mazda OEM pressure plate, disc, and throw out bearing. I don't think it's the flywheel.

Also, how long have you had the car? Was it working fine one day, and bad the next? Loan it to any "friends"?

matts86fc3s

no it wont go into reverse either when the car is running or not running. just wont go. i cant think of any mechanical blockeage as i had the shifter cover off when i put the shifter on to see if i would run into problems.... ive had the car for about 5 months... ive only driven in like 4 times. the old transmission was ok and it DID go into reverse but not smoothly... it didnot grind or anything going into reverse but it took some effor to get it to go in and you had to push with ALL of your might to get it to come out of reverse... so i had this other trans laying around and put it in. the thing is like i said... both transmissions go into reverse while out of the car sitting on the ground by themselves (put shifter in and all gears go in just fine) but wen either transmission is in the car reverse is messed up. the original one like i said would go into reverse but not smoothly. other trans i put in wont go into reverse at all like theres a wall there.

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

happens to my car every once in a while. i believe it's cuz reverse has no synchro in s4 transmissions so i just let the clutch contact a little while trying to get it in R and it slips right in.

have you tried it without the short shifter?

matts86fc3s

yeah ive tried it with a stock shifter. are s4 n/a and s5 n/a transmissions different... see heres the thing i have an 86 and the trans came out of my parts car wich is 89 gxl s5... but for some reason it had an s4 motor... well, s4 intake and throttle body on the motor... but it did have the s5 injectors of course so...maybe it is an s5 trans i put in my s4, and both of the transmissions look exactly alike except the s5 has a filler plug on top to the left side and my s4 has the spot for one but nothing there. thats the only difference i saw in the trannys... dang i just now thought about that... but that sholdnt matter. should it?

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

well the only difference i know is a different mount between the x-member and the trans and the synchro

mount looks like \__/ on a s5 (identical to s4+s5 auto trans. mount) and \____/ on s4 manuals | |

shouldn't matter tho as long as you use the right mount/X-member

matts86fc3s

yeah... dangit i think my car is just reverse cursed!!!

Marcus_F

If I understand what you're saying -

If the transmission is siting on the floor of your garage, with the shifter on it, you can put it in reverse.

If the transmission is mounted in the car, with the engine off, it will not go into reverse.

Try this: With the shifter still in the transmission and the transmission in the car. Put a floor jack under the tranmission. Unbolt the rear mount. Lower the rear of the transmission a little. Now see if it will go into reverse. If so, the physical install is something less than correct.

matts86fc3s

alright ill try that. but i did think of something else. i had to get a new neutra safety switch. well the trans that is out of the car has no nuetral safety switch... and it goes into reverse, and the one in the cfar that has the switch in it will not go into reveres... i noticed when looking in the hole where the switch goes, when you put it into reverse a peice of linkage sweeps past the hole and closes it (activating the switc) if the idiots that made the aftermarket switch made the threads too long it would stick into the trans too far and cuase it to not go into reverse... well see, ill get out there when im not feeling lazy and see what it is

rotorwannabe

i have a problem with reverse as well but slightly different. my problem involves the shift forks. for some reason, on occassion, the shift fork for reverse doesnt return to its place when i go to put it in first...maybe a shim er something in the transmission?

matts86fc3s

so when you put it in first, you are still going backwards... if so go to nopistons.com there is someone that just had that problem+the fix for it.

I HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM> HALELUJA... i had to put a new... NEW... nuetral safety switch in the car and the problem was the stupid thing was too long and stuck into the tranny too far and was contacting the reverse linkage and not letting it go into reverse... stupid advance auto parts crap......so i just put a washer/spacer in between and its good to go now

rotorwannabe

hrmmm.....mine is slightly different. when i put it in first to go, the car kills itself cuz the trnny is engaged in reverse at the same time as if the 2 gears are fighting each other(the car doesnt actually move however). it wont let me into 3rd, 4th, and wont even let me get the shifter all the way to the right to try 5th or reverse. if i leave it in neutral, the car will drive in reverse. lol really weird proble i know but i think it may have to do with a deteriorated shim or something inside the tranny. anyone know where i could jus pick up a good one for a decent price somewhere? im tired of messin with this weird *** problem

matts86fc3s

i got one, i have a parts car with a good tranny... i was ognna use it but i fixed my problem. it was my neutral safety switch. so i have no use for the other tranny now

rotorwannabe

its for a 89 n/a car? how much you want for it bro?