'89 NA manual doesnt want to go into reverse for some reason. i just swapped in a new engine/trans and i it (the new trans) would go into all the gears before i put it in the car but no dice now. is there an adjustment to these things or possibly something wired up wrong?


any help appreciated.

 

will the shifter go into reverse, but not the tranny, or will the shifter itself not go into rev.?

 

the shifter itself wont go into reverse. its like theres something blocking it, but i didnt mess with it so i dunno what the deal is

 

Is it full of fresh oil?

 

yup.

well i havnt changed the oil in the shifter mechanism, just the gearbox oil. i guess i could switch that out too

 

Have you tried shifting into forward gears and moving the car a tad then trying rev. again?

 

pull the shifter & check for debris (like pieces of the bushings or springs) down in the housing...make sure the spring/ plunger setup on the left side of the housing is not jammed (don't know if you can get to the cover plate for that with the tranny in, though)...can you get it in 5th O.K.?

 

i can get into 5th fine, its wierd

 

Well, mine is doing the same thing... it's usually just old transmission syndrome. It can be helped by using certain oils or Lucas additive, but it just wants a rebuild.

 

doh, just seems wierd that it worked when it was out of the car, maybe i dropped something in there. i dunno

 

Sounds like you forgot to put a washer on your reverse lights sensor.