stuck in reverse

[fasthippo]

so about a week ago i bought a 98 gt to replace the totalled saleen as a daily, planning on eventually just swapping the engine over but with a fresh bottom end..

but today i let my brother move my car since i was parked behind him and now its stuck in reverse. it has done it a couple times but i got it out without too much trouble. now its really stuck tho. i tried everything i could think of to get it out of gear without breaking anything but eventually i had to push it back into my driveway.

anyone have any idea how i can get it out or why it might be stuck? thanks

 

[fasthippo]

i just went out to try again and got it out! guess it just doesnt do well under pressure.

but i've never worked on a tranny before so any info on what the problem might be would still be greatly appreciated

 

[Midnight2V]

Call the previous owner and try to find out if the fluid has ever been changed. Before you move that car again I would change my tranny fluid. Stock intervals is 100k, I change mine each year. When you do look for a couple of things:

1. What color is it? New fluid will be a violet color, older fluid will be significantly darker. you might even change the filter while you are at it.
2. Inspect the old fluid for any particulate - especially metal, plastic or gasket materials.

It could also be that the clutch cable stretched - especially on aftermarket high pressure clutches.

It could be the entire clutch assembly needs to be replaced. If it has had the stock clutch in its whole life, or more than the last five years, there is a good chance the clutch spindles are no longer operating the pressure plate the way they should. Over time they become more flexible, and they move inwards as well. On a new unit, clutch spindle tips will stick up outside the housing. On a clutch with 13 years of cycling, they will actually be inside the housing. What all this means is that you get less travel on the pressure plate for the same amount of clutch pedal travel.

One other rare thing, which happened on my car, and seems to happen in older cars using higher operating pressure aftermarket clutches; it is possible that the firewall can actually indent where the clutch cable passes through. This also will reduce the travel of the pressure plate. To fix this simply use a washer to shim it. Be careful though, a little goes a long way and it will drastically change the engagement/disengagement position of the clutch. Too much will actually back the plate slightly off the flywheel and you WILLl vape the clutch real quick.

I hope this helps. If you need any more assistance, let me know.

 

[fasthippo]

thanks midnight, i have no idea when the fluid was changed but i'm gonna try to get it done today. after i got it out of reverse i installed the short shift kit that was on the saleen and it hasnt stuck since but it definitely feels like it needs fluid. but the fluid that was in it (at least what i could see while swapping shifters) was more of a reddish color and pretty dark.

but everything's stock on the car aside from a couple easy things i swapped over from the donor car so theres no extra pressure or anything. but i dont like whatever clutch is in it so its gonna come out soon too.

 

[Midnight2V]

Sorry, I guess I had a vocabulary meltdown. Fresh fluid has a ROSE color (not violet..wrong flower) and should be very viscous. As it ages it darkens and becomes thins out considerably.

As far as replacement fluid, you are supposed to use either mercon III or mercon V...just make sure what is in there now because the fluids are NOT compatible and CANNOT be mixed. You will do some pretty severe damage if you mix the fluids at any level beyond residual fluid left after draining the fluid.

I have heard a lot of members on here have actually used GM Synchromesh with positive results as far as heat and noise levels. A few have even reported a power increase. I have not tried this, but some who has might chime in and help out on that.