JUST GOT THE CAR RUNNING (5.0 SWAP) WHEN I SHIFT IT WHERE REVERSE SHOULD BE AND LET OFF THE CLUTCH IT MOVES FORWARD ITS A BORG WARNER WORLD CLASS T5 I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS WRONG
True, the countershaft and reverse gear can't touch without the idler, so I'd assume that probably isn't the issue. I'd check the shifter or remove the trans, but I'm not sure how familiar you are with manual trans
i took the shifter out and shifted it into reverse manually and it still moves forward im really good with engines but i wouldnt know what to look for in a transmission but ive heard manual transmissions arent that complicated so if u would know what would cause that or what i should check for i could prob. figure it out
Manual trans aren't complicated IF it's not your first time going through one. I've had a t5 apart plenty of times but first time cracking it open I wasn't really sure what I was staring it. I'd find a buddy. Or open it up and snap some pictures if it comes down to it. I'm sure someone can help you figure out what you're looking at
I don't know how you feel about the DYI thing when it comes to gears, some people don't like the idea of working on transmissions. If the DYI transmission fix idea isn't something that you would rather leave to someone else, here are some resources:
I did a Tremec 3550 rebuild, and it wasn't that difficult. The video was an immense help, and I would recommend viewing it. At $20, it will give you an opportunity to look and decide for yourself if you think that it is something you want to try to do.
Getting the car jacked up high enough to get the trans jack in and out from under the car was somewhat challenging. Since I didn't have a helper, getting the trans out of the car and back it was one of the more difficult things about the job. I built a trans jack out of 2x6's, some angle iron and a $25 floor jack. If I hadn't done that, I would have needed a helper or to rent a commercial trans jack. At 100+ pounds the Tremec 3550 was far too heavy for me to lift by myself.
There has to be a simple explanation for this. The way a T5 is constructed would make it impossible for it to fail in such a manner.
Does it have the original shifter? Has the shifter been modified in any way? Is the shifter installed correctly? Can you verify that 2nd and 4th gear work?
I'm trying hard to figure out why this would happen. I have a pretty good understanding of the internals of the t-5, but can't quite think of why, when shifted to R, the idler would not engage and a forward gear would. That's two gross failures.
Unless the 5-R lever is installed incorrectly.
What year is this trans? Is it a later t-5 with the synchroed 5th gear?
What happens if you shift the car into a forward gear?
This is way, way out on a limb, but is there any chance you swapped in a complete marine engine? This could be incorrect, but I've been told that some rotate backwards.
ok in a forward gear it moves forward like it should ive taken the shifter off and shifted it into reverse manually and same thing it came outta a 88GT when i bought it i noticed the main shaft and bearings and retainer are all brand new no not a marine engine 2nd and forth gear work fine thinking about just taking it to a trans shop and have them look at it
trans shop couldnt tell me what was wrong just that it needs a new trans just like a usual trans shop would say im gonna pull it out next week and take the cover off and see whats goin on it also started to make a chattering noise when i take it outta gear into neutral couldnt get 2nd or 4th to engage i have no clue but im gonna take a whack at it got a t5 service manual so hopefully i can figure it out i noticed the main shaft and front bearings have been replaced as well as the retainer so maybe who ever replaced the main shaft didnt put it back together right but i'll find out .......