Hey all.

I posted before about some gearbox issues I was having - the main one being that sometimes the car wouldn't go into reverse (but it would eventually, usually after a bit of giggling around with the gearstick).

Today though the car is refusing to go into reverse at all - it goes into all the other gears fine and the gear stick is moving across fine... it's just not slotting into the reverse gear itself.

Doing it by hand under the hood I was having the same issue - all the gears would work but it just wouldn't twist/turn into reverse - which would lead me to believe that it's not an issue with the selector cable.

Anyone got any idea as to why this would happen? Could it simply be something obstructing it that's stopping it turning and if so is there an easy way to fix it?

Bearing in mind the reverse gears are None syncromeshed, and often Straight cut gears (hence why you often hear a whine when reversing fast)

It could be pure and simply the gears at that point refuse to align (point hitting a point instead of a groove hitting a slot)

Are you having troubles getting 5th as well?

But to me it could be the selector inside the could possibly be the issue if there are no issues with snapped linkages (ie take the balls off the selector and see if you can pull the cables out)
Expect some movement as the gearstick does move though

Ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

Bearing in mind the reverse gears are None syncromeshed, and often Straight cut gears (hence why you often hear a whine when reversing fast)

It could be pure and simply the gears at that point refuse to align (point hitting a point instead of a groove hitting a slot)

Are you having troubles getting 5th as well?

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Thanks for that - no trouble getting it into 5th... though I did have it pop out of 5th gear on the motorway the other day, which was great fun at 120km/h! No problem putting it back in gear and driving on after that, though.

But to me it could be the selector inside the could possibly be the issue if there are no issues with snapped linkages (ie take the balls off the selector and see if you can pull the cables out)
Expect some movement as the gearstick does move though

Ziggy

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Will try that out... is it simply a case of pulling the things off the ball? Don't want to end up creating a new problem through my brute force & ignorance!

Is it making any noise when you try to put it into reverse ?

I have this problem with my 51 plate sporting, is really awkward to get into reverse and sometimes makes a funny noise when going in, my car is also quite awkward to get into first gear when slowing down at a junction...

Twotoncarman said:

Is it making any noise when you try to put it into reverse ?

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Had a similar issue....couldn't get reverse gear.....lots of crunching before it finally did......big clunk 1 mile later and clutch had busted.....

This was the only warning I got before the clutch went....no slipping, nothing!

Twotoncarman said:

Is it making any noise when you try to put it into reverse ?

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Nope, none. It just won't slot in... It's as if I'm trying to put it into gear without having the clutch in.

Hi Adam,
Do I understand that it wont go in to reverse stopped or running ?
Are you sure the detent is being removed at the stick end as you select ?
Have you tried removing the cable jounts at the gearbox end and manually selecting reverse with the levers ?

Twotoncarman said:

Hi Adam,
Do I understand that it wont go in to reverse stopped or running ?

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It won't go in when it's running or stopped.

Are you sure the detent is being removed at the stick end as you select ?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure - how would I know this?

Have you tried removing the cable jounts at the gearbox end and manually selecting reverse with the levers ?

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I've tried to manually select the gears and could for all except reverse... The cables were still attached at the time though, wasn't sure if I could just pop them off and was afraid of doing damage

AdamMaguire said:

It won't go in when it's running or stopped.



I'm not sure - how would I know this?



I've tried to manually select the gears and could for all except reverse... The cables were still attached at the time though, wasn't sure if I could just pop them off and was afraid of doing damage

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Hi Adam, lift up the gear lever gaiter, when you pull the reverse detent on the gear knob, you will see a small nylon part pull up at the lever pivot area, this allows reverse to be selected. It is called the detent, and it is designed to stop you accidently going into reverse without physically pulling the reverse select.
Check this first, it should be self explanatory with the gaiter lifted clear.
Also, the test for the gear select would be cables off - but - check the detent first.

Twotoncarman said:

Hi Adam, lift up the gear lever gaiter, when you pull the reverse detent on the gear knob, you will see a small nylon part pull up at the lever pivot area, this allows reverse to be selected. It is called the detent, and it is designed to stop you accidently going into reverse without physically pulling the reverse select.
Check this first, it should be self explanatory with the gaiter lifted clear.
Also, the test for the gear select would be cables off - but - check the detent first.

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Ah, sorry. Didn't know what you meant at first. Yep, that's definitely being lifted to allow me to selected the reverse gear.

Will try to manually select without cables... Is it just a case of pulling them off the balls or is there more to it than that?

AdamMaguire said:

Ah, sorry. Didn't know what you meant at first. Yep, that's definitely being lifted to allow me to selected the reverse gear.

Will try to manually select without cables... Is it just a case of pulling them off the balls or is there more to it than that?

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Yup, just pop 'em off.

Twotoncarman said:

Yup, just pop 'em off.

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Tried but failed to get the cables off earlier - neither would move and was afraid of breaking something so gave up.

I did notice that the 'top' cable - which moves when the stick goes left or right - could be wiggled quite easily on the ball while the bottom one (that turns it into the gear) could hardly move at all.. not sure if that's relevant or not!

In the end I brought it down to the mechanic and he was at a loss to diagnose it - said he's never seen it happen before and all the other gears seem to be fine.

Suggested it could be the cable - or the mechanism at the gear stick end - but couldn't give it a proper look today so will have to go back if I want him to work on it.

Just bumping this to see if anyone might have any more ideas (or if someone can advise me on how to disconnect the cables as I can't seem to do it by hand!)

I desperately need to get another few months out of this before I send it to Punto heaven and I'm not sure how practical it is to keep driving around with no reverse!

pry it off the ball with flat screwdriver and put it back on with a light tap

flisko said:

pry it off the ball with flat screwdriver and put it back on with a light tap

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Thanks - will have another stab at it this weekend... until then I'll keep doing my best Fred Flinstone impression when I need to back up