Technical Cant select reverse

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Technical Cant select reverse

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Typical 4 days before MOT get into car try to select reverse won't go into gate, all forward gears select without issue tried several times no avail, switch off engine goes in no problem start car reverse selects without too much issue, only thing I note is if you push the gear stick out of reverse it just stays there I have to nudge it to spring into the normal neutral state.
Suggestions please, has already had new slave and master original gearbox oil(13 years old) could it be the stick gate assembly? Drove normally and selected reverse afterwards just concerned it might crop up again.
 
Ordinarily, if the gear won't select only while the engine is running then I would say "clutch".. but I wonder if it's the lifter/lockout doodah on the gear lever? The rest of it sounds strange for a regular gearbox/cables problem.

It could be worth bleeding the clutch and checking the mechanism on top of the gearbox while you have the battery tray off... if it's fine at the gearbox end, working things directly by hand, then it's an upstream problem.


Ralf S.
 
The problem persists and seems to be getting worse, few days ago at the doctors parked against a wall it just wouldn't select, last resort was turn engine off then it went straight in starting with clutch pressed.

However went to the car yesterday with even without starting the car you can't select reverse clutch pressed or nor, haven't had a chance to change the oil but I suspect that won't make a difference where is the gearbox number?

I'm worried if my wife goes out she might end up in a pickle
 
First thing to do would be to unclip the gearbox cables and see whether the lever moves nicely when there's no gearbox attached.

Given the abuse' clutches get and the trickery/infamy of the Slave and the quick connector/damper valve pot between the slave pipe and the master cylinder etc. I would still look at the clutch.. although it's worrying that you can't change gear even when the engine is off. Hopeflly it's a mechanism/gear shifter/lockout lever problem, rather than something in the transmission.


Ralf S.
 
Are we sure there actually a fault ?
There’s no synchromesh on reverse
It quite random I had a few car where either

with the engine off you have to select some of the forward gear first just to get the gears to spin the gears in the box slightly for reverse to slide in

Or with the engine on lift the clutch in neutral and push the clutch back in while trying to select reverse as quick as possible
 
I always select 4th before reverse so it doesn't crunch, won't even go I to the gate once the stick is over, also once in if it will do in pushing the stick forward it won't pop back to neutral on the spring, there's resistance to push to the left, nothing though if you pop it out of 5th
 
To me.. if it wont select with engine OFF

then clutch is ok.. and would suspect worn cables.. or mechanism as the cheapest option

If you take off the lower dash trim.. you can assess movement from there
(GUIDE in the panda section)
It’s quite common to randomly not to be able to select reverse with the engine off

The reverse gears have little ramps to help them glide together. Fine when new but the sharp tops wear down. When a flat from one gear hits the flat on the other the will not engage

If you sit in a car with the engine off and you just randomly select gears, you can normally but not always get the lever to jam quite quickly. Sometimes just pushing the clutch down fees it, sometimes you have to select another gear and come back. Although the gearbox is fine in normal driving.


BE5ACBBD-CF83-4D17-8654-7C4377A28C21.jpeg
 
OK, so the weather is freezing and I only have the "road" to work on so haven't done anything but do have new oil to put in the gearbox however over time I've noted various things.
Engine hot, interior hot, selects reverse with "little" effort going into the gate, fore aft motion with no resistance at all

Engine (usually cold) won't select at all, but today no issues cold all round

Once up from reverse its really quite hard to move to the left( worryingly hard ) even when going from 5th it won't easily move left

If I "ram" the stick right then pull easily back reverse selects no problem and you can repeatedly move it in/out/fore/aft into reverse as long as I keep it in the same right over position making me feel its NOT a gearbox issue unless its the left right motion, that said all forward gears are OK bar going out of 5th the stick won't "pop" to the neutral position
 
Ordinarily, if the gear won't select only while the engine is running then I would say "clutch".. but I wonder if it's the lifter/lockout doodah on the gear lever? The rest of it sounds strange for a regular gearbox/cables problem.

It could be worth bleeding the clutch and checking the mechanism on top of the gearbox while you have the battery tray off... if it's fine at the gearbox end, working things directly by hand, then it's an upstream problem.


Ralf S.
I dont know about the 500 but the Pand is a bit of knicker elastic to act as a return spring. I have previously had Mrs Nut manufacture a suitable replacement on my behalf. You need to raise the lever gaier (nasty plastic canvas badly described by many as leather) and all will be revealed
 
Sounds like classic rusty selector cables (internal) to me

“Once up from reverse its really quite hard to move to the left( worryingly hard ) even when going from 5th it won't easily move left”

If you put some very thin oil down the cables ends on the gearbox does it temporarily improve
 
Sounds like classic rusty selector cables (internal) to me



“Once up from reverse its really quite hard to move to the left( worryingly hard ) even when going from 5th it won't easily move left”



If you put some very thin oil down the cables ends on the gearbox does it temporarily improve



Worth a try when it's warmer?
 
When it will not move out of reverse

Try switching the engine off (eliminate the clutch)

If it’s still stiff, open the bonnet and move the smaller lever connected to the gear selector cables. If this moves all right it likely be the cable

If this is also stiff it likely to be a snapped pin in the selector mechanism

It really needs diagnosing and fixing at this stage. A stick in time saved nine and all that
 
Sounds like classic rusty selector cables (internal) to me

“Once up from reverse its really quite hard to move to the left( worryingly hard ) even when going from 5th it won't easily move left”

If you put some very thin oil down the cables ends on the gearbox does it temporarily improve
My thoughts were heading in this direction too. Dribbling some thin oil into the cable sheath should temporarily improve it but is no long term cure as the oil will tend to attract dirt and cause it to jam up a bit as time goes by.
 
My Stilo occasionally "froze" its cables so that the spring wasn't strong enough to centre the lever. The rubber bellows on the cable had rotted and the cables point upwards to the change mechanism, so inevitably any road grime and water would trickle into the cable.

It would "seize up" if I didn't use the car for a long time, or when it was cold.

The cure didn't require new cables.. I just detached the cable from the gearbox selector ball joints, so that I could move the inner "in and out".. and while I was there, I lubed the cable up with just about anything that would lube. If you start with WD40 into the outer sheath, that will get the moisture and any gum dissolved.. then spray the inner cable with Lithium/white (or failing that, any) grease and work it into the cable.

I was lucky :unsure: that my flywheel bearings had disintegrated.. so I was changing the clutch anyway. While it was apart I tied the cables to the bulkhead so that the grease and oil could work its way down the inner cable.

The other thing to check is the nylon bush on the end of the cable, where it clips over the ball of the selector mechanism. The bush can deteriorate and jam on the ball.. but in my case, there was a lot of dried on grease and dirt. Cleaning it all out and applying just a bit of lithium grease made it very slippery... and all told the gear change has been great since.


Ralf S.
 
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