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1G Why is it so hard to shift into reverse?

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crazeinc

20+ Year Contributor
64
0
Dec 18, 2002
Naperville_IL
I have a '92 Talon TSi 5-speed. And all of the gears are easy to shift in to, but reverse is seriously really hard.

Please tell me the trans isn't ####ed and it just needs oil or something.

I forgot to mention the trans is fairly new. Actually the previous owner told me that a 2G trans was installed by the dealer since he replaced the original one so many times. Apparently, they were having trouble getting it to fit, but they managed to do it after a few weeks.
......
Ok, I talked to my mechanic buddy. He wasn't positive, but he said it sounds like the linkage is worn because I mentioned to him that 5th gear is also hard to shift in to.

Anybody with experience on this. He is a domestic guy and never has dealt with AWD so he couldn't be sure if that was the problem.
 
my car is like that too, what i do is put it in third and then go into reverse and for some reason that really helps make it easier.
 
i've found reverse is difficult to shift into no matter what kind of car it is... as long as it's a manual. my friend and i have a theory that it's because the synchros are not aligned, so shifting from 4 to r or from any other gear to r is easier (try it, it does work, no grinding). by shifting into one gear (at idle) then into r aligns the synchros... thus a smoother shift. does that sound correct super-tech-smart people?
 
The reverse gear does not have synchros (which "pre-align" gears). That is why if your clutch disengagement is questionable, it will first show up in the reverse.

Try adjusting your clutch, it might be adjusted too low. If that does not work, you probably have bad hydraulic system and need a new master and/or slave cylinder.

Leon
RR
 
First-second First-second First-second-reverse.....works 98% of the time. Otherwise put it as far as it'll go and slowly let out the clutch and it'll usually fall in. Thats how mine works anyway.........
 
Originally posted by crazeinc
Ok, I talked to my mechanic buddy. He wasn't positive, but he said it sounds like the linkage is worn because I mentioned to him that 5th gear is also hard to shift in to.

Anybody with experience on this. He is a domestic guy and never has dealt with AWD so he couldn't be sure if that was the problem.
my trannie is less than a year old and it's hard to shift into fifth and reverse too... I think it's just the way they're made...
 
Originally posted by GRNDSM
The reverse gear does not have synchros (which "pre-align" gears). That is why if your clutch disengagement is questionable, it will first show up in the reverse.

Try adjusting your clutch, it might be adjusted too low. If that does not work, you probably have bad hydraulic system and need a new master and/or slave cylinder.

Leon
RR

Take this advice, I replaced my slave cylinder and it made it much easier to get into reverse. No more tricks to get it into gear.
 
Oh yea, how do I adjust my clutch?

Is replacing the slave cylinder a big deal?
 
Put it in 1st and let the clutch out just a smidge. Move the car maybe an inch. Will slide into reverse like butter after this. Worked that way on my Acura Legend, works on the DSM, I think it's kinda universal.

Tom
 
Ok guys, update.

The 1-2 shifting a few times does help to put it into reverse, but it's still really hard.

My buddy still says linkage, and you guys say clutch or slave cylinder....any way I can tell?
 
I also have trouble getting it into Reverse, have to pump the clutch a couple times. My tranny has about 10k on it since a complete rebuild. The master and slave cylinder and clutch were all replaced at teh same time. So does this mean my clutch needs to be aligned? The car is also kind of hard to put into 1st gear.
 
Any help would be great, this is beginning to realllllllly inconvience me.
 
Originally posted by highpsi93tsi
First-second First-second First-second-reverse.....works 98% of the time. Otherwise put it as far as it'll go and slowly let out the clutch and it'll usually fall in. Thats how mine works anyway.........

this has always worked for me for all manuel transmission cars that i have driven play with first and second and it slips right into reverse
 
Ok....so how do i tell if the clutch is misadjusted or the slave cylinder is bad?
 
Just in case everyone doesn't know, the reverse gear does not have slanted teeth like the rest of the gears, therefor it's just slimply harder to shift into when the engine is running fast, straight teeth have a hard time matching up to straight teeth at speed.
 
Having driven and owned a number of cars I don't think I've had one that was easy to shift to reverse. Now, it's all instinct, always put in first before shifting to reverse, no problem.
 
I just wanted to let you all know that I fixed this problem by tightening up the shifter linkage and tightening up a few other pieces. None of this shifting into first bullsh*t, it goes dead into reverse everytime now.

I'm a little disappointed no one on this site could have told me about that because you're all looking for tricks to get around having to fix it. It took me like an hour to tighten everything up :rolleyes:
 
did you just tighten the shifter linkage underneath the shifter boot? Ive done the CMC and clutch SC, the two nut VFAQ, still have crappy shifting. Also, can you adjust travel at the threaded rod out the back of the clutch master cylinder?
 
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