Yeah, so I accidentally put it in reverse while going 70ish. I heard a loud grind, obviously, but now I have no reverse. It feels like it's going in gear but just grinds when I let off the clutch. Possibly related: I have aluminum bushings and a short shifter. It now feels like the side-to-side bushing isn't greased.

So... Any ideas? It feels fine to drive except that bushing may need to be greased again.

 

I always thought there was a fail safe that prevented you from going from 6 to R.

 

That's weird. I don't think it will even let you do that. Like ATLS said I assumed there is a lockout while moving.

 

Well I don't know what to tell ya, which is probably exactly what you're thinking to say to me. I have no idea what to do except try a flush and prepare for a new trans.

 

you are not able to shift to reverse while going forward.

 

Ok, so let's just say it started grinding when I try going to reverse. Any ideas?

 

Do not flush.

the syncros are probably messed up

 

One vote for a rebuild.

 

There's a reverse solenoid lockout that should prevent that from even happening.... unless fuse #18 (15A) in the under dash fuse box was blown.

Check the lockout solenoid assembly under the hood near the firewall.

 

It may not be able to engage reverse while going down the freeway but it can sure as hell kill the synchros and chew up the gear teeth.

So the shifter goes into the reverse position like normal but it grinds when you let out the clutch in reverse? It wouldn't hurt to check the linkage before opening up the trans. If the linkage is fine, drain the fluid into a clean container and see of there's metal in the fluid. It's more likely you'll have big chunks of teeth but there should still be sparkly oil if it's an internal failure.

Were you shifting hard when this happened or just cruising?

 

Exactly on point. The linkage seems fine. I pushed and pulled both bushings by hand and everything checked out. Just cruising and not paying much attention. Everything seems to work normally except the grinding. I'll check the fluid. Sparkly fluid means rebuild?

 

I would drain the fluid and see whats in there. You might get chunks, that's quite clear from there what you need. It's not expensive or difficult. If the fluid isnt chunky glitter, you might be able to NFG it and keep trying to jam it. You might get the gears to mesh and 'clean' themselves. This could be a really bad idea, but it's the kind of thing I would do if the next resort was pulling the trans apart anyways. Does it feel the same with the engine running and not?

Or start parking on hills.

I jammed an older Jeep Wranger into R at 40 before. I was double clutching over to top gear coming out of a redline pull, aimed for '6th', Whoops. Those are probably a bit more robust, but it was totally fine and apparently does not have a lockout. I know my TL does have a lockout, and its kinda tricky to accidentally get it into R.

Isn't R not synchronized? How would you screw up syncros then?

 

Yeah everything is fine as long as I want to go forward. I have a feeling I'll be checking transmission prices.

 

It sounds like to me that you stripped the reverse gear. I would look into having it rebuilt rather then replaced. Obviously whichever is cheaper is the winner, although there is something to be said about having a rebuilt trans.

Side note: Replace the clutch while your in there. I dont car what the mileage is, it will save you from having to pull it all apart later. (If its been done recently ignore this).

 

maybe drain the fluid and see if metal comes out? at that point you'll know for certain whether or not you need to open up or replace that trans.

 

There is...

This.

How will it kill the synchros? I know on mine, you can't even move to the Reverse gate if the car is moving. I had to show my wife and brother to not fear 6th. Neither of them would use 6th when they first drove my car since they were too afraid of hitting reverse.

 

x2 ???

And correction to my statement about the fuse. If the fuse is/was blown, the lockout is still in effect. A blown fuse will prevent going into reverse at all times.

 

If it is grinding in reverse, your transmission is screwed.

Add another vote for a rebuild

 

how the hell does something like this even happen

 

why change the clutch it is not needed to be. Never had to replace the clutch in the numerous MT vehicles we have owned or own. Most of them went way over 100K miles.

 

How does one accidentally shift from 6 to R?...

 

Same reason you replace your water pump and TB tensioner when you do the TB service even if they haven't failed yet.

 

LOL seriously? So are you saying a clutch is a non wearable part? Must not have ever owned fast cars. Its like changing your timing belt and leaving the water pump until it goes out. It is a lot of labor to do it, why not just replace it to make sure that maybe a year after the transmission is replaced, you don't have to rip it all apart again to replace the clutch. Its call preventative maintenance.

 

i would agree if you have the transmission out and disassembled, you might as well throw in new clutch components. what's an extra few hundred when you're already doing a major rebuild/replacement of the transmission.

 

 

trade the 6MT for 5AT


/jk

Keep us updated

 

Wow.. I'm curious to know how this happened.

 

This happened to me in my TSX. I had the clutch changed and the reverse lockout solenoid was unplugged. I didn't fully throw it into reverse but i did hit R while trying to get the car into 6 gear and I would occasionally hear it grind as it was going into R (6 hr trip to NYC and back being careful). Here's what i would do.

1. With the car off throw it into reverse and start it up with the clutch pressed down.
2. Check the fuse on the solenoid (make sure its not blown as others stated)
3. Unplug the reverse lockout solenoid as it could be malfunctioning (test reverse again)
4. Pump the clutch a few times and see if you can throw it into reverse.
5. Throw into another gear before before going into R
6. Adjust the clutch master cylinder push rod (probably not needed since you didn't have the clutch replaced)

 

^^^Yeah, I correct myself once again. A blown fuse (or unplugged solenoid) will cause the lockout to fail. The power to the fuse is controlled by the ignition switch, so consequently the solenoid is not powered with the ignition off or with a blown fuse. When the solenoid is not powered you should be able to freely shift into reverse.