Can't get into reverse (90 tranny in a 91)

[fivetodrive]

I have a question about a 90 tranny in a later car. The car has a very hard time getting into reverse. Can I just lengthen the cable or is there a better way to fix this?

Thanks
Aaron

[fusionsport]

Its best to replace the cables with 91-up cables. You "can" make minor modifications to make it work but I wouldnt advise it.

[SpoolinFool]

I have the cables that you need, if you want. Just let me know.

[JayRolla]

I have a 91 and its a pain to get into reverse. I have to slam it in and half the time it hits 4th. So you guys say I need to replace my old cables?

[SpoolinFool]

It sounds like you have something else that is going on. I had something similar happen to me in one of my transmissions. It ended up being that my synchros were going out in certain gears. Could maybe be your synchros? Especially, if you are having to slam it into gear. I have put different year transmissions into different year cars and I have never had any problems with the cables. I would talk to Jack, as I think that he would have more knowledge on this topic.

[JayRolla]

It sounds like you have something else that is going on. I had something similar happen to me in one of my transmissions. It ended up being that my synchros were going out in certain gears. Could maybe be your synchros? Especially, if you are having to slam it into gear. I have put different year transmissions into different year cars and I have never had any problems with the cables. I would talk to Jack, as I think that he would have more knowledge on this topic.


The tranny makes noise's at idle. She shifts fine into all gears except reverse. I can shift to first at about 15mph which no other dsm ive driven can do as easlily.

Jack has already seen it and he said I dont know what the previous owner did, but the linkage is messed up. He never really told me what needed replaced.

[fivetodrive]

Its best to replace the cables with 91-up cables. You "can" make minor modifications to make it work but I wouldnt advise it.

I think you have this backwards. I have a 91 car with a 90 transmission so it already has 91-up cables.

[fusionsport]

Your right I do have it backwards lol! I used a 91+ trans in my 90 and had to adjust the cables and modify the shift linkage, but I dont recommend it. To use the 90 trans in the 91 I think you can either use the 91 linkage on top of the trans or adjust the cables.

[Jack(IAT)]

I would just replace the shift shaft arms and shifter cable bracket on the tranny with the ones that match your vehicles year. That way you won't have to fight with the cables. The 90 trannies had a very short arm, and the 91-94s had a longer one. If you look at your original tranny and the one you have in there now, you can easily see the difference in the arms. If you just swap the cables, there is a chance that they still won't line up right if the bracket is not pointing them to the right place. As far as the noises go, it can be the reverse gear synchro blocker ring wave spring, a loose input shaft nut, or a rattling 5th gear blocker. It's hard to say without listening to it, but those would be my guess. Another problem with old trannies that have issues getting into reverse is the 1-2 slider has teeth on it for reverse gear, the teeth have a point on them to make the gear engage easily. If the pointed end of the teeth on the slider are rounded off or damaged (which is very common on old units), it can be difficult at times to have the gear fully engage also.

Jack

[fivetodrive]

I was able to adjust the calbes a little bit more and get reverse. I will look at the shift arms tonight and see how it looks!

Thanks