Hard to put in Reverse
 

Hi,

I went up north last weekend and it was freezing rain. I left my car outside for 2 days and at the end of the weekend I went to start my car.

Well it started alright, but when I tried to put it in gear it wouldn't go...
I had to get home so I pushed it in pretty hard into gear.

The next day when I woke up I was able to shift into gear, but know I'm having problems with putting it in reverse.

Is there anyway to loosen up the gears OR WHAT SHOULD I DO :squint:

Thanks,
-bmcc

what year is your car?
Stock shifter? Ever replaced the transmission fluids?

Are you pushing down on the shifter before trying to put it into Reverse?

^try that...if that doesnt work, you might need a new clutch...the short shifter HELPS a lot too

the short shifter won't help his problem, especially if he bent a fork

^that guy LIES! he lies like a rug...dont listen to him he knows nothing and dont look at his post count

Thanks for the help
 

Hi,

Thanks for the quick response!

So, my car is 2004. I haven't replaced the transmission fluid ever, but I just bought the car last year. Does that matter. Also where do I look to check the fluid?

Also, what did you mean by "might have bent a fork"?

Thanks

How's your clutch?

Mu clutch seems fine. It pushes down easy, its just stiff moving the gears sometimes.

So I'm not sure
 

I'm bringing the car in tomorrow and I'm not sure what I should tell him to check. The clutch or the gears?


What should I tell them to check first?
This might save me some cash, so if anyone knows it would be appreciated.
Thanks,

We presume you know you need to push straight down on the stick before moving it to the reverse position. That innate difficulty is actually a safety feature so you don't inadvertently shift to reverse.

If it's really Very difficult I would first change the transmisison fluid. With gear wear over time (especially if the prior owner was a poor 'stickman' as it were) you build up metal shavings and if significant can make shifting difficult, especially reverse which again is inherently difficult.

Beyond that you may be looking at transmission work and/or shift fork. The fork is essentially two bladed and one side of it may be bent.

edit: from your description it sounds like the clutch is ok.

im having the same problem. only the hard shifting has gotten significantly worse over the past week or so. i start the car in neutral,and try to shift into any gear whether first or reverse, it will not shift. when i final get it into gear, after loud grinding sounds. The car, with clutch still in still goes? any suggestions on what this mite be?

^ That sounds like a clutch ;)

I had the same problems when I replaced my clutch. It sounds exactly the same I'd look into that.

The reason why its sometime going into gear is because a tooth broke off the clutch and sometimes the clutch can fakll into position and other times no.

I'd go to a garage that you trust, don't bring it to Mazda too expensive.

- bmcc