question- before I pulled my T5 I sometimes had trouble getting the tranny to go into reverse. Double-clutching would get it to go in if I did that and slowly eased it into reverse- and even so I could feel some gear clash. Now that I got the tranny opened up for a rebuild I got to looking at the reverse gear and I see some wear on the leading edge of the teeth where it would first engage the countershaft.....

Any tranny gurus out there that could tell me what could cause this?

Thanks!

 

They always do that. Especially when the car has had some numb-nuts owner that doesn't know you're supposed to put the trans in a forward gear to stop everything inside there and instead they just jam it into reverse and grind the gear for about 5 seconds in the process.

It's pretty normal for a T-5 to be a little ornery about going into reverse, I wouldn't worry about it. I've seen some where the leading edge of the teeth didn't even look like teeth any more, they were just gums; and they still worked fine.

 

I always put mine in 5th gear first and then pulled it into reverse. It would usually go in easy then. That is what the dealer told me on a new one I was trying out in 1988. Now mine don't have any gears. I wish mine grinded reverse. I had a different problem that happened today.

 

I believe in general, its best to be completely stopped OBVIOUSLY, and go from FIRST to REVERSE. Thats what Ive learned, and heard.

 

An "old" (must of been 65yrs old :-) ) technician in a transmission shop told me the reason that I had problems getting the tranny into reverse was because the clutch was not disengaging. Not to set off any alarms but I found that the bolts on the bellhousing to the block were loose.

 

Exactly...Go 1st to Reverse or 5th and Reverse and you won't grind. It can't fail.

 

A friend of mine suggested that possibility, too. While my bellhousing bolts weren't loose, my clutch assembly was worn out so I'm wondering if it was failing to disengage completely. Guess I'll find out as I replaced the assembly while I had the tranny out for the rebuild....

 

I always go from 5th to reverse, very rarely do I have trouble getting into reverse. If it won't go in, I put it in 1st and move up and inch, then do 5th to reverse and it works.

 

Hmmmm anyone know if the t-56 has any of the same "quirks"? I would like to know before I go grindng gears lol.

 

Couldnt hurt to put a t56 in first/fifth before going into reverse. Probly only would help, or at least be insurance. I had a mazda that just wouldnt go into reverse without putting it into first beforehand. Didnt grind or anything, just wouldnt go. Maybe it would have if i had forced it, but im a lover not a fighter.
Matt