1990 NA.
137000 miles.
Manual.

- Transmission has never had any grinds, pop outs, or lock outs prior to this.

- Less than 500 miles on new gear oil.

- Z1 short shifter installed 5 years ago.


Last week, I drove the car for the first time this year, and it was flawless. Burned through a tank and a half of gas going all over hells half acres. Absolutely no issues.

At the end of the evening, I parked the car on the street to walk my date to her door. When I came back out, I had to reverse the car a bit to pull away from the curb. It absolutely refused to go into reverse.

- I pumped the clutch. It wouldn't go in.

- I rowed through the gears. It still wouldn't go in.

- Shut the car off, tried it again. Still no luck.

- I got out, and pushed the car back a few feet, got back in and tried it again. Still no reverse.

- I tried again when I got home (40 miles). No luck.

It is as though the reverse lock out is constantly engaged, as when I try to move the shifter to reverse, it hits a brick wall, and slides into 4th.

All other gears work flawlessly, with the car running, and shut down.

Has anyone had this, or heard of this happening? I have seen a few long dead threads in my googling, but no one ever posted the "great reveal", explaining what the problem actually was.


The only problem I can actually see is the rubber support for the shifter is toast. With the shifter plate removed, I can still shift into every gear, except reverse.


I'll need a new one of those for sure, but I found a complete aftermarket replacement kit that looks more solid than the oem rubber. Does anyone have experience with these? They look sturdy, but ate they overkill?

 

Im in the same boat. Car wont go into reverse...
Had this issue 1 time before, I put in first them pulled forward a few feet then it was able to go into reverse. 6 months later its not going in reverse at all.