All - thanks again for your help in my previous post where I was having trouble getting the car started after installing the "A" drum in the transmission.

I had installed the shift selector switch with the metal side out - it should be plastic. I reinstalled with plastic out and after a slight adjustment, all gears including reverse worked.

Well, I checked today, and reverse would not work. It goes into first gear instead. I manually moved the indent on the shift selector switch on the transmission just a bit. Still would not go into reverse, but all of gears including neutral and park worked fine.

Just took it for a test run. All gears still fine - no noise. Just still no reverse - it goes into first gear.

Any ideas???

Couple of other questions that may or may not be related.

1. During install, your supposed to align a red dot on the flywheel to a green dot on the back of the torque converter. I did this, but unfortunately when I installed the driveshaft things moved around. So, while I can find the red dot, I can't see the green dot - so I'm not sure if I got it right or not. I moved it to all 3 choices - no difference. Does anyone know why the red dot and green dot should be aligned??

2. On the J shifter, I cannot get it all the way into 2nd gear. It will push to 2nd, but never engages nor the 2nd gear light come on. All other gears correct light comes on. I read somewhere that there is an adjustment on the shifter cable for this. It did go into 2nd before, which makes me wonder if something changed.

Thanks again for all of your help! Rick 540=521-5211

 

All - I'm finally back in town and need to tackle the reverse problem so my wife doesn't have to drive in circles. I'm very hopeful that this is a sensor or shifter issue. I can't bear the thought of pulling the transmission again. It does drive and shift thru all gears perfectly - just when you put it in reverse it stays in 1st gear. I have rotated the electrical switch on the side of the transmission, and can rotate thru all of the gears, including park and neutral. When I rotate the switch to reverse, it goes to 1st gear. My post above mentions that the shifter won't fully go into the far left side 2nd gear. I'm wondering if that adjustment is off, and somehow the transmission doesn't understand that it should be in reverse.

Any thoughts on this, as well as my original post above, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!! Rick 540-521-5211

 

OK - finally got it fixed!!! Started really researching the problem. The clue was that it would not go into 2nd gear. I read the manual carefully and figured that I may have not gotten the shift changer inside the transmission lined up wit the shift lever. I pulled the pan today - sure enough, the shift changer inside was just floating. I was able to put some pressure on the shift lever, and if fell into place. It would not go into 2nd gear because there was not enough room.

Couple things I learned. The rotary switch on the side tells the transmission what gear it is in. The shift lever inside must work with the gearshift to put in reverse, as well as assist with gear selection. Also, the rotary switch can be installed backwards. If done, the car will not start because the gearshift and rotary switch don't match.

 

Good job and thanks for your update