I have Reverse!

Matt88S · Sep 7, 2006

I was in my transmission the other day, and it occurred to me this would be a good time to modify the reverse gear. It had been jumping out of reverse. I had been a bit apprehensive about tackling the job, modifying anything from stock always scares me a bit :lol:, especially when I'm dealing with major things like transmission that can get expensive in a hurry.

I used townsends page here for reference, http://townsendimports.com/Web/transmission_folder/reverse_gear_mod.htm.

It was over so quick I was left there scratching my head thinking for sure I’d modded the wrong part or left something out.

Basically you take the little bolt out, off comes the selector, pop off the little C-clip and remove the cross pin and make sure you have the spacer for the bolt, put the selector in a vice and hacksaw or whack it with a chisel to break the spot welds on the washer that is spot welding to one side, take a file and clean off any burrs left, take the washer you just removed and put it on the other side, put the cross pin back in, put the C-clip back on, make sure the spacer is in place, and bolt it back on the transmission. It took me about 20 minutes.

I now have a reverse gear that does not pop out of gear.

woywitka · Sep 7, 2006

hey man, congrats, really good to hear! Have you done the hill test? find like a 22% and back up quickly!

Raub · Sep 7, 2006

Cool. It really is an easy job. I bought this 900 because the owner said that reverse was completely out. I knew from my previous 900s that I could probably get at least some reverse out of it with the mod. An hour after I got home I had a decent reverse gear

It pops out once in a while, but that's better than no reverse at all....and saved me hundreds of dollars on the purchase price.

Matt88S · Sep 7, 2006

hey man, congrats, really good to hear! Have you done the hill test? find like a 22% and back up quickly!

Ha Ha, I'll get right on that.

No I rather like having a working reverse gear, it keeps you out of embarassing situations. I was always worried I'd be running from someone and need to reverse out of somewhere and not have it. I now have it.

Good show on the 900 Raub, if I'd known about the reverse on this car I'd have tried to talk him down on it too. However I didn't find out until the drive home. :roll: Bit of a surprise.

nuclear944 · Aug 25, 2010

I know people will ridicule me sourly for this but I'll ask anyway;

Is it normal when you have the engine running, the car is in neutral with the clutch in(disengaged) while shifting into reverse to hear a super "DAN!"?
If I do it slowly, you can hear the gear grind very loudly as if the trans is still rotating. When I press the clutch and wait for the gears to coast down, it engages perfectly. I know the reverse isn't synchronised, but does this occur in every C900? Other than that there's nothing wrong with the trans. Has never popped out of gear.
Also, it isn't much of a problem...just makes parking slower....

cactusleaf · Aug 25, 2010

It's happened occasionally in every 5-speed I've ever driven with a non-synchroed reverse, and the easy solution is to throw it into gear (I use 2nd) before reverse. It stops the intermediate shaft from spinning and lines up the gears for you, so there's no grinding. I think it's a normal thing to happen sometimes. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I also seem to remember something about when you lift the reverse latch on the stick and bring it all the way to the right just before dropping it into reverse, in C900s there's some kind of syncro-type mechanism in that position that slows the gears down (slowly) to allow it to go in smoothly.. it does take a second though. Am I way off?

nuclear944 · Aug 25, 2010

Thanks for the info, cactus, (look, we have almost the same number of posts!).
Mine does it ALL the time unless you either shift into a gear as you said or wait for things to coast down. Its REALLY loud and makes the car shudder like its been hit if you don't do it right. I really try to avoid it.

cactusleaf · Aug 25, 2010

Oh man nuclear (Haha I'm beating you by 2 posts!), that does sound like a bit of a problem.. I mean I've never experienced such a huge thing even when I accidentally grind into reverse.. usually it's no worse than any other accidental gear grind. Maybe whatever mechanism it is that stops the gears for you before you engage reverse (that I mentioned) is dead in yours.. I can actually hear mine working, like a quiet little "WHIIRrrrr" as I hold the stick all the way to the right. Only takes about one second to be able to drop it in smoothly.

Matt88S, congrats on the reverse fix!! I'm pretty jealous of your status as a DIY mechanic.. I'm WAYyyy not ready to crack open a tranny, let alone mod my reverse gear. Bravo! If I ever have that problem you're coming over to fix it. I'll provide the beer.

nuclear944 · Aug 26, 2010

Allright then- I guess my gearbox either doesn't have that mechanism or its finished. I'm gonna have to "live with the grind".
I gotta drive some newer 900's so I can determine whether my transmission shifts badly or not.. I got way too many miles on the powertrain for it to be normal (400k).

I have Reverse!

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