My wife reports that there are occasions when, once Hilda's (1980 244 w/manual) tranny is put into reverse, it cannot reasonably be pulled out of reverse unless the engine is stopped. I have only seen this once but the wife says it has happened several times and possibly with increasing frequency. I try not to drive Hilda so it has never happened to me personally.

Hilda has long required care in order to get the tranny into reverse in the first place. Typically, one must, with the clutch held down constantly, shift into/thru at least some forward gears starting with first before it can be slid into reverse without grinding. This is becoming the case on my 183 242 as well.

We checked Hilda's records and she was given a new clutch, etc in 1996 at 103K miles. The current mileage is about 230K. But the clutch operation seems fine overall. The clutch cable was replaced several years ago. It may need to be adjusted. I don't know. It feels ok to the foot.

I have no idea what might cause Hilda's current issue. Possible: (a) clutch needed, (b) cable adjustment, (c) low tranny fluid, (d) something with the reverse "lockout", (e) issue with the lever linkage? It is a mystery to me. And I have not seen this discussed elsewhere.

Thanks for any tips in diagnosing this problem.

May be too late yet:

- Use first gear to park. Never reverse to park!
- Apply the clutch pedal when shifting ONLY.
- Do NOT maintain a depressed clutch pedal. Bad for clutch works and T/O bearing!
- Splines on input shaft can get gunked up and an old clutch kit may not release well.
- Also apply parking brake. How old are the p-brake shoes? Check cables and consider a rear hub works service. Brake fluid is clear and not dark or black?
- Maybe unrelated, yet how old is trans fluid? Is gear box full of fluid properly?
- adjust clutch cable? How much pedal travel from engaged to floor?

https://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/TransmissionManual.htm

Use synthetic Type F like SuperShift from Amsoil or whatever the Redline site says.


Any noise when driving?

--
Beh.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond. I will post back once/if I determine the cause. But almost any of the suggestions made go beyond my willingness to do myself. So I will take it to buddy Larry. Some things are worth paying for. And as I get ever older, avoiding tasks requiring crawling around under the car is one of them :-) Cheers

The pilot bearing, where the tip of the input shaft rides in end of the crankshaft, may be starting to drag. I had one completely freeze up one time such that the clutch pedal felt fine and the clutch was disengaging perfectly fine. But I could press the pedal to the floor and the car would keep on pulling ahead. I had a mechanic fix it and he said he had a heck of a time extracting the input shaft from bearing. The bearing completely froze and the input shaft had spun within the inner bearing race until it was so galled it was kinda like welded together. You don’t want that.

Try changing the lube with Red Line MT transmission oil. Made a big difference in both my Saabs and 84 Volvo 240

Hi,

It’s pretty simple that you have a clutch that’s worn and dirty up in between the flywheel and the pressure plate.
First off, That is a lot of miles and years on a clutch system. There is no getting around it.

I have two cars in similar condition with lots of miles and years on them.
One car the clutch doesn’t slip under load but is more susceptible to your symptoms. Noticed more after it sits but driving it a lot more daily helps it work better until it can become a non issue. That transmission has over 350k on it. I’m the original owner and it’s on its second clutch.
My second car that slips is just worn out. I’m the second owner. It might be on its second clutch with only 189k. The Difference is the in drivers I would say. One is a 1978 and the other is a 1984. You are in the middle, sort of.(:)
Both have started to develop the problem of stiff or getting into reverse.
On both cars turning off the engine stops the input shaft and allows the reverse gear.
Whatever you do be gentle! Turning off is the best option, temporarily.

Don’t jam the shifter into your forward gears.
With this clutch condition going on it will damage the teeth on synchronizing wheels.
These are made of a special bronze type metal that’s not made to be put under a high stress like the gear wheels.
They are thin and light weight to spin up freely with collars to quickly achieve aligning speeds to gear dog.
Keeping the fluid freshly changed is the lifeblood for the synchronizers.
Having a fresh clutch system stops any “clipping” or clicking feeling from coming up the shifting stick on the shifting into the forward gears. If you feel and listen to the transmission will tell you it needs a fluid change. No more than 30,000 on the M46 with or without an overdrive. I prefer less because of the overdrive.
Being dead stopped and having issues is not an fluid problem at this mileage and years.

The fiber disc is a combination of composite materials that can contain various formulations of powdered metals to achieve wear resistance to heat just like brake pads.
Dusting is invariably going to an issue over time. Our brakes get rinsed and blow dried regularly.
The clutch is inside an enclosure to keep it out of a weathering environment but it has its drawbacks for any kind of maintenance.
I have thought of a pressure washer treatment.
It might help but I don’t know if it’s a common maintenance practice?
Trust me I have been tempted to try it, but mechanical wear, is not a “wash and wear’ garment thing! (:-)

When a car sits a lot the accumulation of dust absorbs humidity. That stuff gets where it wants to go.
Then, It can cause some rusting action to what should otherwise be smooth machined surfaces.
This also affects the input shafts splines and the internal splines of the fiber disc, that is supposedly meant to float in between the flywheel and the pressure plate surfaces.
The splines get choked up by sitting outside in an open environment quicker too.

Moisture does get to have its way with an old clutch.

So there you have my thoughts and experiences.
Hope it helps guide you to a solution.

Phil

Phil wrote :
"When a car sits a lot the accumulation of dust absorbs humidity. That stuff gets where it wants to go.
Then, It can cause some rusting action to what should otherwise be smooth machined surfaces.
This also affects the input shafts splines and the internal splines of the fiber disc, that is supposedly meant to float in between the flywheel and the pressure plate surfaces. The splines get choked up by sitting outside in an open environment quicker too."

I beleive the problem with your clutch is right there with also possible clutch cable adjustment. When putting in a new clutch disc/pressure plate (and throw out / center bearings while there) the problem will be gone for a very long time.

Tell us what you found.