84 SE. new clutch pedal and clutch slave installed. I vacuum bled the system with a mightyvac. clutch works perfectly now and feels like a new car. i can shift into all four forward gears easily but i cannot get it into reverse. i have installed the adjustable shift and select cables so could it be they just need adjusted? if so, how do i know which way to adjust? can the trans be manually put into reverse? that would tell me what i need to do with the adjustment. pics of any part of this will be a HUGE help. this is all that's keeping me from driving this now. help!

[This message has been edited by shawnkfl (edited 06-19-2007).]

Have you adjusted the cables yet?

Shift into first gear.
Disconnect the shifter cables at the transmission.
Remove the shifter surround
Look at the shift mechanism as you move it into the first gear position. You should see two sets of holes that line up when the shifter is in just the right position. Put something like a nail or a small drillbit in each hole. Now the shifter is locked in the first gear position.
Make sure the transmission is still in first gear.
Tighten the cables.

When I got my '84, reverse was out of the question. Now it's fine. I still have to give the shifter one heck of a shove to get it to move over into reverse, but I suspect that might have something to do with my old burnt rusty cables.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...060811-2-069408.html

well, i did the adjustment as stated here. i still cannot find reverse. it seems as if my first gear is as far to the drivers side as the arm can go. it simply cannot move anymore to get to reverse. 1st through fourth shift fine and easily. but reverse is lost. the shifter arm mechanically cannot move over any farther. my shift patter is worn off but i think it's supposed to be...

R...1st...3rd

.....2nd...4th

correct?

[This message has been edited by shawnkfl (edited 06-19-2007).]

That would be correct, maybe you have a bad cable?

edit: just reread your post I guess you replaced the cables.

Is this a car that you just purchased, and you are trying to get it going? The reason I ask is maybe someone did a 5spd swap. In which case you would have the wrong cables and reverse would be the other direction.

[This message has been edited by fieroluv (edited 06-19-2007).]

Correct. Take off the shifter surround and make sure that you can push past the stop to actually get into reverse. They get a little difficult sometimes. 84's can be a little more difficult because of the shorter shifter. Other that that I would say cables or you still have air in the slave. Good luck to you!

the cables are new fiero store cables. i replaced the shift, select and throttle at the same time. i never though about someone swapping the trans. it's possible. i've never had it on the road myself. i bought it and had it delivered. it needed a starter and a fuel pump when i got it. now it's running and i'm stuck at the reverse issue. if the trans was swapped, wouldn't the shifter assembly have to be swapped? i know it's the original 84 shifter assembly in there so i'm assuming it's the 4 speed trans.

[This message has been edited by shawnkfl (edited 06-19-2007).]

The easiest way to tell, is the 84 4 spd trans has the cable bracket molded into the trans case itself. The 5 spd transmissions have end covers bolted to the end of the trans, where the 4 spd trans is a 2 piece case.

On my '84, it feels like you can't move the shifter into reverse. There's what feels like a wall there. You can just pull the shifter over until it stops and you're under first. To get to reverse, you have to give it a great heave left, and with a CLACK it'll move beneath reverse.

i guess tomorrow i'll hook up the mightyvac and see if there's still any air in the system. if there is, i'll order a new master and throw that in. this poor beast has sat dormant for so long it may need a new master anyway maybe i should replace the whole system now while i'm at it.

Try to find 5th gear

quote Originally posted by shawnkfl: i guess tomorrow i'll hook up the mightyvac and see if there's still any air in the system. if there is, i'll order a new master and throw that in. this poor beast has sat dormant for so long it may need a new master anyway maybe i should replace the whole system now while i'm at it.

I wouldn't start throwing parts at it quite yet. Try unhooking the cables. See if you can manual shift the tranny into reverse. If you can the look at the shifter assembly and see if you can move it into reverse. If both check out then take it from there. Bleed, bleed and bleed until you are absolutely sure there is no air in the system. Adjust the cables and see if you can get reverse only. This will tell you if its a cable adjustment problem or not. Also check the reverse switch under the shifter surround. Its possible that it is stuck and keeping you from getting where you need to go. I'd go take some pics for you but the clutch just went out in my car and it is 125 miles away at this point waiting for a new one. Good luck, clutch problems suck!

lmao...i saw that thread. after reading that i kept trying to get my truck to shift into 6th gear.....thought maybe i was missing something.

i'll mess with the adjustments this weekend again. how can i tell if i have the trans shifted into reverse? where would the arm be? i'm about 80% ready to part this car out, 15% on trying to fix it and 5% selling it as is. this SOAB has fought me every step of the way so far. basically, i'm paying insurance on it just to work on it!!

Look at the "arms" the cables connect to on the transmission. Both have 3 positions. One goes
Gear
Neutal
Gear

And the other goes

Beneath reverse beneath first beneath third.
You should be able to work out what's what, then manually click it into reverse.

quote Originally posted by shawnkfl: basically, i'm paying insurance on it just to work on it!!

You don't have to keep full insurance on a car you aren't driving. I pay 30 bucks a year for insurance on my car, because I don't drive it all. I have what is called storage insurance. To cover theft or if a tree falls on the garage or what not. Check into that if you can get it in FL.

quote Originally posted by fieroluv: You don't have to keep full insurance on a car you aren't driving. I pay 30 bucks a year for insurance on my car, because I don't drive it all. I have what is called storage insurance. To cover theft or if a tree falls on the garage or what not. Check into that if you can get it in FL.

He probably has to keep the insurance on the car to keep the tag current. Same way I do, if I had a place to store my car out of sight I could get away with no tag but I'm pushing it now with the car on the car port.
Depends on where you live and if you get along with the guy next door.

[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 06-20-2007).]

Also, the clutch is very likely not your problem. If you can't get into reverse while the engine isn't running, the clutch is fine.

if it's outside in florida, it has to have insurance and registration. if it's under a carport, it doesn't. stupid law here. my GT is in my carport in a million pieces but because it has a roof over it, it's fine to leave insurance off. the 84 is thirty feet away from that and has to have insurance. gotta love florida....NOT!

I can't remember which cable it is, the shift or the select cable, but one of the has a little 'pin' that has to set in the arm on the tranmission right or you won't be able to shift to all the gears. That might be your problem. Maybe thats only 5 speeds though..

Im having a similer problem like the one described only I cant even shift into reverse at the tranny with the engine off! could this mean somthing is busted in the transmission? I mean, I cant even move the lever into reverse with a rubber mallet! Let me know.

learned a couple of things tonight. i released the select cable at the trans and played around with the arm. i was able to find reverse doing that. so i tied the shift arm over to the reverse position and adjusted the cable to reach the ball stud at the trans. it didn't work. i still cannot shift it to reverse from inside. i have to take the cable off at the trans and shift it there. needless to say, that's an inconvienence....and there are lugs cast into the trans case for cables however, my cables do not go where they are. my cables go to the front (firewall) side of the engine and are held in place by brackets bolted to the trans. is that right?

Have a look at the shifter mechanism. When the shifter is as far left as it can go (To get into reverse,) the black plastic reverse light switch should be pressed in most of the way. If the shifter isn't moving left enough to do that, even with the cables disconnected, there's something wrong with the shifter mechanism.
Stuff loves to fall out of the ash tray and into the mechanism. I found a bent in half penny lodged in mine. You might have something stuck in there.

[This message has been edited by Jax184 (edited 06-20-2007).]

it does go over enough to depress the switch. it just doesn't engage reverse for some reason. this weekend i'll manually put the trans in reverse and adjust the cable at the shifter. these fiero store cables adjust at both ends so i'll try that. just playing around tonight it shifts into all four forward gears with one finger. it's extremely smooth now. if i can get reverse to engage, i'll be golden. you feel like a weekend trip to florida jax? i'll get back at it sunday to see what i can do.

That switch shouldn't just be touched and lightly pressed, it should go quite far in.
If you feel like paying for a flight to Florida and back, and promise me some time infront of an air conditioner, I'll be there to help out

the switch goes completely in when i go to reverse. i thought that may be part of the problem but it does go completely in. i think it's probably an adjustment issue, i just don't quite know how to overcome it.

about that ticket...i may just do that to get this thing driveable. i'm paying insurance and i cannot drive it. that drives me nuts! the air conditiong part is a given. in this heat, i can only stand to be outside for a half hour tops then have to come inside to cool down. that involves standing in front of an A/C vent and killing a cold pilsner!

If it's going in, the shifter is moving far enough left. That probably means it's time to start fiddling with those adjustible cables.

There's a roller / cam arrangement that controls access to the reverse gate - see that rivet on the end opposite the pivot on that cam arm? It used to have a rubber bumper between the cam and the rivet head; when that turns to crumbs and blows away it gets more difficult to get the shifter into the reverse gate.

If you cut about 3/16 inch of 1/8 inch rubber tubing and slip it over the head of that rivet completely - that'll make an adequate replacement for the factory bumper and make reverse a LOT easier to find.

i'm deffinately interested in that. would you happen to have a pic of where the rubber should go?

quote Originally posted by shawnkfl: i'm deffinately interested in that. would you happen to have a pic of where the rubber should go?

Same here, I should have my 4 speed back on the road soon and reverse is always hard to get into.

i've been messing with this most of the day today and still can't get reverse. i shift it into reverse at the trans, then adjust the cable to fit the position. after i get it all connected again and try it it will not go into reverse?!? WTF. are these fiero store cable that bad? they don't seem to work at all for me. how the hell can i have the car in reverse, hook up the cables and then not be able to get it to go back into reverse? i'm ready to just tear this damn thing down and keep the good parts. i'm ready to give up saving this one. i adjust the cable while it's in reverse, yet it will only shift into 1st after i reattach everything.....damn 84 anyway!

Are you really shoving on the shifter? To get into reverse on my '84 requires a huge effort. For someone as weak as me, the easiest way is to give it a hard yank left from below third, or grab it in both hands and pull until it clacks over.

i'm cranking on it pretty good. it feels like if i pull anymore, somrthing will bend or break though. it shouldn't be that hard should it?

Shouldn't, but is.

ok. i give up on this one. i'll start parting it out. my best advice is to NOT use those damn adjustable shift/select cables from the fiero store. these are such a pain in the a$$ it isn't funny. i've adjusted them to fit in every gear, including reverse and when i'm done installing all of the clips and tightening the adjustable ends, they don't work. i lock in first gear, adjust everything and cannot get revers. i lock in reverse (i put it in reverse at the trans manually), adjust the cables. start it up, take it out of reverse and it will not go back in?!? i've pissed around with these cables for a month now. thanks to everyone who tried to help. this one is a lost cause and i'm out of time and patience with it so it's time to put her out of my misery.

Put the tranny in neutral, Shifter in neutral, Install and mount the cables.
Good Luck
Gary

[This message has been edited by GKDINC (edited 06-26-2007).]

You need some help? What are you doing for the 4th? My wife will have to work so I could come over for a few hours.

I can help take a look at it Shawn.

If the two of us can disassemble and reassemble the entire e-brake system on my 87' we ought to be able to beat your shift problem into submission

I am glad that I am not the ONLY one dealing with this type of issue. But really happy to hear there are so many alternatives.

I have an 87 GT that just crossed over the 150K mark. Rebuilt engine roughly about six years ago at the same time just as well figured to do the clutch too. So much for background. Let me know if more info like this is needed to help me out.

Now the problem is, after replacing the slave and master, all of the sudden my car does not want to release into reverse. It goes in when the car engine is off and when the car is cold; but once it warms up it does not want to go into reverse. Sounds like it is still spinning and that it would grind were I to push things. I have NEVER forced it into gear. Somehow I found that turning the engine off and then putting it into reverse worked although the car did sound like it did not want to start while in reverse after a bit of driving. When I have been parked overnight it starts in reverse just fine.

I have been able to use all gears and in order to keep the beast on the road and have just avoided any reverse motions (incredible how many times you will drive in circles till you can find a place to park with those requirements). We power bleed the system and verified that there are no leaks. Fine right away and then after driving for about a half hour she decided not to go into reverse again.

Right now I have the car at a shop and they are talking about $400 just to open it up to find out what is wrong and telling me that it could be some kind of bushing/bearing/fork problem and that if they were to fix this it would cost me around $500. If this does not fix the car they would need to open the tranny to see if it needs work there and that could well run me over $1150 clams.

Hey this is an old car and although I love it my other half is not as fond of it as I am and would probably be happy to see it go up in flames and have me drive something more sensible. Yuck. It has also NEVER slipped gears.

I just don't know if I am being a sucker and hope that maybe I could get a different idea of what to look for through all of this or to find out if these people are talking out of the wrong side of their mouths. I do, after all, live in LA. Smiles.

Unfortunately, I am not an expert in this department but have been through some forced learning (I have been driving one of these for twenty years).

Any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.