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1st gear and Reverse Will not Engage

S

svtavino

CEG'er
Joined
May 16, 2001
Messages
236
Location
CT
My car just started sometimes having issues going into first and reverse. It's feels like it is blocked from going into gear. The clutch has 138K on it. I did some searching and found two posts one indicated it was their clutch and the other one was motor mounts. I replaced the mount on the transmission a few months ago but it really shouldn't make a difference with the cable shifter anyways. Should I start looking for a new clutch? The clutch doesn't seem to be slipping but unless the transmission has issues it is what I am thinking.
 
interesting that you bring this up as I have had a similar issue with to of my cars, however I believe the issues might be different.

On my SVT when the clutch gets hot i will often have trouble getting into first or reverse. It to feels like its being blocked, infact on flat ground the car will move forward or back depending on the gear. This normally happens after coming to a stop. Get moving again and its fine. I was previously told that it was possibly a weak pressure plate. Clutch only has 63k on it.

Now on my 99 DD the other week I was having trouble getting into 1st and reverse just after starting the car. I had however been parking without putting the car in gear and sometimes using the praking brake since I was parked on a flat driveway. i have gone back to leaving it in 1st and setting the parking brake. Reverse is still sometimes difficult in the mornign but blipping the throttle a few times seems to help. At all other time it shifts fine as far as I have noticed. Sometimes it alittle stiff but it might need new cable ends. Not sure if the clutch was ever replaced so it either has 155k or somewhere around 100k on the clutch.

In either case the clutch grabs just fine. So that most likely doesn't help but there it is.
 
Will it go into second or 5th gear? It really sounds like your shifter cable. The side to side part might be broke or came loose.
 
This isn't happeneing all the time just randomly. It will go into 2nd. Next time it happens I will see which gears it gets stuck out of. Also if I get it moving it does shift fine.
 
Similar issues here, 119K on the clutch. Flat surface Pushing on First or reverse the car moves that way. Once I'm driving usually it is fine. Car off it shifts fine.

I've replaced the transmission mount (wow that was bad), and the rear roll restrictor. Seemed better for a lilttle bit. Other gears while the car is on is usually a bit sketchy as well.
Cable ends inside the car seem fine, still need to check on the transmission.

Someone mentioned sign of the Transmission bolt possibly going out?
 
Recently with the issue if I shut off the car and put it in 1st and start it, it will start to crawl so the clutch is dragging. I have orderd a clutch master cylinder and hopefully will get to replace it soon. I will report back if it fixes it.
 
Well I got the master cylinder in. It was a painful expereince (because of location). I had bleed it and tested it and it was hard in all the gears so I bleed it again and it seems pretty normal now I will be driving it most of this week so we will see if it has anymore issues or this fixed my problem. I will probably bleed it atleast one more time after driving it awhile.
 
Well it is doing the same thing as before. But I will go back and bleed the system again and report back. I hate problems on forums that never have the Post originator saying what they did to fix the problem or what it was.
 
How did the cable ends look on the trans side? Did you try centering the shifter then adjusting the cable ends? Perhaps the cables are old and stretched, and are not fully engaging (or disengaging) the gear set?
 
I haven't looked at the cable ends yet but now that you mention it I will. I would think I would have problems more often if it was the cables? This is happeneing once in a while 2 times a week maybe if I am commuting with it.
 
when it happens, try letting off the clutch with the shifter in neutral, wait a second or 2 (maybe even give the throttle a blip), then push in the clutch and try again. sometimes the teeth on the syncro and gear line up just right that it stops you from selecting that gear. letting the clutch out in neutral gets the input shaft spinning which will help move the teeth around so that it can engage the next time. if it does it regularly that is a sign of worn teeth on either the syncro (blocker ring, slider, or both) or the gear, or both.
 
My 99 CSVT with 39K has the same symptoms...first and reverse are a pain only once in a while, usually after driving it for a bit. Did Ford ever have a TSB for this problem? Seems like its somewhat common
 
It helps to put the parking brake on to stop the car from moving while shifting into reverse...usually works for me.
 
I rebleed the clutch with no help to the problem. I was looking at my motor mounts and it seems my whole motor is shoved over to the passenger side a little bit. Is there some way to fix this? I have already replaced the mount on the transmission. Didn't get to look at cables since i was throwing my snow tires on almost while it was snowing.
 
My CSVT has had this problem for 10 years now. I've had to put the car into 1st when rolling to a stop for fear of not being able to engage it when stopped. Reverse is hit or miss, I find that cold weather makes it worse. This is a very common problem for which I believe there was a TSB years ago, I believe this was one of the reasons that Ford changed the trans fluid for our cars and why people (me included) started looking at making their own blends and using Royal Purple. That was a lot of years ago so I might be wrong.
 
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