T50 corolla gearbox lost reverse!?

[Aust162]

Hey everyone, had a quick search around and didnt find any info on this. basically my adm t50 gearbox behind my 4age lost reverse all of a sudden. i can half release the clutch and grind it into reverse but its really, really difficult to do. can take a few minutes to finally get it into gear.

A few note to ad:
With the engine off there is NO way to get it to select reverse.
I pulled the shifter out and all looks fine. new bushes in there too. (fitted 2mths ago)
Clutch hydraulics are all new (4mths old)and no leaks.fluid levels are good.
Clutch is 4mths old. exedy h/d. new thrust and spigot bearings fitted too.

Any help would be great. having a hard time getting in and out of my driveway atm

[oldcorollas]

doesn7t it have an adjustor on the side, to set the position of the reverse gear?

[Aust162]

doesn7t it have an adjustor on the side, to set the position of the reverse gear?

Adjuster on the outside of the gearbox? not that i can see. only thing i can see is the rev light switch and clutch throw out arm on the bellhousing.

A should also mention all forward gears select perfectly fine even when the engine is off or on.
it also has castrol vmx80 oil with a nulon gearbox additive in there.

[Cuzzo]

Reverse broken? I feel these boxes are made of matchsticks.

[Aust162]

^ Has anyone heard of breaking reverse gear in these boxes? Seems strange to me. Maybe i should cut down on my reverse donuts..?

[celicata22]

maybe u should

id be droping the trany oil and checking for metal shavings.
does it make noises when u get reverse selected and drive with it?

[mattysshop]

is 5th gear fine to use?

i have broken 2nd, and 3rd before in t-50's.... but never had any troubles with reverse...

[Aust162]

looks like I'm going to have to dump the oil and see if i can find anything. before that though, I'm going to have a play with the clutch pedal adjustment just incase.

Mattysshop: all forward gears are working just fine.

[mattysshop]

i've always run ATF in my t-50's and even alot of my C52's...

try filling her with some good ol' dex 3...

recently swapped the mrs pulsar to ATF in the box as she was complaining about stickey reverse...

[allencr]

i can half release the clutch and grind it into reverse but its really, really difficult to do. can take a few minutes to finally get it into gear.

There are about 25-35 teeth/dogs on the reverse gear that the 5th & reverse clutch hub slides onto to engage reverse, so there are 25-35 possible& different positions that should let it slide & freely engage. Yours seems to have to hunt down one particular spot, like one of the dogs is bent or somehow is now wider, and will only fit into the the hub where there is a gap. They don't deform, they're brittle & fracture only. The hub does have 3 gaps for 3 little spring loaded keys that push on 5ths syncro, but don't have anything to push on when going into reverse. The drawings in the factory manual show something different, a 'slit', on the keys that face reverse, and I've gotta guess that that has something to do with your problem. Sorry, IDK.
How many bumpety-bumps do you feel thru the lever when you're easing out the clutch before it engages, like a dozen or 100's? Good luck.

[Aust162]

Thanks for the info matty and allencr.

Today something strange happened.. reverse is working perfectly fine, everytime.. this is good!

Im not that good of a mechanic, but Im lucky i drive a Toyota because they seem to be able to fix themselves.! *touch wood* it lasts.

[mattysshop]

all good mate!