72and86

I pulled to a gas station to fill up. (I have a 86 vert, 4+3 DN tranny).
I put the shifter in Reverse and turned the car off.
Got the Gas.
Started the car with my foot on the clutch as I should and the Vette wouldn't let the shifter out of reverse to drive forward. As I took my foot off the clutch I kept going backward as I was stuck in reverse!
I gently tried knocking the shift out of reverse, I tried depressing the clutch several times. I tried lifting the reverse ring. Nothing worked.

Finally with authority I yanked hard on the shifter to pop it out of "R". A grinding noise could be heard.

This has never ever happened to me. It was also embarrassing as hell!

Any clues??? I'm afraid to park it in "R" now, but I have to to get the key out!

Cliff Harris

There is a cable between the shifter and the steering column. The purpose is to force you to put the transmission in a gear (in this case, reverse) before you can take the key out of the ignition. Been like this for a long time (my '69 Camaro had this "feature"). Probably something wrong with the cable somewhere.

Calderone

a friend of mine had that problem with his 4+3 , he had to put third to engage reverse, if he didn't do that a grinding noise came out of the trans ! i cannot remember well what was bad

HlhnEast

My 85 must be bypassed somehow as I dont have to do this. I can take the key out in any gear and neutral.

oldalaskaman

dude, you've had way to much fun in those 22 trouble free years, time to pay some
'corvette tax'

72and86

Yeah,,,um...
I've been driving it w/o the OD for 21 years...
And also an issue with the oil temperature running away which allows me to only make short trips, usually less than 30 mins.

Corvette tax? I'm paying it in spades...

oldalaskaman

sorry , couldnt resist

72and86

No problem.

72and86

Is it possible in a senior moment I didn't have my foot on the brake when I started to car, with the clutch. Would that have mattered?

FOURSPEEDVETTE

It's not neccessary to push the brake pedal to disengage the reverse lock. I think the problem may be with the locking ring at the gear shift ****. The plastic ring you lift up to unlock the reverse/park position. Somethings not working right there. The overdrive has nothing to do with you not being able to get it out of reverse.

72and86

Think maybe a shot of WD 40?

JrRifleCoach

A shot of Tequila maybe..... wd40 Yuk!

mazdaverx7

wd40 is a good temporary lubricant, especially for threads and for coating bare metal when its being stored. i would look up the disassembly and service procedure in the service manual and remove the shift **** and inspect the reverse lockout mechanism. you may have a worn part or a stuck part that can be lubricated with grease or graphite.

Midnight 85

If your engine oil temps only allow about 30 minutes of driving, you have more serious problems than the shifter.

72and86

Well yea but that's another whole story and for 21 years no one can figure out why it runs so (oil) hot. Coolant is fine.

72and86

See:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...il-cooler.html

FOURSPEEDVETTE

Take the shifter **** off (can be a little tricky) and move the ring up and down while trying to move the shifter out of gear. See if something is binding causing the ring to not move up far enough. I don't think that lubricating it will fix it. These parts really don't require lubrication. The top black button with the gear pattern needs to be pryed off and then you will see the metal "key" that slides out letting you remove the ****. It's a bit tough to slide it out but it will come out. Good luck!