Hi guys! New to the forums and already needing help.
English isn't my main language, so please try to understand what I'm writing here.

I have 1986 Corvette with 4+3 transmission. And my technical knowledge of transmissions is pretty limited.

Transmission in my car has worked great for years now, but today something bad happened.

I was reversing out from my parking place, and when I did put the first gear on, the car didn't move. I had to roll my car back to the spot by pressing clutch, when the gear stick was on neutral, the reverse gear was still on. It got stuck on reverse. Trying to engage other gears felt like the car would try to put multiple gears on (the gear I changed, AND the reverse).

I think that the clutch is OK, pressing the clutch pedal lets the car roll normally.

Something has broken down from the axles that go from the stick to the tranny? Can those be checked out from the top by removing all covers inside?

The car is in pretty tight spot and access under it would be quite hard.

The stick feels strange when you try to engage reverse, otherwise it feels ok. The reverse gear feels numb (on the stick), and the stick wont stay on gear very well.

I have never towed my car before, can it be easily towed by lifting the rear tires in the air? Do I have to remove bumpers from front AND back? Towing the car from front would be quite hard, because the reverse in ON all the time. If I try to ready the car for towing is it possible to do when the car is on its tires? Any help for the bumper removal?

Thanks a lot for your assistance, you can really save my summer by giving few hints for this newbie.

 

.............. I would first try to get a look at the shifting linkage ... the reverse lever on the transmission is the one behind the side cover by itself ... the levers on the side cover are for the four forward speeds ... if the linkage is still intact from the shifter to the trans lever you may be able to move the lever into a neutral position with channellock pliers or something similar .............

 

Could be loose linkage check it out.

Couldnt tell you how many Muncies that happened to me with always getting stuck in 1st and reverse at the same time.

 

Thanks guys! Sounds that my driving season isn't maybe over afterall. I can hopefully make some room under the car so I can check out the tranny.
Where is this cover? Can it be accessed easily? Do I have to remove something from the way, like exhaust?

Getting the car on neutral would be a blessing, towing it after that would make things much simpler. The parking spot is just so bad, no room to work, downhill and all...

 

Well, English is my first language and I don't write as well as you.

I agree this is most likely a linkage issue. If you plan to work on this car yourself I would strongly suggest a repair manual.

BTW, when you have time fill out your profile.

 

..... ALL the linkage is on the left side of the transmission (drivers side , U.S. ) you might have some exhaust interference issues ... I guess it depends on how high you can get the car in the parking spot , and how nimble you are .....

 

Hey in a couple of months just hitch some reindeer to it and let them pull it home for you! Wow, I looked up Tampere on Google to see where it was. It looks like a beautiful place. Probly a little cool for my Florida sunshine blood.

Good luck!

 

Some progress.

Got the reverse gear partially fixed.

Tranny seems to be working fine, but getting the reverse ON and OFF is still tricky. All other gears seem to be engage perfectly. My stick seems pretty loose now (on reverse side), so something did happen with the linkage. I just hope that the teeth inside the tranny are OK, at least when engaging gears there isn't any extra sounds and when driving I cannot hear any unhealthy noise.

It takes some work to get the reverse gear OFF, the stick isn't in right angle or something. Up above I cannot see any out from ordinary, but the mechanism is pretty alien to me anyways.

When I get my car lifted in the air completely, I will check out the bars and links that connect the stick to the tranny.

Still you can give me hints if you have any knowledge about problem like this.

Thanks for all the help so far. Have a nice summer.

 

It's possible that the shifter linkage is out of adjustment or the reverse arm has come loose at the shifter. The Factory Service Manual (we call it the "FSM") has a procedure and pictures to perform the adjustment. That's the easy part. The hard part is getting to the shifter unit.

The shifter assembly is inside the car under the console. You need to remove the driver's seat and the carpeted trim panel on the left side of the console.

If you look under the car, you can see the shifter rods where they disappear through a rubber cover into the body. There is no adjustment outside the car, except for where the arms attach to the side cover of the trans.

If you ever have to tow the car, it would be best if you can have a "flat-bed" tow truck pick up the car. Tow trucks that use a cradle for the front wheels works too. Don't attempt to tow the car from the rear. Raising the car too high at the rear may cause the nose to drag on the pavement or hit debris.

You might check out Club Corvette of Finland http://www.corvettefinland.com/ to see if any of the members can help you out. There are a number of Corvette Clubs in Europe; this page has a list and you may find some more help by contacting different clubs.