drewwill

Good Morning,

I have a 76 coupe with what I believe to be a 350 (it doesn't appear to be the original engine) and a 3 speed automatic (the PRNDL goes P, R, N, 3, 2, 1). The issue I'm dealing with is that it won't find reverse or neutral with the engine running. It'll shift through the gears fine with the key on/engine off, but as soon as you start it all you have is park and drive. That familiar "click" we all know between gears is completely gone with the engine running other than coming in or out of park. It acts like drive exists all the way up to park with nothing in between. My first step will definitely be to check the fluid level when I get home tonight, but I was hoping somebody else here had run into this same problem and could advise me on what else to check/test/inspect. Could this be caused by a shifter out of adjustment? I wouldn't think it would work with the key off then.

I would really appreciate any input, and thanks ahead of time!

MelWff

Are you saying the car will not move when in reverse?
You seem to be saying you have drive so when going forward does the engine seem to be revving and the car isnt moving as quickly as it should?

drewwill

The car won't even give that shudder from the rear end/trans that it is dropping into reverse. It just acts like it doesn't exist. When you shift out of park, it goes straight into drive. It does drive fine going forward, but I've only had it on city streets so I can't confirm 3rd gear is present.

The only way to get the car to go backwards is to have key on/engine off and slide it down into neutral and push. It won't even roll in neutral with the engine running. Hopefully this is what you were asking. Feel free to ask anything, I'll do my best to answer.

MelWff

In addition to checking the fluid level I would check if the shift cable is kinked, you need to raise the car on jack stands to check the cable.

drewwill

Will do. Would a kinked cable still shift properly without the engine running? When I shift it that way, the shifter lines up with the PRNDL perfectly. Sorry, not doubting, just asking.

MelWff

the fact that the engine running and not running effecting the alignment of the shifter doesnt make sense to me

drewwill

That's the main reason I think it's fluid related. No fluid flowing when engine is running, correct?

MelWff

if the alignment of the shift indicator with relation to PRN321 changes when running versus not running it has nothing to do with fluid level, it is purely a mechanical function of the shifter and the cable. I wonder if you have one or more broken engine/transmission mounts.

vettehardt

Check the bolt that holds the cable to the tranny. I had mine back out on me. My issue though made it hard to get into park. I would think it was in park and let up off the brake and the car would start moving backwards. I had to slam the gear lever all the way up to get it into park. I put some lactate on the bolt so I shouldn't have that issue any more.

It almost sounds like the tranny is stuck in drive. It might be time for a rebuild.

Good luck.

drewwill

I know Vettes have a bit of torque, but do you think a bad motor mount would cause this much of an issue at idle? Under load I could definitely see..... either way, I'll visually inspect everything the best I can tonight when I get home. Dang winter has it getting dark early.

Vettehardt: Pulling the shifter out of the console was going to be another one of the first (seems easier) things I do. I'll take a look under there and make sure there aren't any crimps, bent or broken brackets, and loose bolts. And yeah, mine sounds exactly like the opposite of yours. Every time I think it should sit still or move backwards, it goes forward.

riverracer au

i had a similar problem, where i would put it in park and the car would go backwards....

where the cable comes up thru the tunnel and into the shifter bracket,
there is a circlip/retainer that holds the cable to the bracket to stop it moving forwards/backwards,
and not allowing the inner to move in the outer sleeve.
mine was missing.



remove center console cover and have a feel/look around in there

lvmyvt76

drewwill

Thanks for that diagram riverracer! That's going to be super helpful.

Because of dark and rain here last night, I didn't get to do much farther than light inspection. I did find that the fluid level is full and the fluid looks brand new (bright red). At some point somebody has put a ton of money into this engine (edelbrock intake, holley carb, hooker headers, in line fuel pressure gauge, etc), so I'm wondering if new fluid also means new transmission? If that's the case, I could see how somebody could easily have routed the shifter cable incorrectly or something of that ilk. Hopefully tonight I'll get a chance to pull that cover off and have a feel/look!

drewwill

It's been a while, but I finally have a conclusion to the issue. I wound up taking it into the local restoration shop (who I would recommend to anybody near Madison, WI. Great experience!), and they dropped the trans pan and found that the linkage inside wasn't attached properly. Reattached it, flushed the fluid, replaced filter and gasket and she's good as new. It's so much more fun to drive with 3rd gear!