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Brick wall in reverse?

evolve991

evolve991

Resident Problem Child
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Posts
716
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Location
Lordsburg,New Mexico
Ok guys I need a list of possible reasons WHY my 'burban goes into Reverse just fine,starts to back up and basically feels like I hit a wheel chock. I had this problem before and cannot remember how I fixed it. I know it wasn't one of the obvious reasons but what the hell....list'em anyway. Thanks in advance.

Last time it was NOT: Parking Brake hanging. Blown Low Reverse Clutch. Binding between 2H and 4H/4L. No pieces of brake shoe in drum. No dead bodies hidden under wheels.
 
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Might be in the rear diff...spider gear pin,gears,posi clutches binding up,ball bearing getting jammed between ring & pinion,etc...

Could be in the transfer case too...have a chain driven T-case?...slack in the chain might be causing a bind in reverse..maybe the park pawl in the tranny is trying to lock back in?....I've seen u-joints seize up and do this only in one direction before too..

I'd check the rear u-bolts too,have someone back up while you watch the rear diff,it might be rotating on the spring pads and binding the u-joints up at the rear pinion yoke..
 
Did you check the rear brakes good for any problems like a hold down spring pin missing,or the spreader bar between the two shoes that goes under the wheel cylinder is intact and in the correct position,and that the shoes were installed with the shorter of the two linings facing the front?...and the wheel cylinders are still bolted firmly to the backing plates?...

I had a 80 El-Camino years ago,it had the crappy clip on wheel cylinders,one of GM's biggest "mistakes" ever ---I had a "clunk" noise when braking in reverse for a few weeks,then one day it went "BANG" and I had NO brakes...the stupid clip they used to hold the wheel cylinder onto the backing plate rotted away and flew off,and allowed the wheel cylinder to do a 360 inside the drum,trashed pretty mush every part in there too...it was not a fun ride the rest of the way home ,couldn't even use the e-brake!..:doah:..

They never should have use clips instead of bolts to hold a critical part like a wheel cylinder on a car..whoever thought that idea up should have been ball kicked repeatedly...sucked changing the backing plates,every bolt holding them to the rear axle tube sheared off and there was not much meat left around the area they went into,so it was dicey trying to drill them out without ruining the rear axle!..
 
I had this problem just before I replaced some trans parts. I waded into the brakes all the way around,looked for any kind of binding in the drivetrain, I ended up 'fixing' it somehow with something simple...I think I adjusted the shift rod and assumed it was the parking pawl but I don't really see how the pawl would engage with it notching fully into Reverse ....tried the adjustment yesterday and it didn't make a difference.
I JUST put a new TV plunger/sleeve,governer,accumulator pistons and a Shift Correction pack in the trans....not ALL the springs but most...the truck had all gears before this but was erratic on the shift. When I test drove the 'burb afterwards it had ALL gears and shifted NICE....drove it home and went to back into my slot....nada...now its 'head in' and up against curbs on 2 sides...I live in a "nice":angry1: townhouse community where checking your oil gets you a letter from the Homo Association and the yuppies rip past my house in thier hybrids...almost tagged one trying to punch thru the 'wheel chock' effect last night...it's gonna be an interesting week....

PS: Totally agree on the brake clip and been there in my Skylark a few times!
 
2 times I had this happen. One with drum brakes and the shoes were worn in a severe wedge shape so they would grab the drum in reverse. The other with rear disc the caliper stuck partially applied wearing the pad down to metal and that got wedged between the rotor and caliper, ruining the caliper in the process.

Not sure if that's much help.
 
:doah:I adjusted the TV cable and Reverse came back strong and clean. Backed up a good fifty feet a couple times to be sure. BUT now it's back to hanging in 1st. I HATE universal cables. Going to go junkyardin' for as many OE style cables as I can find!


I've had the E brake clips pop loose and frag a new drum. I've had new shoes come unglued and wedge inside the other shoe. I've had cheap calipers sieze up. This reverse problem felt just like a brake problem but I knew it wasn't because last time I checked everything. And last time I fixed reverse I lost upshifts. This was right after buying a brand new universal cable. I got it at Deltrans so I assumed it would be good,not that I'm blaming Deltrans...those cables never did work well anyway...
 
Greg Ducato said:
I have seen a caliper bolt lost and the brake caliper wedge itself against the rim in reverse
Click to expand...
This was my guess when I read the description as well. Whether it happens in forward or reverse depends on which of the bolts is missing.
 
Although R being right next to P, it's easy to imagine the parking pawl engaging in reverse, but it you had much speed, it would ratchet - especially if only partially engaged. I just can't think of any reason the TV cable setting would have an effect.

For troubleshooting, you could spin the drum brake adjusters back to reduce the chance of them engaging. You could also pull the rear driveshaft to rule out a lot of things. If you have a 208/241 you could always do the plastic cup taped onto the output housing trick. Any chance you have auto hubs?

When's the last time you had a look inside the rear diff? Pinion nice and tight?
 
Blue I've never dropped the rear cover since I've owned it. But it has done the same exact thing twice now. I moved the cable a hair and reverse was back and strong,test drove it and it acts like I've got the wrong Gov in it BUT when it DIDN't have reverse it shifted almost perfect 1st thru 3rd...didn't go far enough for OD to kick in.


Auto hubs- nope. In fact I gutted the hubs after a "helping hand" hammered the damn gear back into the hub and didn't tell me that. I locked the spindle nuts down and permatexed the caps on....glorified grease caps...front shaft isn't even in right now...

The pawl did not ratchet at all....I'm thinking the TV let too much pressure build and froze Reverse after 3 feet....don't know man....I must have really pissed old Murphy off in a past life
 
Dont know man. I can't even understand HOW it would cause it but both times I lost reverse I had all forward gears,both times I restored reverse I lost 1st to 2nd shift. I'm touching nothing else to do with it until I get another cable on it,I hate the universal whether its to blame or not, the stock GM type was easy to set!! I'll be sure to post what happens so other people who may be as cursed as me can read it LOL
 
Finally got the time to put in an old GM cable. Makes NO sense but it is FINE! No reverse hangup all forward gears working. I do plan on dropping the diff cover and going over all the brake hardware before coming out of drydock but this is the first time it has been "normal" since I used a damned universal cable. Remember...I DID ask once "Why do all MY problems have to be ones no one has ever heard of?"....if it's a total fluke ask me,I just may have been thru it before:doah:


PS: THANK YOU BlazerZ for the cable YOU ROCK MAN!!!
 
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