No Reverse!!!

[PhredzK512]

My buddy & I finally hauled my '87 K5 Silverado to my place but, when we tried to back it up onto the trailer,that's when we found out there was no reverse gear. So we just dropped the trailer and then hooked it up to the tow hitch and pulled it on. I knew this vehicle had tranny problems when I was buying it,..I just had to see and feel it for myself. I'm not a bonafide mechanic to where I feel confident to fix it on my own,so I will most likely have it hauled again to a tranny shop or find someone who is certified to repair it for me. Any advice is helpful,...thanks

 

[Jessie James]

Is this an automatic? If so, is the gear linkage (a) properly aligned/adjusted and (b) all there and connected?

I had an old car where it would not go in gear, and there was a worn out linkage bushing. I installed a new one in less than a minute and was good to go.

 

[PhredzK512]

I'll have to have someone who know's what they're looking at come over n figure that one out for the gear linkage. The previous owner's did some pretty good offroadin' with trying to teach a 14 yr.old kid how to drive in the mountains. He panic'd when he saw a oncoming vehicle and ran off the road into a shallow ditch and got it hung up on some rocks & stumpage,..and thats when they had to have it towed outta the mtns.

The rig starts and the smoke that comes out from underneath is from all the tranny oil that drained onto the exhaust pipes. Otherwise,it seems the engine is fine and will need some idle adjusting.

 

[diesel4me]

If they ripped off the cooler lines and ran the tranny "dry" till it wouldn't move,I'd say its toast...on a TH350,reverse is usually the gear that you lose first when the tranny is dying....you may luck out,but I wouldn't get your hopes up,if it moves in the forward gears but no reverse,its likely one of the piston seals or the clutches for reverse are smoked...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................the TH350 I had in my 77 GMC started shifting into reverse "slowly" when it was getting ready to croak,then one day after I'd let it sit a long time it refused to back up,all I heard was a slight "stripping" buzzing type noise.........I found if I left it IN reverse for up to 10 minutes,it would finally "semi-engauge" enough to back the truck out of the parking spot...only did that twice,then it refused to do anything in reverse at all...weird thing was all forward gears worked fine,it was just reverse that "dissapeared"...that was the final straw for that truck,I parted it instead of fixing it,due to rusty frame issues and other discouragement..I assumed all the abuse and thousands of shifts from forward to reverse using it to plow,just took a toll on reverse the most?...

 

[PhredzK512]

I'm assuming since the tranny won't shift into reverse,that it will have to be replaced. It shifts into drive,but has abit of a rumble sound and just isn't driveable. Now I'm wondering what the costs could be for a new tranny or a remanufactured one? There's only one tranny shop here where I live,so I will have to pay them a visit. I've been looking at craigslist but that's a risk without any guarantees or warranty's.

 

[owenst7]

I believe that you can test the reverse clutches by checking if there is engine braking in forward gears. If there isn't, that clutch is not engaging properly. Seal, frictions, passage, etc.