Spazzaroth Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 That's pretty much it. I went over a bump and the car switched into neutral and now I can't get it to change gears. Park will stop the car but other than that I only get neutral. Thinking it's probably a wiring issue. But I don't know which plugs to check. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 Checked the linkage at the throttle and under the shifter and it seems like the cable is still in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 There is no wiring that would cause this, it is a hydraulically operated transaxle. Check the fluid level. Did the bump cause any damage under the car, such as denting the trans. pan? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 (edited) Nope, no damage. Fluid levels are good. Has to be some kind of linkage that came loose I guess. But underneath the shifter everything looks fine. Not sure where else to look. It wasn't that big of a bump. Just shook the car a little, no impact to the actual vehicle. Edited November 10, 2021 by Spazzaroth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 Since it was working fine prior, and an event cause the change, it is mechanical. By mechanical, I mean the "information" you provide by "telling" it what gear you want it to perform in - has changed. Start the the shifter, then you will need to visually see the change occur on the transmission. If it does not, then a component between your mechanical movement of the shifter and the transmission is not "conveying" the movement you create at the shifter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 20, 2021 Author Share Posted November 20, 2021 So I chased the cable back to this small triangular box on the top of the transmission. Shifting... It looks like it's hooked up and shifting right. There was a plug in the side of the box that I pulled and cleaned up. I'm going to assume since all that seems connected right that the problem is inside the transmission. This may be the death of my reatta. I've put a lot of work keeping this car running over the last couple years. But I don't think it's going to get a new transmission or even a rebuilt one. Might be time for a new car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 It sounds like the box with the plug is the neutral safety switch, but since it starts, it isn’t the problem. If the shifter moves, but the trans doesn’t engage, it does sound internal. Bummer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 On 11/8/2021 at 6:32 PM, Spazzaroth said: I went over a bump and the car switched into neutral and now I can't get it to change gears. Park will stop the car but other than that I only get neutral. It's really odd that is happened when you hit a bump. Might just be a coincidence. If you had said that park wouldn't hold the car in place I would be recommending you take a really close look at the axles to see if a constant velocity joint on one of the axles failed when you hit the bump. Try putting the shifter in park and see if you can force the car to move by pushing on it really hard by hand. If you can force the car to move by pushing on it other than the normal rocking back and forth, you might have an axle problem. I doubt that is it but it is worth trying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 After thinking about it a little more I think the speedometer would start going up when you put it in gear if the axle was the problem. Have you noticed if that happens? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 The car doesn't throttle up at all when I try to change gears. I'll check the speedometer when I get home tonight though. (They got me working 16hrs on a Sunday). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 11 hours ago, Ronnie said: Might just be a coincidence. I think it might be. Or it was something that was so close to happening for a while that it just pushed it over the edge. It was just a slightly larger than average bump. Nothing that should have been damaging to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 1 hour ago, Spazzaroth said: I think it might be. Or it was something that was so close to happening for a while that it just pushed it over the edge. It was just a slightly larger than average bump. Nothing that should have been damaging to the car. Not quite sure what you mean by it doesn't throttle up at all when you try to change gears, but if the tach is moving up with throttle, check all your CV joints, inner and outer. The limited slip diff sends all the power to the wheel with the least resistance, a broken joint can act just like a bad tranny and this could be a broken joint. You'll know about a minute after you get the wheels off the ground. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Spazzaroth said: The car doesn't throttle up at all when I try to change gears. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. Could you give more details about what you are trying to tell us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Spazzaroth said: Or it was something that was so close to happening for a while that it just pushed it over the edge. Most of the time when you lose all the gears at once there is a loss of hydraulic pressure in the transmission. Either due to the pump going bad or it could be something as simple as a check valve in the valve body is stuck. There are a lot of mechanical things that can happen too. A transmission shop can put a pressure gauge on a port on the outside of the transmission and check the pressure. The axles and related parts are the only things I think of that might fail that could be repaired without pulling the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 52 minutes ago, Ronnie said: I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. Could you give more details about what you are trying to tell us? Just that when I move the shifter the engine rpms don't increase. But I guess that isn't what you were saying would happen if the axle was broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted November 25, 2021 Share Posted November 25, 2021 (edited) my guess? is that the bump maybe broke the filter tube and you aren't getting fluid from the pan.it has to be that or a valve body problem.OR i once saw a torque converter hub snap off on a c4 ford.you could hook a guage and check for fluid pressure. Edited November 25, 2021 by handmedownreatta (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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