So after trying to get out of my driveway in the 3' of snow we have, my truck will not go in reverse. I can shift into reverse, but the tranny wont. The engine surges a little when in reverse, but no power is getting to the wheels. I can shift from P-R-N without feeling any shift to reverse. I havent done anything hard like rocking with power or anything, it kinda just stopped working all of a sudden. Any ideas what it might be? in the mean time I am blocking my roommates in the driveway as a giant icy snow drift is in front of me and i cant back out of the way.

Thanks!!

 

I would call Bill. I have found him to be quite helpful even off hours (if you have his cell). I'm not much on RE's, but what happens when you select a forward gear? A bad OD apply spring will defeat Reverse, as well as OD. And yes, it can show itself immediately without warning. Lemme know what forward does.

Chris

 

ALL forward gears work normally, including in 4WD and 4LO. The thing that concerns me is that the tranny is only 2 years old

 

yeah, I know how you feel, mine was less than a year old. So when you say all forward gears work, does this mean OD as well? I had to change out the OD spring, Bill sent it, and all new OD frictions/steels and let me put it in without afecting the warranty. I had all the tools and he walked me through special details pertaining to his transmissions, and also had me call him for testing afterward. OD work is not hard, but you have to have the spring compression tool, as well as a dummy intermediate shaft for aligning the clutches, planetary, and bearings. Anyway, if you have not lost OD, the spring is not the culprit, but anything in the reverse drum would also affect other gears.

Chris

 

Its one of two things, either a stuck valve in the VB, or a burned up reverse band, or both. I had both go in my 95 RH series. The valve stuck, and burned up the band... No reverse for like 3 weeks until I got a chance to fix it. Literally had to drive into my back yard every night to make a U-turn so I wasn't stuck against the house.

 

Cummins: gotcha, I havent tried OD due to being scared I wont be able to get in the driveway. I'll check and get back in the morning. Thanks!

Motoroil: That is what I am afraid of, that and pulling U-turns in the back yard ;-)

 

Eh, my backyard is plenty big enough for me to turn around. Thank god it happened in the summer when the yard was dry, otherwise it still might be stuck back there... It gets to be a swamp in the spring...

 

I steered you a little wrong, after reading McCalls post I got to thinking and had to check my notes...it's been a few years since I was in my trans.

The direct apply spring in the OD unit applies all ranges EXCEPT overdrive. It releases with hydraulic pressure upon command from the PCM and simultaneously as apply pressure is present on the OD piston. I kinda told you the other way around, sorry 'bout that. Although, a faulty spring can affect reverse and not forward gears, as mine did.

If I recall, and this is from memory, Reverse uses the front clutch and rear band. A front clutch problem will also affect 3rd and OD, and a rear band problem (and/or servo/piston) will only affect reverse and Low 1 when manually selected. Of course, not to disclude the OD/Direct clutches and pistons in the OD unit itself. This all aligns itself with McCalls theory, including sticking valves.

Let us know what you find...

Chris

 

I was able to rebuild ours without the dummy shaft and special compressor. It was quite a trick. I put the shaft in the housing and stood it upright. Then I used the intermediate shaft to align the splines and carefully removed it. Then I used a 2 arm puller attached to the extension housing with a flat plate and spacers to compress the spring and install the lock rings. It is tricky but doable.