transmission troubles reverse & 5th gear

[melmantercel83]

So I have had my 83' tercel for two years and one day last summer it just decided that it would not go into reverse and fifth. Ive been putting off getting a new tranny and was wondering if anybody had to deal with this and what they did to fix the problem?

[Petros]

Welcome to the list!

You should be looking for a replacement trans anyway because finding good ones are getting more difficult all the time. You will likely not find one when you need one, so having a spare one is a good idea for when it does completely go out.

Anyway, a few things you might check: the shift lever goes into a socket with two pins that allow it to pivot, sometimes if badly worn it might make getting into 5th /reverse difficult. You can check this by just removing the center console, the boot and remove the large snap ring holding in the shift lever. All the parts can be replaced without removing the trans if that is an problem. If no serious wear (sloppy shift lever), than likely the problem is deeper in the trans.

More likely it is an internal part that is worn out, sounds like the shift fork for 5th/reverse. This can only be fixed with a trans tear down/overhaul, or replacement. you are lucky when the part broke it did not trash the whole trans. It can be rebuilt, but costs $1000-2000 to do it. Cheaper to replace with junk yard trans if you can find a good one. beware the '83 transaxle can only be replaced with an '83 or 84 transaxle, or you have to swap out either the front or rear diff to match ('85 and later had different diff ratio, front and rear have to match).

Good luck.

[dlb]

to elaborate on what petros just said, once you unscrew the shifter knobs and remove the plastic center console, there will be 6 bolts at the base of the gear shifter. remove them and lift the plate off but make sure everything is relatively clean so you don't spill a bunch of dirt and crap in there. then you need snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring and pull the shifter itself out. once it's out you can see the ball on the shifter, socket it sits in (it is a bushing which can and does wear out), and a small bushing on the end of the shifter that also wears out. if your shifter is super sloppy, i would check these first. if not, it's time for a new trans.

here are some pics from when i did this job recently:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2& ... ing#p55679