I've lost reverse !

Luke_

This is one that you HAVE to do yourself, or you'll have to start wearing a dress and heels . . .

There are two bolts that hold the shifter to the tunnel, check to see if they're loose. There is a plate at the back of the chassis, just rearward of the VIN, it's held in place with a single phillips, remove the screw and plate, beneath it is a coupler which joins the shift rod to the transaxle, it looks like a cage and has a grub screw securing it from rotating where it attached to the trans. This might be loose as well.

If these are lose, put the shifter in neutral and tighten them all up. If it works, great! If not they can be adjusted. I'll tell you how.

Luck!

As TC says, the coupler may be loose but he forgot to tell you that it could also be broken (the rubber inserts). You can find replacements for those in urethane also, such those by aftermarket manufacturers such as Bugpack. Based on experience I say that stock is fine for our use.

"he forgot to tell you that it could also be broken (the rubber inserts)"

Good catch!

Thanks for the quick answers.I'll check this weekend if i have time and then I'll put on the dress and high heels.

Do you know where you saw it last?

I think it's down and to the left.
Yah thats what she said!

HEEE! HEEE! HEEE!

Actually, I believe it was down and to the right. Maybe that's why I can't find it.

And I thought David was making a joke......I really had forgotten that it was down and to the left. I have officially missed 4 months of summer driving in the Midwest, because I forgot where Reverse was. All this time I thought it was busted. I am the dumbest person ever. Have fun with this one gentlemen (and ladies). Or, can you you top it?

It takes a big man to admit that one!
You have my respect!

Some would say a HUGE man....I may still put on the dress since I took it to someone to find out.

Hi All, this is probably a simple one, but I don't work on my own car. I wish I had the skills. How simple is this to fix? And what might a fair priced shop charge me to fix this. I want to pay a VW repair bill, not a Porsche one. Thanks in advance. I'll probably seek out a shade-tree mechanic if it's really simple.

I once had the carpet cleaned on my IM. When I got back from a trip I jumped in and turned the key, nothing happened. I got a voltage meter and checked the battery, it was fine then I checked power at the key, nothing. I started trying to figure out where the problem was and had taken the dash stereo out to check the switch or the wires going to it, after hours of trying to find the break in power I gave up and emailed Henry that night.

His answer, "someone shut off the battery kill switch" while cleaning the carpet.

Hours and hours of trouble shooting to turn a switch I had forgotten about.

Once apon a time . . . and I've NEVER told this to anyone . . . if my wife found out she'd be scared to death . . .

I was about to back out of the driveway and NOTHING, no power, no reverse, no nothing! Dead engine!

An hour or more of tightening the battery terminals and checking everything, and nothing.

Went back into the house to just sit down and rest . . . the car keys were on the counter.

The car wouldn't back out of the driveway, because I never started it ! ! ! ! ! ! I just got in, put it into reverse, looked over my shoulder and stepped on the gas pedal. Never started the engine, never even had the key with me . . . still in the house . . .

The only thing that tops it, is the time that I opened the cellar door and pissed down the stairs. Somehow, I thought that I was in the bathroom . . .

In college, my roommate was sick with a high fever. He awoke in the middle of the night and opened his closet door, the pulled out a dresser door (a fairly low one) and proceeded to squat over at and sh@t all over his favorite shirt. The next morning he couldn't figure out what the stench was all about. His fever broke, I helped him do laundryand we aired the joint out.


TC, you didn't even have the keys with you? Were you sleepwalking? Thanks to the good sports who have tried to make me look like less of a bonehead. You'se some good peeps.

TC:
How could this be possible without the aid of some foreign agent(s) of the mind altering sort????
Did you really not know when you went to start the car you had not included the key in the process?
If so......... Classic!

Yup!

Just ran out of the house, jumped into the car, turned on the radio (runs off of the battery, not the key), heard the music, grabbed the seat belt, clutch in, e-brake off, into reverse, started rolling backwards, foot on the gas . . . and NOTHING! Spent the afternoon tracking the "problem."

Honest to goodness truth!

Unfortunately I have a whole LOT of these terrible little memory loss anecdotes. They USED to be funny, now . . . I kinda wonder, and when I do, I get a little scared.

I'm gonna be 53, too early to lose it like this . . .

Dude I am 50 and I can understand the mind lapses. BUT YOUR STORY IS SO CLASSIC IT SHOULD BE INTHW TOP TEN SPEEDSTERDOMS!
rock on TC

Dude you can pass that off as a brain fart!

I had a S-10 with a short open trailer then sold the truck bought an Explorer and longer trailer... backed into the driveway that is near the house as I always do and managed pop a hole in the garage door ummmm I forgot about the add'l length ! Soon to turn 55 and concerned :(

Luke,

Sounds like you should invest $3.95 in one of those Empi shift knoba with the shift pattern on the top, LOL!

NO, no, no....down and to the left. NOW, I'll remember.