Hope u guys can help me. I replaced the headgaskets on my friends 85 gl awd wagon 5 sp manual. Now when I put it in reverse it will drive a few feet then stops real hard like the ebrake is on. It will also do the same think in 1st gear when turning a sharp left. Any ideas what the issue could be?

Sounds like you have a brake pad worn so thin, it is slipping out of the caliper mount.

Thanks! I'll take a look at it and let u know.

You said AWD 5spd? This sound to me like a drivetrain binding issue. Like the center diff is locked or it's a 4wd and someone bumped it into 4wd while working or the linkage is out of adjustment.

Yeah it's awd 5spd. D/R Tranny. It drives fine but putting it in reverse or making a sharp turn from a stop it just locks up. Also when its in neutral and the ebrake is off you can't push the car, feels like the brake is on.

I'm going to look at it on Tuesday.

Ok. Jack it up and spin the tires to see which one is binding. Either a locked caliper or one of the rear shoes has come loose. My money is on one of the rear shoes. I've had it happen before.

And then there's ways my personal favorite of car not moving when being pushed and in neutral, check the hill holder cable adjustment! It acts like a brakes are locked up because that's what it does, doesn't allow the car to roll back on hills meaning it locks the brakes

Oh yeah! +1

I jacked it up spun the wheels no binding. It ended up being the hill holder cable needed to be adjusted. She's rolling fine now. Thanks for your help everyone, much appreciated!

Hey that's good, glad I could help. I always have to adjust that thing its a pain but it helps when I am teaching somebody to drive a manual, that way I know they won't roll back into somebody/something

Well, that would explain the problem in reverse, but not in forward on sharp left turn. You have another problem. Remove your wheels and check your brakes. If you have a pad worn so thin that it's about to spit out, you're about to trash a caliper. And that may end up being the least of your worries...

Yeah it's awd 5spd. D/R Tranny. It drives fine but putting it in reverse or making a sharp turn from a stop it just locks up. Also when its in neutral and the ebrake is off you can't push the car, feels like the brake is on.

I'm going to look at it on Tuesday.

 

You DO NOT have AWD.  

 

You have selectable, part time 4wd.  

 

My guess is that you are trying to drive on pavement with the 4wd engaged, and you have mismatching tires so the drivetrain binds from the wheels trying to go different distances per rotation.  Same problem with turning.

 

Push the lever down until you get to 2wd mode.  Use the 4WD only on slippery surface like sand, mud, and snow.  NEVER ON PAVEMENT.

I will second mis-matched tires as well. My gl had similar symptoms, and all it was was the hill holder and also the parking brake hold up one caliper. The parking brakes are on the front so this could explain turning left