89 loyale wagon reverse doesn't work

[idosubaru]

got a lead on a 89 wagon (edited - not a loyale), non-turbo, 4WD for a friend of mine. reverse does not work. does that mean the trans is hosed? there's nothing simple that would be right? manual trans, AWD.

 

also - i have a PTWD non turbo trans from an XT, that should be a direct swap right? both are non-turbo.

 

if reverse doesn't work, but everything else does, is there any danger in trying to drive it 150 miles to my house?

[Gloyale]

got a lead on a 89 loyale wagon, non-turbo, 4WD for a friend of mine. reverse does not work. does that mean the trans is hosed? there's nothing simple that would be right? manual trans, AWD.

 

Do you mean it's a Part time 4wd. If it isn't turbo it won't be an AWD. In 89 it wouldn't be a Loyale either. At any rate it could be a big thing or a little one. COuld be that the intrernal linkage is bent, or it could be as easy as a bad/loose shifter linkage.

[idosubaru]

whoops. it's an 89 wagon (not a legacy) 4WD (that's what the owner said, i haven't seen it yet, just pic's and no interior pics), 5 speed:

 

i haven't seen it in person, just pic's. i assume it's PT4WD. i have a PT4WD trans from an XT, are they the same trans?

bad/loose shifter linkage will prevent it from going into other gears fine but not reverse?

like i said, i have a spare PT4WD trans so i'm not that worried about it.

[Gloyale]

whoops. it's an 89 wagon (not a legacy) 4WD (that's what the owner said, i haven't seen it yet, just pic's and no interior pics), 5 speed:

 

i haven't seen it in person, just pic's. i assume it's PT4WD. i have a PT4WD trans from an XT, are they the same trans?

bad/loose shifter linkage will prevent it from going into other gears fine but not reverse?

like i said, i have a spare PT4WD trans so i'm not that worried about it.

 

If it was the linkage, I would think other gears would be hard to get as well. But it could still. The linkage trnasfers the "push" over to the right for 5th and reverse into a rotational movement of the actuator. If the linkage is loose(worn bushing, broken rear mount) it could be just enough to not get reverse.

 

Another option is that the reverse check mechanism (cylinder on the left rear side of trans) has something screwed up in it. This actually seems like the likely candidtate the more I think about it.

 

Yeah the XT trans is a driect swap, as long as it's from a non-turbo. If it's from a turbo you would need to swap the axles and rear diff as well. (i've though about this option actually for gas milage reasons, taller 3.7 gears in the turbo trans)