shifter won't stay in reverse

I have to litteraly hold the shifter in reverse while backing up and to make it worse I have to REALLY hold it in with force! if I don't keep pressure on it while backing up it slips out of gear and grinds. it's caused more than a few embarassing moments I'm crowded parking lots.
every other gear works completely fine...... it's only reverse that's screwed up...

can anyone explain to me what the hell is going on???

There is probably something wrong inside the transmission with the reverse shift fork or synchro. It could also be a problem with the shifter itself. Is it a stock shifter?

it's the stock shifter but I wouldn't think that it's the problem because it shifts fine through the other gears

Syncros...

Does reverse have a synchro? I didn't think so.

Couldn't this be a blocker ring issue?

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Originally Posted by 35th-ANV-SS

Does reverse have a synchro? I didn't think so.

Couldn't this be a blocker ring issue?

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:dunno: I thought reverse shared other gears too that's why I thought synchro.. Usually if it won't stay in gear it's a synchro problem. But I'm no expert..

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Originally Posted by Smittro

:dunno: I thought reverse shared other gears too that's why I thought synchro.. Usually if it won't stay in gear it's a synchro problem. But I'm no expert..

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I agree with you on it being a synchro problem for all other gears if it pops out of gear...BUT I'm pretty sure reverse has NO synchro.

I mean the car is idle when you put it in reverse, why would there be a need for one?

reverse does have a synchro. If it didn't you would have to wait for a few seconds after pushing the clutch pedal for the input gear and counter shaft to stop spinning before trying to shift into reverse.

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Originally Posted by GM Service manual

Manual transmissions are identified by the number of forward gears and the measured distance between the centerline of the output shaft and the counter gear. The 6-speed, 85 mm manual transmission, used in the Camaro/Firebird, incorporates the following features:
• An aluminum case
• Fully synchronized gears with an enhanced synchronizer cone arrangement:
- Triple-cone: FIRST, SECOND
- Double-cone: THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH
- Single-cone: REVERSE
• An internal shift rail mechanism
• Tapered roller bearing supporting the mainshaft and countershaft
• Caged roller bearings under all speed gears
• Solenoid inhibit of SECOND and THIRD gears
• Solenoid inhibit of REVERSE gear during predefined forward motion

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cutlass

reverse does have a synchro. If it didn't you would have to wait for a few seconds after pushing the clutch pedal for the input gear and counter shaft to stop spinning before trying to shift into reverse.

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I thought they did but again, I really was'nt sure. Double clutching is a Pita sometimes such as in tractor/tri-axle transmissions. Some of them such as Mach use a trans break installed between the throw-out and clutch release, to slow or stop the input shaft. but it's used primarily for the forwards gears because the trany has no synchros @ all..

I remember reading it on tech once and that also most manual transmissions didn't use one for reverse on Wikipedia :lol:. Not being sure about it I did some more research and did find that the T56 did indeed have one. Thanks for the info Cutlass.