NorthWet Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I think I finally sent the 4EAT in my wife's 90 Legacy to its final reward. Driving on icy gravel road, I had it in 2-Manual trying to make its already sick-and-cranky tranny behave. After reentering the highway, I remembered that a low gear was selected so I tried to put it into "Drive" and release the Manual button at the same time... instead, I depressed the reverse-lockout button and shoved the selector too far and into "Reverse". I realized my mistake, but a fraction of a second too late. So, now the tranny is "stuck" in first (which it has never before gone into for me) and an overruning clutch is also enabled. (No engine braking, car gets power to the ground when revved to proper RPM.) Can't decide what I broke (brake band seems obvious choice, but stuck in first indicates something else). Not that it really matters, as easier to swap than to fix in situ. Easy, though, is a relative term as I need to find a paved surface, and I sure wish that there wasn't snow and ice on the ground and subfreezing weather for the last week and into the near future. Mama's not happy... ...nobody's happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 That sucks....but you're right....it's probably better to just replace the tranny then try and repair it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 That sucks... Yeah, sort of instant kharma. But at least I know who screwed it up and how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 What happened with the engine, did it stall?? Happened to me once driving in an old pickup with this shifter on the steering wheel (not used to it in europe) and the indicator in the dash was not working so wanted to get back from 2rd to D and missed a click or 2 and ended up in R speed was about 10 m/h. The rear wheels locked-up and then the engine tried to run the other way around (didnt work). Put it into P and started and ran without problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I've had a somewhat similar experience where I accidently moved the selector into reverse. However it was at very low speeds and for a fraction of a second......so I don't think anything really happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Looks like Ed needs to keep an eye out for early Legacy auto trannies at PAP Lynnwood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 i've heard of folks doing this before without damage. would they plan some kind of fail-safe to save the transmission for mistakes like this? an auto tranny stuck in 1st sounds bad for sure. do you mean the shifter is physically stuck? does it move at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I cant wait to hear what actually happened when you did this, several times i nudged my Hondas shifter into reverse - at low speeds it just stalls and the only time i did it at highway speed i got it back into drive before any explosions occured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 this won't help but a lot of us have done that. In the late 60s I had a 442 Olds I really could not afford gas for. We used to shift it into neutral on hills and I think everybody who drove it hit reverse a time or two. The engine would lock up and the car would go into a spin. As soon as you calmed down you could hold it to the floor and after a few churns it would start up and motor on. Still ran fine when sold a few years later. Sorry to hear about your tranny. by the way I've also seen two manuals killed by catching reverse. My girl friend blew gears in the road from my Volvo and my friend Rick killed his 66 Chevy. His locked up and tore the engine off the mounts so he took the plates and left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 I'm surprised it went in to reverse, usually it wont (but there is always a first time). If you destroyed revers, you also lost second gear. Congrats on being the first to do this. Replace the torque converter too since there wil be a lot of metal in there also. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 One of the things I've always planned on trying in a car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailhard Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 I did it in a 74 ford country squire wagon with a 400 4 bbl. I was going about 50 on a side road at about 1 am in the winter fog, packed with partying friends, we went through an intersection that was well lit, then in the shadow ahead I suddenly saw 2 cars all helter skelter in both lanes with no lights on whatsoever that had been in an accident, with like 6 dazed kids standing around in the street. I stomped on the brakes, realized it was much too late, so I put it in neutral, GUNNED the motor up and popped it into reverse. It started spinning the tires backwards and I lost momentum just in time to hit one of the cars open door and pop it shut. Then the tires really bit and I went flying backwards about 40 mph back to the intersection and stopped. No one was hurt and I beat that car for another 6 months, although eventually the motor/tranny mount(s) broke and the motor slumped down about 4 inches on one side, and the head gaskets went so when I shut the motor off, it would blow steam out the block. Oh to be young again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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