My Dad gave me my grandpa's 76 ford maverick and I am going to attempt to fix it my husband don't do cars so if you could help it would be great. Anyways I got it running now but it won't shift it is stuck in reverse what should I do? :confused: thanks, Kathi
First thing you'll have to do is determine whether the lever on the side of the transmission is moving when you move the shifter. If it is not moving, there's most likely a problem in the linkage between the column and the transmission. If it is moving, and it wont come out of park--time to take the oil pan off of the transmission
Transmission Problems Is it a std. or auto trans? Either way I would disconnect the shift rod(rods) from it and try and move the trans lever by hand. If the lever(levers) move freely then there is another problem somewhere else. On the three speed std. shift cars, sometimes the two levers on the bottom of the steering column can become out of synch. In nuetral position both should be horizontal to each other, have seen one or the other that has dropped down and this will lock the trans in one gear. One lever operates 1st and reverse and the other 2nd and third gear. Worn parts are usually the culprit on this, or someone or something has knocked one of the levers on the trans into gear(rocks, curbs or various species of animals). Just disconnect rods and put trans in nuetral by hand and reconnect the rods. On the C4 automatic, use same procedure, except it will have only one rod hooked to the trans. When disconnected you should be able to move the trans lever easily, you should feel a click as it goes into each position. If it is moving freely and still stuck in reverse then there is a stuck valve in the valve body and the pan must come off and valve body removed. Several other internal problems could also be involved too. I assume though that you have the three speed because you should not be able to start the engine in reverse with the auto trans. Good luck with it anyway. Forgot to mention you should drain the grease/fluid out of the trans and check for water and or metal, can tell alot about it's condition this way too, replace with new if problem is corrected.
