I run a 4 speed saginaw in my street stock and last time I raced I lost the reverse linkage. No sign of a struggle, just gone. So anyway I put the car on my lift and noticed I may have a bigger problem. With the engine running and the transmission in neutral the back tires spin in reverse. You can hold them to keep from spinning though. I put the transmission in reverse and it works as it should. My guess is that the idler gear isn't completely disengaging from the countershaft and/or output shaft. It's not grinding though. I'm not racing the car until I'm sure my trans isn't going to ker-plode on me. Is there anything I can check with the trans in the car or should I just pull it out and dig in?
This is just internal drag through the unit. If it was really in reverse, you would not be able to hold the rear tires by hand (unless the clutch was slipping...in that case you would be able to hold it when in reverse as well) The input shaft is spinning with the clutch pedal out in neutral. The input shaft is meshed with the counter gear. If the end-play is a little tight on the reverse gear it doesn't take much to spin the output in reverse and thus your wheels spinning. But as you discovered, you can overcome the slight drag by holding them with your hands. I would drain the lube and look at it. If the gear lube looks clean with no debris floating it it, refill and fix your linkage then go racin'
You sure it's both tires spinning in reverse? or just one? Internal drag sure, but reverse rotation without the reverse idler gear engaged onto the 1-2 slider there's no way the out put would rotate in the reverse.
Being a stock car the rear axle is likely locked (spool) so if one is spinning, I would ***ume they both are. Please explain how he is able to stop the rear tires from turning if reverse is engaged?
Lost linkage how/where? External link from shifter or internally? Perhaps you lost the dented ball and spring and the reverse idler lever and the idler is coming in contact just enough with slider to make this condition happen. If this is the cause you may have worn down or damaged both reverse idle and reverse on the counter shaft. More info is need as Bad Bananas has indicated.
Bad Bannana you called it, I run a mini spool so both tires spin all the time (until something expensive breaks). I have lost the external linkage that attaches to the shift fork from the shifter. I suspect I'll have to keep a better eye out for loosening bolts now that I'm running solid engine mounts (still poly trans mount). I believe I still have the detent ball by some miracle of fate because when I move the lever by hand there's a positive click feel going in or out of reverse. I'll also mention more of this transmission's history. I rebuilt the trans at school and ran the transmission last year, the only issue I've had being the summit shifter is...picky to find the right gate. Everything is still new though, so I don't expect all the parts to get along like old friends yet. I'll drain the oil and tell what I find this weekend. Hopefully tomorrow. Oh yea, and thanks for the replies. If I know any sites that know about Saginaws it's probably this one.
You should always have a spare ready to go. We raced using Chevy 3-speed truck boxes. Cheap at the 'yard and stronger than the car box. I ran 2nd gear and selected the rear end ratio to get the desired overall ratio. Bob
Yea, I need spares of everything, but I'm just a beginner that races a few times a year so I'm not racing every week as it is. I REALLY need decent tires, that's just killing me in the corners. We use 3rd gear currently although the rest of my cl*** runs 3rd on their 3 speeds for that 1:1.
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