i have a 99 prelude and it will not go into reverse i tryed to force it in but it starts to grind and if i really put a lot of pressure on it it will go in enough to get the car to move back but it will not stay in gear. all other gears work fine

 

there are no synchros for reverse in honda transmissions. my b16 tranny grinds real bad too when its cold out if u try to put it in reverse.
try changing your tranny fluid to gm synchromesh fluid.

give us some more info to work with. and we might be able to help u more.
i.e. - how many miles are on the tranny?
I assume that it is a 5 spd and not an auto?
Base or SH?
does it grind only when its cold out?
does it grind after its warmed up?
Some shifters have counter weights on them which sometimes need to be adjusted, however I dont know if preludes have these, someone else would have to field that issue.

worst case senario you will ahve to get your tranny rebuilt or a new reverse gear.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1004962

run a search for "reverse", recent and archived.

 

the tranny is 5 speed and has 80,000 miles
it is just a baseline prelude
it has never done this befrore but ever since last nite it just does not want to go in reverse

 

Make sure you're completely stopped (and not inching forward).

It helps if you put it in a forward gear first before putting it into reverse.

When I used to drive automatics, it was fun, doing 3 point turns take like 2 seconds since you can jam the gears in while it's rolling the wrong way. Do it in a manual and you get this very unpleasant grind as a result.

Oh letting go and depressing the clutch again too.

 

bent shift forks

 

If he keeps forcing it into reverse he'll bend the 5th/reverse fork.

Our trannies are finnicky, even when they're brand new. Gets worse when its cold, thats probably why the problem just started.

Never force it into gear - try shifting from 1st to reverse and back again until it goes in smoothly. Be patient.

As a general rule, if you have trouble getting the car into a certain gear, double clutching can help. Put it in neutral, release the clutch. Then engage the clutch and try the gear again.

 

Try letting go of the clutch very very slowly while you are putting the reverse in gear. My car did the same thing and when I took it to honda, he did it that way and it grinded a little but it went into gear afterwards. After that, service your tranny.

 

Check ur clutch fluid!!! i had the same problem as u, put in more clutch fluid and now it works perfectly

 

i have tryed the trick when you let the clutch out slowly and try putting it in gear but it just grinds when i do that. i have also checked the clutch fluid and it is fine

 

Its your mater clutch cylinder. I have a 98 Lude w/ around 80k miles and the same thing just happened to me. It'll cost you about $300 to fix.

 

master*

 

I have no problem putting it in any other gears tho. if it is the mater clutch cylinder shouldent i have problems with the other gears too?

 

Mine started having problems with reverse, not any other gear, then as it got worse the other gears had problems too.

 

U serious about puttin more cutch fluid. How do you know if the clutch fluid is low or empty. Becuz i never bother my prelude's reverse gear for awhile cuz i gave up on that gay prelude. I'm just waiting to save some extra cash and just buy a used tranny and replace it. though you said pouring it, where does it go..i dont know which hole to pour more fluid in it? thanks

 

I can now reverse if i hold the shifter in reverse and dont reverse fast but if i reverse to fast it will pop out and grind.

 

So how did you made it back to in reverse?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Prelude951 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> though you said pouring it, where does it go..i dont know which hole to pour more fluid in it? thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

its the little cup next to the brake fluid.......its all the way in the back and to the right (the small one) just unscrew the cap and put a little bit more in.

 

usually means new tranny or rebuild and new clutch

 

Next to the brake fluid?? Is it the one on the clutch master cylin? I'm confused.?

 

ya its the little one directly to the right of the brake fluid

 

you mean by the brake fluid? aint that the cap fluid for the clutch mast cylin?

 

dude i cant believe you paid $300 for a clutch master cylinder
thats rediculous.....

my old 93 vtec did this one day.....and i drove w/o reverse for about a month, until one day i got my ***** together.....i sat in my driveway (uphill), with the engine off, and put it to where it would go to get in reverse, and literally exerted all the force i possibly could on it, it made a wierd gear sound and moved in some, i started the car and rolled down the hill, got in the road and let the clutch out, it popped out right away, then i drove up and down the street no more than 50 ft each way just doing reverse and then forward for like 10 mins....each time it got easier, then it was back to normal, never gave me a problem again.....dont ask me how i didnt bend a fork, and dont ask me why it worked, but it did.....whatever.....

 

Ha how can you possibly get it in reverse gear? and the other hand, who says who's already bought a clutch master cyl? Forcin the clutch into reverse gear can be a wrong idea but watever man i dont really know whats the problem with my reverse gear still. I guess i have no choice and try your ways and see if it works.

By the way can you explain that again, i didnt understand how you did it exactly.. So you forced it into gear while you were uphill??

 

ludebehavior said he paid honda like $300 for a new master cyl.....not you

anyway.....i was sitting in my car parked in the driveway, which is uphill....the force of gravity aided my pushing on the shifter toward reverse, and it eventually went in some.....then i started it up, went down into the street and drove back and forth each time it got more and more like stock until it worked just like normal......

edit: also, my friends 99 SH did this same thing and he got it repaired by honda for free, i forget if it was warranty or not, you should call them....