Just got finished swapping out a transmission and the mechanic cant figure out why when the shifter is in neutral, the trans is in reverse. If the shifter is in 2nd, the trans feels like 1st. And we cant get the shifter into reverse.

 

was the trans taken apart at one point? if so one of the synchro sleeves could be upside down. or the shift shafts could be bent. the detents could be missing or the detent bolt washer is missing. alot of things could cause this. check those items out first

 

sorry for the useless post but wow that is a crazy problem. don't really see how it could be a linkage problem its gotta be something internal to do with the shift shafts.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/transmission-drivetrain-127/b-series-transmission-teardown-rebuild-tutorial-2443459/
http://www.xm-parts.com/articles/hgear/gear.htm

just thought that maybe these links would help you if you decide to split the case to have a look inside.

 

Thanks for the input man. Yeah, I posted this last night in the 92-00 section also. Was in a big bind. We had a transmission guy stop by and we got the front tires off the ground and started it. Its definitely something internal and was grinding gears. Hes taking it to his work and opening my old and new one up and seeing what he can do. The general consensus is that it was put back together wrong.

Since I didnt see a post like this before from searching Ill link to that thread. Maybe it will save someone else a couple hours of "WTF?!" lol

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/transmission-reverse-when-shifter-neutral-2492133/