No reverse on an automatic

[lulu64uk]

Hi I own a 1989 mini mayfair drove it to work yesterday and it didn't feel as tho it was changing up through the gears when I got to work could not get reverse hubby assumed it must be a lincage problem as it :)would not go into reverse and thought as it would not change gear when driving the box was only selecting first or second but after posting the problem on the basingstoke mini club they think it could be alot worse if anyone could help or give hubby the advice he needs It would be greatly appreciated

regards
lulu

[Admin/Founder 2]

Hi Lulu
welcome to the register Our Mini Boris lost reverse just before we got the Transmission Rebuilt But Following a Rebuild His transmission is now in Rude Health

Without seeing your Mini its hard to say what could be causing it?
It could be a number of things from faulty or perished valve seals in the valve body or your reverse clutch pack have failed

If the car is selecting forward drive i cant see it being selector cable or linkage problems as you have to pass through "R" to get to forward gears.

If your hubby is handy with the spanners and can remove the engine from the car it may be better either getting a secondhand Automatic engine/transmission unit but that may have problems in store for the future too

A reconditioned/rebuilt transmission thats rebuilt as new should cost you £500ish if your hubby can swop them over or around £800-£1000 to supply and fit

Try Mra Minis on here or contact him via his site
www.mra-minis.co.uk

What he doesn't know about the AP Automatic isn't worth knowing ;D

Hope you get it sorted out very soon

Huggz
Jodie

[lulu64uk]

Thanks not sounding very good I did forget to mention that this problem happened about a month ago I let hubby know he tried got straight in the car and didnt have any problems at all it whent straight into reverse gear and ok untill friday Idont know wether this information will shed any more light on the subject.

Regards
lulu

[Admin/Founder 2]

Hiya
if the car selects the gear but you have to play around with the position of the lever a little to get it to do so it may just be the cable adjustment?

The weather we've all had recently doesn't help the Automatic gearbox

It may be worth trying an Oil Change?
I'm not promising but sometimes Ive seen others having various problems with their Automatic Transmission in their Minis and sometimes changing the Oil can Improve things

its always worth a try
though i know its tempting don't use engine flush
It can remain in the system and cause all sorts of problems

If your unsure of the Oil,s age and condition get two lots of oil,One cheap budget 20w50 mineral oil refill with that and take the car for a short run to get the engine up to temperature and to circulate the oil

Then Drain that Oil hopefully it will bring other nasties left in the oil out with it

Then refill a second time with the second lot of Oil though make sure the second lot is a good quality 20w50 mineral oil

As i said may not solve the problem but is worth a go and if nothing else fresh oil will protect the transmissions internal components against further wear or Damage

If all else fails and you need to get the transmission rebuilt chances are you will never have problems with a rebuilt unit so long as you take care of it

you can never determine how a transmission has been looked after before you owned the car,at least once it has been sorted out you can make sure its treated well in the future

Always Change your Oil at least every 3000 miles and thats bare minimum!

I change mine between every 1500-2000 ,the more you change it the longer your engine and transmission will last

Huggz
Jodie

[lulu64uk]

Many thanks for the advice will give it a go

Regards

lulu

[lulu64uk]

No joy
took car for a spin changed gear from first to second would't go into 3rd though and no reverse so think gearbox is knackered.

Regards

Steve

[mra-minis]

Have you checked the cable position and adjustment ? It has to be just right
Other than that does the oil hold a lot of debris if so then it is probably a fault that has occured and is now causing this latest fault.........