hey everyone (gurus?),

i've had my 1981 hiace for 2 years and initially it made terrible grinding noises from time to time when putting it into reverse, but now it barely goes in at all. it's getting really stressful, especially with 3 point turns. it helps a bit to put it into 2nd and then quickly into reverse but it's quickly failing and getting worse.

problem is i'm trying to sell it now and it's really been acting up lately. i don't want to drop the gear box but would appreciate if anyone knows ANYTHING that will help ease this problem. it scares the buyers.

please help if you can. thank you so much in advance.

karen

Hmm... sounds perhaps lack of syncro mechanism or better to say those are in the end of their road.

I was told by a owner of LJ70 that you can try to change oils in gearbox to automatic gearbox oils (ATF). It should somehow help the gears to engage because the viscosity is different than normal ones.
At least you can't loose much trying with that concerning the price of the oil.

Your gearbox is rooted!

Time to get another one. If you don't want to spend much money on it, I'd go to a wrecker and get a second-hand one.

I don't know the exact cause, but I had the same issue with my Truck. You know the easy fix is to put it into 2nd before putting it into reverse. If 2nd does not work, try any other gear. You want to stop the transmission gears from spinning. If it still grinds after the 2nd gear trick, then I bet your clutch is dragging.