Engaging reverse

[booster]

My monaro seems to have trouble getting into reverse. It misses everytime just about and makes that nasty whining/grating sound. Anybody else had this problem? Oh, yeah and a lot of whining noise seems to be there in second gear.....anybody?

[moosepig]

Yeah it's a pig sometimes, isn't it? Yours sounds a lot worse than mine though regarding selecting reverse. Mine misses about 1 time in 4 probably. The other day when it was very cold it wouldn't go in at all, until I selected first and nudged the car along a bit, then it was fine.

No problems with excessive whining (other than from passengers - heh heh! ) though 1st and 2nd seem a little noisier than the other forward gears - or maybe road noise drowns it out in 3rd and above.

[A57 HSV]

In my first HSV (VT) which I got new in 2000,it was really hard to select first & reverse gear. This is common to the Tremec box, which is very agricultural but able to handle huge torque figures. I think the linkage that HSV used didn't help much either, maybe the newer Monaros have improved links. On the advice of Mark (now at LSV)I changed the oil to Dextron 3(automatic). I used Castrol, but i'll do a bit more brand research in the future. This does improve things,but I think the Monaros probably have this oil fitted from new anyway.
All Tremec boxes improve with mileage, but you mustn't compare them with other boxes, they will never be a sweet shifting box! My current HSV (VX) has now done 32000 miles & the box is much better at selecting first,but reverse can still be stubborn. Just something you learn to live with, try selecting another gear prior to selecting reverse.

[alfienoakes]

Mine was really bad when new, but its loosened up noticably now. Just put some more miles on it !

[comm_SS_V8]

Similar problems with my VT II. 1st & Reverse are a real pain, especially when the gearbox is cold. I've now got in to the habbit of selecting 3rd & 4th before attempting to select either 1st or reverse.

On the subject of oils, my extensive research has given me the following options (Others may exist):

Gearbox
=======
The book states any good quality oil meeting Dexron III (80w) specifications:

* Castrol Transmax Z
* Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF
* Red Line D4 ATF Gear Oil
* GM Synchromesh Transmission Fluid (Part#: GM-12345349) [Unsure of UK stockitsts]
* Morris Liquimatic Super ATF

I haven't tried any of these yet, but from what I've read, the best thing to use is this "GM Synchromesh". The guys in the USA love it and claim it's solved all sorts of gear selection/meshing problems. I have not yet found any UK stockists though If anyone knows of any, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know.

I'm going to try the "Castrol Transmax Z" as an alternative and see what happens. I'll post the results in a couple of weeks.

[uk hsv]

try putting your foot on the brake when selecting reverse as a test to see if the lockout switch is working OK..............

[A57 HSV]

Thanks for the oil info.COMM SS V8. I'm due to change my gearbox & rear diff. oil this month.Was going to use Morris Lubricants for both.After hearing what you said about the GM Synchromesh oil, I phoned Bauer-Millett(GM USA DEALER). Good news, they can get this oil in a couple days. The parts man I spoke to is going to call me back with more info. as he didn't know what quantity it came in. The price showing was £9.80 + VAT so we guessed it would be per 1 litre.
Will post all the details tomorrow.

[sjc]

Never had a problem with any of this,only the "all do that rattle" from the gear lever. Do the Monaros still have the rattle?

[HSVGTScoupe]

My GTS Coupe had a shudder at about 2500 rpm, esp noticed when in 5th or 6th. This resulted in a gearbox change under warranty in Oz. Funny thing was that this 2nd box was stiff as all hell & after about 2000 kays, it became impossible to select reverse on most occasions (I had to stop the engine then it would find reverse!). Got a new box again and had done about 10,000 kays on it to date without any of the above problems. The only box related issue I had since was an occasional spurt of oil from the breather which I understand is mainly due to them overfilling and me getting some expansion in the oil. This was fine except for the one time a spurt of oil hit the exhaust after a hi-rev, hard change-down, and I shit myself when I saw plumes of smoke in the rear view mirror. The bloke I was dragging must of had a shit chuckle to himself thinkin I'd blown my donk or sumfin! Just from convo's with HSV service managers in Oz, it seems they do have a lot of shudder & noise related complaints with all current V8 manuals.