No Reverse - 1985 VW Rabbit Cabriolet

Is your clutch releasing completely? IF there is a little drag on it, it will make it very difficult to get into reverse (will result in grinding.)

What's it doing? If the shifter won't physically move into the reverse gate I suspect worn bushings and shift arms, might be time for a complete rebuild. If it is grinding and not going in, I would tighten up the clutch cable a little.

good luck

nate

Nothing wrong with your clutch. What you are experiencing is a failure in your shift linkage system, most likely due to deteriorated bushings. You'll need to have them inspected and replaced as needed, with your shift linkages being re-adjusted to specifications post repair.

Take it to a shop. Have them put it on a lift. Have them engage reverse manually under the car. Manually turn one wheel, if the other doesn't turn (in the opposite direction), you have no reverse.

Lost high (4th gear) on my Fox about a year ago. Verified same way. No symptoms leading up to its loss. Dave

thanks for all the suggestions. The failure happened suddenly; however, it had been difficult to find first instead of reverse. Will start there.

Based on that I'd suspect worn shift linkage pieces. You probably need the kit shown here:

here:

Barely able to crawl under the car in the driveway. Found that that a shift linkage piece had popped off. Able to put back and now working again; however, will need to replace.

Replace all of the nylon associated connections. The kit from VW leaves some out of the picture. Did this over 5 years ago. The remaining stuff was available at VW, just not in the package. Had to get separately. Dave