1999 360 F1. 12,000 miles. With my foot on the brake pedal and the car in neutral, pulling the reverse lever gently and briefly backwards (as normally would be required) produces no audible and no change to reverse gear. Pulling the lever back gently and holding in the posterior most position produces the transmission light to come on. Again, no change to reverse gear. Although the car is having issues engaging reverse from neutral, from 1st gear it engages reverse with no problems. It's happened a lot more frequently now. Yesterday it occurred 2x, today it occurred 5x. Prior to this, it had never happened. Anybody have any ideas or experience with this?
My guess is the clutch is shot. The dealer can tell you if it is and they can also play around with the parameters to get some more life out of it.......
I checked the transmission fluid, and it seems good. Could it not be a solenoid issue? Would a burnt clutch not affect engaging the other gears?
Yes. I'm going to look into it a little more closely today. Anyone else out there with ideas? I've got a sneaky suspicion that the problem is not with the clutch.
Sounds exactly like the problem I had with my 360 Spider at 15000 miles. Was a bad reverse switch and it needed a new throwout bearing which apparently has been a problem. It was replaced with an improved design. The clutch per se was fine, less than 50% worn but was also replaced since it was exposed. All was done under warranty.
By the way, it gets worse so reverse is completely gone. Had to have it pushed out of my garage and flat bedded to the dealer, again all under warranty. I would not waste any time getting it to the dealer.
All very helpful responses, thank you. LouB, A local mechanic took a look yesterday and immediately said that the physical reverse box console needed to be replaced. Given that it would cost about $3,500 USD for parts and service, I'll take your advice and have a licensed F-car mechanic have a peak and get a second opinion. porter.
Newest update: Car does not engage any gear now. When I start it, the indicator changes to whatever gear selected (1st or R), but gas does nothing but rev the car. The fellows who suspected a clutch may have been correct. What kind of costs are associated with replacement of the clutch? Good times, good times. Makes me think I should have bought a new Tour de France blue 360, manual transmission.