I recently purchased a 1985 Mustang LX with a 3.8L engine. I've noticed that sometimes when I shift into reverse or drive I have to rev the car a bit before it actually starts moving. Then, yesterday, it stopped going in reverse completely. It's like the car is in neutral. When I shift it into neutral, it goes foward. It also seems like it wants to move forward when I first turn the car on and when I put it back into park. I'm pretty sure that this is going to result in having to purchase a new transmission. I was just wondering if anybody knows what might have caused something like this and if there is anything that I can to do to fix it that might be less expensive than replacing the transmission.

 

Check your transmission fluid level. It is sometimes the most common transmission problems. Make sure the car is running when yoiu do as it needs to be pressurized to obtain a proper level reading. Otherwise find a tranny guy you trust and ask him.

 

Yea, I checked that first. It was b-o-n-e dry.I filled the fluid up about 45 minutes before the reverse gear stopped working. And yes, it was the correct type of fluid. Somebody told me that they had a transmission problem one time that were pretty bad and was told to put a bit of brake fluid in with the transmission fluid. He said that it worked for his car and he hasn't had any problems since. However, I'm not sure that that's a good idea and I'm not sure if there's any validity to that "method" of repair..