Hi Speed Shift Into Reverse

[Anonymous-0]

I have a habit of shifting into neutral long before a stop sign and coasting in. I have always been afraid, "one of these times I'm gonna hit reverse," but haven't yet after 35 years of driving.

This may be a stupid question, but what would it do to an automatic transmission to be put into reverse at 60 mph with the engine idling?


Thank you,
Glenn F.

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

You never heard the old joke from back in the days before R landed between P and N. Instead it was way off to the right, just to the right of L, and the gal that dropped it into "R for Race".

 

[Bob85355]

I"ve read, but don"t remember where, that the modern day vehicles lock you out of reverse when you"re in forward motion. Don"t know that its true.

Knew a fellow back in the 50"s that claimed to have put his Chrysler product into reverse while going around 70 MPH. If true, it probably gave everybody in the car pucker power.

Bob

 

[MarkB_MI]

During my misspent youth, me and a couple of other guys were riding in a friend's Plymouth. The guy riding shotgun thought it would be funny to put the console shifter in neutral while were doing around 60, but it went on into reverse. All that happened was the engine died. The driver put it back into neutral, restarted the engine and no harm was done. He drove that car for many years afterwards with no sign of tranny problems.

 

[barn E]

Feller I worked for name of Jack would routinely do that with I think 68 Bonneville. Function was to make a U turn almost on a dime on dry road. He would turn real hard, pull into reverse at full throttle. Rear breaks loose and around you go. Another trick with same car was to get behind you at a light and if clear, push you right on through it with your 4 wheels squealing. One time he blew holes in 7 pistons. Forgot how he did that. Since low had lockout, I always expected reverse to be the same. Old Chrysler torqueflites., you could shift into low at 100mph but what happened was you got second. Miss them old jalopies. That Chrysler would wind 110mph in second gear. Four barrel and 383. Tried to blow it up and only broke one lifter. Dave

 

[ericlb]

if you did that it would destroy it and send it right to the tranny shop for a major overhaul why do you shift into nutural ? when you let up of the gas to stop the automatic is in effect in nutural the converter is almost free wheeling and isnt applying but nominal pressure to the drive clutches ect

 

[KIP in MX]

You might be thinking of the story told by Dave Gardner. Funny stuff that was.

 

[old]

Well first off doing that is not legal and if say you got in a wreck and they can prove you did that you would be at fault.
That said if you did hit reverse at 60 99% of the tranny made will not shift into it any how till below 10mph or less. But I still remember when I was a navy driver I was driving a van dodge by the way and I hit reverse some how at around 30mph and it did shift but I shifted it out of reverse very fast so it didn't seem to hurt any thing other then my nerves and layed down black marks

 

[Mel in SW Iowa]

In 1966 I had a 60 Oldsmobile 88 with automatic.
One day, it wouldn't upshift out of low. I called
a local transmission shop, explained my lack of funds, and was told to run it as fast as it would go in low gear and then shift it into R if I wasn't in traffic. He said it would backflush
a bit of dirt or friction material out of the valve body. It took me two or three attempts to build my nerve up to full speed, but it worked just like he said. I drove it another 60,000 miles without any further transmission trouble.
Your results and mileage may vary.

 

[PopinJohn]

Allison transmission used to have a SALES video of a dump truck being pushed off a set of jack stands with the engine at full speed and the auto trans in high.

Most marine transmissions have the same sort of clutch plates etc as an automatic but without a torque converter. Navy specs used to call for a crash test from all ahead forward to all reverse. Usually caused a pile of humans against the bulkheads.

I think any transmission should be left in gear while slowing down for a stop, helps save the brakes.

 

[Anonymous-0]

just think what we would say if we saw young guys doing that kind of thing today. and yes I did some of them 30 years ago.

 

[schmuck]

If it concerns you the logical suggestion would be to quit fiddling with the shifter and leave it in drive like the other 95% of the population does.

 

[Goose]

Years ago, a buddy of mine had a '72 Chevy pickup, 400 big block engine and Turbo 400 transmission.

One night when he'd been drinking and was driving about 70, he and another guy got to arguing whether it would shift into reverse going that fast forward, so he tried it. Blew the transmission all to he!!.

I couldn't resist it. I asked him how much beer he could have bought with what the tranmission cost him.

 

[Roy Suomi]

Back in 1968 , a buddy of mine had a '55 Chevy with a stovebolt 6 and power glide..He accidently hit reverse there at the bottom of the shifter quadrant while attempting to "downshift" the car manually.....The tires squalled and he stalled the engine..Started back up and drove away..

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

Better yet; in 1957 my mother borrowed my '51 Studebaker V-8 with the Stewart Warner automatic and shoved it into park running about 15 mph. I learned that Ford and Studebaker trans parts would interchange. It scattered the transmission in my car over the yard.

 

[oliver power]

That was my experience also; '68 plymouth. Don't remember what engine. Seams like it was a slant six.

 

[IH2444]

Yep Brother Dave

 

[Dean]

Not a good idea, Glenn, and serves no useful purpose.

Modern automotive components are built with little margin unlike designs of old, which would tolerate considerable abuse.

I would strongly advise that you break that habit.

Dean (former design engineer for major US automotive manufacturer)

 

[Anonymous-0]

Many years ago my son reached over and did that on my 79 olds cutlas. It snuffed the engine and squeeled the tires at cruising speed. That car was known as to not have a very strong trans but it lasted as long as I had the car.
Later Bob

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Glenn; leave the shifter in drive.. Even if you don't notice any drive line damage,, that stain remover or new seat covers and carpet can get very expensive..

 

[Mark]

Why do you do that?

 

[LN]

Did it by accident in an older camaro with a powerglide at about 40mph tire squeal ,stalled engine did not seem to hurt anything , did it on purpose several times in a mercury cougar at 60mph but would kick it into nuetral hold gas pedal to floor THEN shove it into reverse rear tires would be going backwards smoke rolling out of fenderwells and going forward at 60mph seemed like the right thing to do when you were 18 (never heard of the trans going out of the cougar even after it was sold)

 

[PJH]

Shifted a '65 Chevy Impala in reverse at around 40 MPH. Brakes went out - no emergency brake. Last ditch effort. Still didn't stop, but slowed enough to make the corner. Didn't seem to do anything noticable to it. 20 yrs old and foolish.

Paul

 

[Anonymous-0]

Any resaon you can't drive like normal people? Why do you insist in putting the tranny in neutral when you stop? The whole idea behind an automatic is put it in drive and do just that.

 

[big fred]

If you really gotta find out, I"d recommend doing it in a rented car.

 

[redtom]

In 80 or so I bought a 69 Nova with a boned out 307 and powerslide. It couldn't burn the tires so my buddy and I took it out and got going about 45 and slammed it in reverse and then went as fast as we could in revers and back to F. About a hundred times. Never wiped the tranny.

 

[Bus Driver]

I think it is not good to shift to neutral as posted. If a manual transmission, the engine braking is lost. If an automatic, the owners manual may caution against such. And the linkage to an automatic will wear much faster since shifting to "D" will be necessary after the stop. I do not see any advantage at all.

 

[Tim in West Pa]

I have a 68 Pontiac Lemans, Pontiac 350, turbo 350 tranny and hurst his and hers shift. I've had it since I was 19,(Im 45 now). One time, I came off a stop sign pretty hard, I had the shifter in low the wrong (hers) side, started banging up thru the gears, right thru drive, past netural into reverse. What a noise, tires were squawking! I very quickly went back to drive. Didn't hurt the old girl, but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

 

[OriginalRWT]

My experience was a 68 plymouth with a 318 and a 904. It was bumped into reverse for about a second. Tires squalled on the concrete highway but it didn't kill it.

I don't remember exactly how long but I would say a few months later it wouldn't back up. The rear band (low-reverse I believe) was broken. That's all that was replaced.

RT

 

[RodinNS]

It'll work real good until you clean house on a drive shaft, axle shaft, U-joint or CV-joint. Then it'll real be expensive.

Rod

 

[fixerupper]

When I was in my mid teens my buddy's mom had a 59 Rambler with the push button automatic. We'd take it to the nearest blacktop where no one could see us, put the tranny in neutral, floor the gas pedal and then push a button at random. We didn't know if we were headed forward or backwards. It had a six cyl so we couldn't make much for black marks on the road but it was good sunday afternoon fun. The tranny never did give problems as long as they owned it. Jim

 

[WantACaseLASomeday]

In the early 60s my Dad and I took his 60 or 61 olds 98 to the dealer for poor shifting and the dealer ran it as fast as it would go in low then shoved it into R - he gave Dad the same story the other poster said, that it somehow backflushed something. Car drove fine afterwards.

 

[kito169]

If this is vehicle is no more than 10 years old it has an electronic controlled transmission. When you let completely off the accelerator, a solenoid automatically lets the transmission go into neutral.