What happen when I put the car into reverse while moving forward slowly (Manual Trans.)?

Question

Earlier today I was moving forward really slowly... like about 2-5 mph or less, when I put the car into reverse, I heard a REALLY loud grinding sound, (still pressing clutch and brake) then the car stopped (let go of the clutch and brake) and went into reverse. It works fine, but should I be worried about this, and what happened to my car? It's an old car, like 1991 model

Answer 1

You basically GROUND the reverse gears.

Like so many thing on a car, the wear builds up.  So you might have gotten away without the tranny completely failing, but you do that enough and you will not have a reverse.

good luck...

Answer 2

should be ok.  dont make a habit of it.  cars cant go forward and backwards at the same time.

Answer 3

Shouldn't be a problem just don't make a habit of doing this.

Answer 4

that is very bad for the car dont do that again

Answer 5

That is real hard on the clutch assembly. The friction plates are 17 years old and likely won't take much of that type of abuse.

Be sure you are fully stopped before placing the shift lever into reverse.

Answer 6

sounds like you never put it fully into gear and that's why you heard the crunch, then when the clutch went down the reverse gear kicked in. You wont have done it any damage, but don't do it too often