When the temp drops below 28 degrees , my manual transmission in my Plymouth Laser 1992 (same as Eclipse) will refuse to shift into reverse. It just feels sloggy , stuck ( other gears work fine) . Now if the sun is out and the cabin itself warms up, the transmission will shift in reverse if the outside is below 28 degrees which seems to tell me the problem is in the linkage with the actual hand stick. Can this be repaired? When I described this to my mechanic , he said you have to replace the transmissin. After 33 years , can't this be a lubrication issue ( I changed the tranny fluid with synthetic which helped a little, used to stick below 32 degrees).
Anytime it becomes difficult to shift into any gear when there’s a temperature change, the clutch master cylinder becomes suspect.
Tester
+1
Clutch fluid (which is usually just Dot 3 brake fluid) is hygroscopic - meaning it absorbs water. This should be flushed out every now and then with fresh fluid. What is possibly happening is some water has been absorbed and when too cold it freezes.
As mentioned, it could be in the hydraulics, I would at least bleed the system, possible air in the system, or as mentioned just go ahead and flush it to see if that helps, next will be to check the shift cable(s), shifter and linkage for corrosion and or worn bushings, etc… Not going into reverse can be caused by multiple things, including the master and or slave cylinder(s) not depressing the throwout bearing fully, or even worn disc, pressure plate and or flywheel…
Does it go into reverse OK with the engine off, but not OK with it running?? If you start it while in reverse does it try to move the car on flat ground like in a garage??
You can also remove the shift cable from the shift lever (at the trans) to see if you can manually shift the transmission into reverse, if so then look at your shift cable(s), shifter and linkage, if not then start checking to see if the slave has full movement when the clutch pedal is fully depressed… It will basically be a process of elimination to find the cause of the issue…
I hate to ask, but is the brake fluid low in the clutch master cylinder??? Is the floor mat etc under the clutch pedal keeping it from fully going all the way to the floor/stop??