Vehicle Won't Move in Reverse

[grandta13]

I have a 3.1L '95 Century with an 4T60-E 4-speed transmission. Starting about a week ago, the reverse gear became unusable. Park and all forward gears, including overdrive, seem to work without issues.
If I attempt to shift into Reverse, the vehicle won't move; it won't even roll if I push it. If I shift from Reverse to Neutral, the vehicle rolls backward a small amount before shifting into neutral.

I don't have the facilities to do any significant transmission repair myself, and I'm trying to determine whether this issue is worth getting corrected.

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

Sounds like you need to see if the shift alignment as changed, which can happen with age as bushings wear out. Start by starting the engine of the car, VERY SLOWLY start shifting gears, and see if you hear/feel when the engine and transmission engage. then release off the brake pedal to see what gear its in.

[grandta13]

Upon further inspection, I've noticed that it will move in reverse for a moment when shifting between the Neutral position and the Reverse position. The forward gear engages exactly when I would expect it to.
When I shift between Reverse and Park the only response I notice is the engine revving for a moment. The amount that I can roll the vehicle while the shifter is in Park and Reverse are the same.
When I shift between Reverse and Neutral, it acts as though I have just quickly shifted into or out of park, skipping over Reverse as quickly as possible.
I attempted to slowly move the gear shift to see if it possible shift into reverse in between the 'notches', however there was no change; I could not get the transmission to stay in reverse regardless of the exact position of the shifter.

[CorvairGeek]

This might be a long shot, but have you been able to observe the power train while the transmission selector is moved? The reason I ask, is that I am wondering if you could have a broken motor mount (actually one of the two on the transmission end), allowing the power train to move excessively past reverse? However, without going and looking, I don't recall which direction it moves in reverse vs a forward gear.

[Keiths1976]

Just for giggles everyone has good points and tips , how is the actual transmission fluid on a flat surface at idle for 15 minutes? . Trying to recall but isn?t reverse gear pressure at the highest than forward gears . I would drop the pan and change filter and add new fluid see how t behaves . Clogged filter would drop the fluid pressure . I would do simple stuff first look inside the pan when it?s down if you find internals then you have the answer u needed . I think u said you don?t have anywhere to do this . If your smart to choose a good spot and clean enough can be done anywhere even a Walmart parking lot . Wix from rock auto was 12-15 bucks maybe less now fluid u can get anywhere 50 bucks roughly see what u find out in the pan . I have a 95 century 3.1 4t60-e as well with 190k on her now never had that issue so sounds to me a clog or mechanical issue hope it helps Keith

[Duke George V]

I had a similar issue a number of years ago on my '96. The park pawl was sticky. If I put the shifter in park, then into reverse, it would engage reverse but the pawl would be stuck, so the car wouldn't move even when put in drive. If I put the shifter in neutral then rocked the car back and forth, the pawl would pop free, and the car would move again. The fix I performed was replacing the transmission.