1988 Honda Civic my car will not engage into gear

1988 HONDA CIVIC
120 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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AUSTINGLASS
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My 1988 honda civic with an 4cyl automatic transmission is having some problems engaging into gear. i am able to send any amount of pics on request. the car runs fine but once u move the shifting lever into either reverse or D4 the car will not move at all. some how the shifter is dis-engaged from the transmission. i opened as much of the transmiission up as i could and could only really see the wire coming from the lever inside going into the transission, i just reall want to know how to fix this, thanks u so much
Jun 27, 2008 at 10:29 PM
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KHLOW2008
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Hi austinglass,

The end of the cable is secured by a 10 mm hex bolt with lock tabs. You should be able to see it when you remove the torque converter cover.

After you remove the shift cable cover, DO NOT pull at cable, any force will cause the cable to bend and you would have difficulty shifting later on.

Are you sure it is the linkage at the trans? Are you able to shift to Park? What about other gear shift positions, do they work?
Jun 28, 2008 at 9:41 AM
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BERGERR
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I have a similiar problem wit my 91 CRX automatic (108K). It is very hard to shift in & out of reverse. Once past R, D2-D3-D is very smooth. This occurs whether te engine is running or not. I'd like to diagnose the problem to determine if it is worth fixing. Love this gas saver, but don't want to spend $2K on a rebulit tranny.

Thanks for any thoughts
Jul 17, 2008 at 1:40 PM
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KHLOW2008
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Hi bergerr,

It should be the shifter cable that needs attention.
Jul 17, 2008 at 2:42 PM