1998 SL-II Reverse not working - HELP!!!

A few months ago my 1998 Saturn SL II reverse gear stopped working. I've read that this seems to be a common problem. Does anyone have any suggestions for a quick fix? I am in California and getting ready to "retire" the car. This is a program were the State will purchase your car that fails the smog test to remove older less efficient cars from the road. The state will not take the car if it doesn't back up 30 feet. I am looking into Lucas Oils Tranny Fix to see if that might work. The car just races when shifted into reverse. All other gears work fine. The car has @ 130,000 miles on it. All I need is for the tranny to engage in reverse for 30 seconds. Anybody got any ideas?

There is a few options....You can do Wolfmans reverse slam cure....Tighten the Input shaft nut to 111ftlbs ......or put in a new valve body. Personally i would do these in order untill you get it fixed. Did the car just stop going into reverse one day or did it bang into reverse for a while?

Sorry, I was gone for the wekend. We took the car in to an independent mechanic to have the air conditioer recharged. Soon after that the car began making a rattling sound at idle. Then one day the car just wouldn't go into reverse. No Bang. No Nothing. It's been sitting ever since. Does that help?

I would check the shift cable to the tranny. Make sure its still on correctly. All the other gears work?

I would also take off the valve body cover. Its just a bunch of 8mm (?) bolts. There is a metal piece that goes from the gear selector to the valve body. If this is not connected then you will have no reverse.

Its odd that one day you have reverse, then the next you dont. This is NOT common of the reverse slam syndrome.

Hey RC, thanks for the replies. I've never worked on Tranny's before but I am mechanically inclined. I don't have access to a lift. Is it possible to access the valve body cover withour lifting the car? I have a floor jack and jack stands but I hate getting under the car under those circumstances. Also, my next move was to drain the tranny fluid and replace it with Lucas oil tranny fix. Do you think that is worthwhile? It sounds as though if it is the valve body cover this might not be an expensive fix. We were told by a mechanic that we would need a new tranny and it would cost $1200.00. It was then we decided to "retire" the car. However, if the car is fixable I know I could get it to pass the california smog test. What do you think? And thanks for taking the time to impart some Saturn wisdom. I appreciate it very much.

The valve body is located on top of the tranny. No jacks or stands are nessasry. You must remove the air box, battery tray, and the tube from the air box to the throttle body. You will see the valve body cover right underneath. remove the bolts and take it off being careful of the gasket. Once off youll see the valve body. The piece of metal can be seen in these pictures. Make sure yours looks like this :

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk57/RC1488/96%20Sl1%20Tranny%20Replacement/HPIM0520.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk57/RC1488/96%20Sl1%20Tranny%20Replacement/HPIM0521.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk57/RC1488/96%20Sl1%20Tranny%20Replacement/HPIM0522.jpg

RC, Thanks again for your help. You've gone above and beyond. I'll give it a try and let you know what happens. Thanks

RC - Just wanted to let you know that we went ahead and "retired" the car. In California the state pays you to junk older cars that fail the smog test. Thanks for you help.

Awwwwww. Well i hope you use that cash to re invest in another s-series! Good luck!