Car won't shift into reverse or fifth gear

[mastaofdisasta]

I had just started my car to go on a pizza delivery and it wouldn't shift into reverse or fifth, the stick will go into 1 to 4, but the stick has a lot of play, try to go into fifth and it goes back into third, with the stick able to be moved all the way to the right while in hear, as if it's in neutral, I believe it's an issue of where the stick connects to the linkage. Anyone else have this problem? It sucks delivering pizzas in a city like area with no reverse, and the highway sucks with no fifth gear...

[CrankyOldMan]

Can you get under the hood and take some pics? If you remove the air filter box, you can see the whole shift linkage pretty clearly. It sounds like maybe you've got a bent arm on the linkage, or worse yet something inside the trans has bent/broken.

[tooter]

I'll guess that it's an issue with the cable that transmits the lateral motion of the shifter to the transmission.

[Lux]

Shifter works with two linkages: one for up-down getting into gear, the other for left-right movement for selecting which gate to shift into. I suspect the latter has developed excessive play or come apart. The linkages and/or bushings may need to be replaced. Very bad engine mounts can cause similar symptoms.