2-3 weeks ago, the trans started occasionally taking 10-15 seconds to engage reverse. It was intermittent, and usually only when shifting to reverse from drive. Today, it started, no problem shifting into reverse, out of the garage and to work. At lunchtime, I ran out and when I got back in the parking lot (I always back into a parking space) no reverse. Tried 4 or 5 times. Circled the lot and pulled in forward thinking maybe it would be OK on a cold start. Eight hours later, and still no reverse. I pushed it out of the parking space.

I did some searching and there was at least one recent post which made it appear that Kirt may have joined Europeantransmissions in Cummings, Ga. Is this the case, or is he still in Zeeland? Looks like I need to talk to him today. Is he still the preferred rebuilder over the guys in GA?

The other concern is I saw another post which hinted that a sudden loss of reverse was the result of a clutch pack having some clip break that holds it together (thought I bookmarked it, but guess not) rather than the infamous plastic ball getting sucked through the hole in the valve body. I have had no trouble engaging forward gears and the box pretty much lost its hard 3-4 shift since I had the fluid and filter changed 2-3 years ago. Is there any way to tell without disassembly or should I just get the parts for both (with minimizing downtime -i.e.rental car- a prime consideration)? It does not appear that this car ever had the bathtub ball replacement. Dependent on which, how critical is it to get the car off the road immediately?