hey so im new to this. but i just bought a 1979 camaro with a 305 V8 automatic 3 speed and its been acting pretty crappy lately and i was wondering if anyone could help me out? So i was at my friends house and i started it up and accidentally left the parking brake on and tried to reverse it and now reverse doesnt work. but i got it going and when i was driving home i kinda floored it slowly and the engine was reving really high and wasnt shifting at all. Sometimes theres a clinking sound when im driving pretty slow. Some of my friends were thinking that it could be the vaccum lines but that wouldnt explain reverse not working. and i dont really know what to do about it cause its probably the transmisson but i was wondering if anyone could tell me for sure what it was just from these problems i have been having. thanks for any help.

 

Sounds like your emergency brake might be hanging up. The cable can build up with rust inside the casing and can get to be a very tight fit, especially if it rarely gets used. Then it gets stuck in the "out" position when the brake is used. Check the cables where they connect to your rear brakes and see if they feel tight as a drum. Soak them with penetrating oil and work them loose if that's the case.

 

ok well what would be the cause of the no shifting and the high revving in the engine. that woulnt be from the brakes would it???

 

How well would a car want to move when you're standing on the brake pedal?

 

alright thanks for the advice so where do i get some of that oil you are talking about would napa have it. im not very good with cars but im learning.

 

PB Blaster is good stuff to use. But like I said, check the brakes first. You can jack up the back end to get the tires off the ground, and see if they'll spin (with the trans in neutral).

 

if u have drum brakes on the back u may have adjusted the brakes out a little to far when u did the reverse thing. there should be auto adjusters that work when brakes are applied going backwards. it may be they worked to good. if the e brake is not stuck like 69 is saying and the wheels still dont turn or are hard to turn then it may be all u will need to do is back off the adjusters. if u want to look futher once the adjuster is backed off the hub should come off.

 

well it doesnt seem like it would be the that just cause the brakes still work and its usually when i get going and then take my foot off of the gas and then try to gas it again it revvs really high like im still in first or switched to neutral or something.

 

have u checked the trans fluid level?

 

ya its dark red and at full on the dipstick.