Can not get reverse gear in my oval.Was ok on weekend as drove to VW show .Went to move it this morning and it will not go into reverse gear.
It is a reco. box and only issue with it was the reverse selector rail was stuck due to sitting.It took a fair bit of effort to start moving but since then has not given any problems.
The gear stick is not the problem as have tried to engage it directly using the hockey stick.It rotates to the correct position but will not move the reverse shift rail.
The 4 forward gears select ok.
Has anyone had this happen to them or know what has happened .It is a oval box.

There is not a lot that can go wrong inside there Steve,
but other than the detent balls that stop two gears being selected at once,
a problem which I doubt, since you have tried the other gears which would move the balls about,
the only other problem is the bronze bush inside the reverse idler gear may have seized on the shaft after the long-drive- cool-down.

Is it trying to go in or just grinding?
Grinding would indicate a clutch issue.
Perhaps speak with who ever did the rebuild.

It won't budge at all so no grinding .It is as if the detent ball has jammed on the reverse shift rail, as you have suggested.

The red arrow points to the fork that selects the reverse idler,
and the green arrow is the shaft that it slides on.

It is engaged in the picture and neutral would be the cog sliding to the right.

The only problem it can be
is either the sliding cog has jammed on the shaft, or the rail that selects the cog has jammed.
Either in the case or due to a detent ball issue.

The other possible cause is that the shaft the cog slides on is located by either a hollow pin or solid one.
If this has allowed the shaft to move from its position it could jam the cog.

Just check your shift coupling before getting in too deep.
If the hockey stick is not rotating far enough,
it will not let it select two gears at once.

Thanks for the info Dave.The hockey stick is rotating ok and with it uncoupled from the shift rod you can feel it engage the rev. selector rail fully.Have tried wiggling it etc.and have used a lot of force to move it but it is stuck solid.It did not give any signs that it was going to happen.(was selecting all gears ok & still is selecting forward gears ok)
To me it feels like the rail has become stuck and have accepted that i will have to remove the trans . and open it up to find out what has gone wrong.
It has only done about 400ks since a rebuild.The previous owner had it rebuilt by Mullers and it has been sitting for a fair few years.

Bugger to need to remove it with all that nice paint about Steve. Lucky you like working on Volkswagens . Hope all goes well.

HI Steve, i will be back from work today and will be home for the next few weeks, if you need a hand let me know.
Shayne

Have remove trans and split it open to find that rev. idler bush has seized on the shaft ,which was also broken.
The shaft polished up ok and i turned up a new bush from some brass i had laying around.It is working ok now and just have to put it all back together now.

Damn speedy job there mate. good work.

Wow.... Nice fix !

Yeah! Fast work dude!
I have never seen an aluminium bush at that location!
Looks like you are set!