1086 trany probelm with reverse

guys there is a 1086 in my area that needs a good amount of TLC but most of the stuff that is wrong is not a big deal, but the trany will not go in reverse. I have not looked at it in depth so asking what might it be. I thinking it would take about $2500.00 to make this tractor right as the motor seems good, and I have always like them and the old girl looks like she needs a good home. any ideas welcome as this would be a winter project.

You could help people provide a potential diagnosis by offering more than just "won't go into reverse." What happens when you try to put it in reverse?

If the issue is more serious than worn linkages, $2500 won't touch a fix for just the reverse problem, let alone the rest of the tractor.

Outside of visible linkage problems, the usual problem with not going into reverse can be inspected behind the side cover of range transmission. It could be the fork is broken, pretty common, or the keyway in fork shifting shaft. Also, the washers in between the gears break, or wear into housing allowing reverse gears to move back and forth. I would take a look. Some wear so much they go right on past and disengage. Would not guess on amount to repair.

OH, most likely has that stupid side fuel tank. That thing cost customers more over the life of those tractors than driving home early to refuel ever did just for extra labor charges removing it to work on the tractor.

Like Pete says, that side fuel tank is a pain. I replaced all of the shift parts and did the updates on our 1086 and 1486 last year, they were getting loose on the 1486 and the 1086 was having a lot of trouble. The square top on the reverse shifting shaft was just about fully rounded off, the lever would move 2" either way before trying to do anything. It got all new linkages, the shafts, cover bored and bushed, ramps, etc. They shift better than new now, everything is tight. You don't absolutely have to remove the side fuel tank, but it helps if you want to make it real easy. On both of ours I would have had to drain both full tanks, then remove the dual so I could loosen and slide the inner wheel hub and tire out enough to get the tank off. No thanks. I used a couple magnets to make sure I caught the woodruff keys on the shaft, and some craftily bent pieces of 1/4" rod to hold the fork in place. I puncture wound punched the edge of the woodruff key slots on the new shaft so the keys wouldn't fall out. Lined them up and slid them back in. Probably took me 20 minutes to do them that way, instead of 2-3 hours draining fuel, removing the dual, loosening the hub and sliding it out, removing the tank, and then taking the cover off. Not to mention putting it all back.