Ford 1996 Aspire Manual page 125

Sometimes, you will upshift at higher speeds.
For example, you may want to stay in a lower
gear to gain more power for passing or for
climbing a hill. However, you must stay within
the allowable range when you upshift or
downshift.
Backing up
To shift into R (Reverse):
1. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
2. Push the clutch pedal in all the way to the
floor and hold it. If you do not hold the
clutch pedal in all the way, you may hear a
grinding noise when you shift.
3. Put the gearshift in Neutral and wait at least
3 seconds before shifting into R (Reverse) to
prevent a grinding noise. Do not release the
clutch.
4. Then push the gearshift all the way to the
right and pull it down into R (Reverse).
When in 5 (Fifth) gear, you can engage R
(Reverse) only by moving the gearshift to
Neutral before you shift into R (Reverse).
This is a special lockout feature that protects
you from accidentally shifting into R
(Reverse) when you downshift from 5 (Fifth)
gear.
5. Once R (Reverse) is engaged, slowly release
the clutch pedal from the floor.
If R (Reverse) is not engaged, continue to push
the clutch pedal in while you put the gearshift
back into Neutral. Then, release the clutch pedal
for a moment and repeat steps 2 through 5.
124