My 93 mtx shifts terrible, why?

[1993MTXSHO]

ive had three SHOs with issues like this.
all three were diffrent clutch issues.

Different size quill sleeve on my tob? I never changed that sleeve (just kinda slipped my mind) and I think there are 2 different sizes. But if my spec stage 2 is bad I'll be ******, the thing has hardly any miles on it and grabs strong.

I don't know if this matters but if I rev match the trans perfect it slips right in, but if I don't hit it right on, its very blocky to the point where I have to really pull on the shifter. It will feel like it goes in but if I let out it will grind, I have to make sure it kind of double clicks into the gates.

 

[SHOtime2511]

my stock 91 with a Spec stage 2 broke where the straps bold to the PP after about 1K miles.it was the PP that actually snapped not just the straps.
Spec would not replace it even though i sent pictures to prove the low mileage and the stockness of the car.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

my stock 91 with a Spec stage 2 broke where the straps bold to the PP after about 1K miles.it was the PP that actually snapped not just the straps.
Spec would not replace it even though i sent pictures to prove the low mileage and the stockness of the car.

That clutch better not be screwed up, I will not be a happy camper.

 

[SHOtime2511]

That clutch better not be screwed up, I will not be a happy camper.

i hope not for your sake cause im sure spec will do nothing about it.
ive still got a very sour taste in my mouth over that....

 

[1993MTXSHO]

i hope not for your sake cause im sure spec will do nothing about it.
ive still got a very sour taste in my mouth over that....

I'm sure they wont either, I have had it for about 3 years maybe even longer, though it is obvious that it's not used hard. I am not so sure I am going to be getting a spec clutch again, I LOVE this clutch it grabs very hard and I have no complaints. However I have heard they only last about 30k miles and then will start to slip, and now what you tell me, this makes me not want to buy a spec product again.

But all that aside, the clutch was fine when I put it in, and the trans never shifted well since I put it in the car 150 miles ago. So I really doubt its clutch related.

 

[Huntervf]

Of course rev-matching will make the car shift easier, you don't even need to use the clutch if you do it right

Step one, change the fluid. I can't recommend GM Synchromesh highly enough. These transmissions need fluid with a little bit of friction, most of the time when someone goes to a high-dollar synthetic it's just too slippery for the synchros to really do their job, which it why many people will actually run a friction-modifier along with the synthetic fluid (which seems pretty pointless IMO).

I used to run Royal Purple back in the day in my 89. After a fresh trans rebuild and brand new clutch I couldn't shift it to save my life, notchy doesn't even begin to describe it. I had the shop suck out the RP and fill it with Synchromesh and it was like a completely different trans.

Try the fluid first, give it a few miles, and then see how it shifts.

 

[ckinney89sho]

i have the same problem on my 89 as all of you. i changed my fluid to Penn. Syncromesh and still have the same problem. i dont know when the clutch was changed or if it was. i doubt the tranny was rebuilt. but what i did notice was that my cable shifter grommets were shot. i rigged it up so that it was in stock position. that helped a little bit but its still hard for me too. im not sure what to do at this point.
i was going to get a rebuilt tranny but now i see that people already did that and had the same problem. ill just drive mine till it goes

 

[1993MTXSHO]

i have the same problem on my 89 as all of you. i changed my fluid to Penn. Syncromesh and still have the same problem. i dont know when the clutch was changed or if it was. i doubt the tranny was rebuilt. but what i did notice was that my cable shifter grommets were shot. i rigged it up so that it was in stock position. that helped a little bit but its still hard for me too. im not sure what to do at this point.
i was going to get a rebuilt tranny but now i see that people already did that and had the same problem. ill just drive mine till it goes

Ff your shifter is worn out I'd start by putting in a rod shifter or rebuild the cable shifter and go form there. MTX trannys are getting hard to find, I wouldn't purposely let it blow up. Actually for the sake of the sho community, please don't just let it blow up.

 

[ckinney89sho]

Ff your shifter is worn out I'd start by putting in a rod shifter or rebuild the cable shifter and go form there. MTX trannys are getting hard to find, I wouldn't purposely let it blow up. Actually for the sake of the sho community, please don't just let it blow up.

I did rebuild the cable, but it just seems to be a little bit hard still. Its still a lot better than it was befor I did it. im going to change fluid again, Possibly to Mobile 1.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

I did rebuild the cable, but it just seems to be a little bit hard still. Its still a lot better than it was befor I did it. im going to change fluid again, Possibly to Mobile 1.

Is it hard when you try to shift fast? Or just all the time? Remember 89 and 90's have brass blocking rings and those don't shift as fast as 91-95, but they will last longer if you don't slam gears and really beat them up. Also I used castrol GTX domestic fluid that can be had at auto zone. That's what's in my 94 and that thing is just amazing, it's also a lot cheaper then the mobile 1.

 

[SHOCarGo]

i have an 1992 mtx and people told me to change the fulid and i was wondering where is the drain plug and the fill

 

[boat]

Uh, there is not a drain plug. Here is a method that some use here on the forum. The fill plug is on the front of the trans. Look at about where your coil pack is, and then go straight down on the front of the trans, you should see a plug that has the same size as the end of a 3/8 socket driver. Be careful when removing so as not to round out that plug, make sure the end 3/8 socket driver is seated in there good, and straight. Use some teflon tape when you put the plug back in.

i have an 1992 mtx and people told me to change the fulid and i was wondering where is the drain plug and the fill

 

[RonPorter]

i have an 1992 mtx and people told me to change the fulid and i was wondering where is the drain plug and the fill

There is no drain plug. I use an old vacuum brake bleeder (which is no good for brakes IMO) to suck it out the fill hole. There is a bolt on the bottom that will allow a drain, but it holds the shift mechanism in place (as I understand), so use at your own peril.

Anyway, I agree with Chris. Try different fluids.

FWIW, I got a used 91K tranny from Al Fitz years ago for my '95. It supposedly had the "paper" synchros as opposed to the '89 - early '90 brass synchros. Even though it was "supposed" to need ATF-like fluid, after trying synth ATF, then Synchromesh, it worked the best with cheap AZ Coastal gear oil (that was only supposed to work with the old brass synchros). It was a bit stiff when cold, but worked fine when it warmed up.

With old trannies like these, go with whatever feels the best.

And this assumes that the whole clutch setup is good.

 

[SHOCarGo]

ok well i will try to change the fluid to ether GM syhchromesh or the castrol gtx domestic, or i think friction modifier those are the three i could find on the site, but i will try the GM stuff first..


seem like everyone finding the problem to be the fluid but i was wondering could it be the clutch fluid or cable

 

[SHOCarGo]

o and one more thing if i change my trans fluid to ether one t oi put all in there or do i mix like half and half. for example half of that GM syhchromesh stuff and half ATF ? or all of it be GM syhchromesh stuff

 

[SHOtime2511]

Pennzoil synchromesh is the same product at less than half the price.

 

[93rev2sev]

93rev2sev showed me a trick on mine. I had noticed that my 1st gear was hard to get into sometimes. I asked him about it and what I learned out of it was shift into 2nd then 1st, and everytime I do that, it goes into 1st with no issues at all. I thought I was going to have to change my fluid, but mine shifted fine otherwise, still does.

I don't mean to disagree with you, but it should go in w/o issues, my 94 does. Also it's not just 1st gear, its all the gears, none of them go in smooth.

Allow me to explain. This may help the OP, too. If you ever have trouble getting into 1st gear from neutral, WHILE STOPPED, then the gears may simply be lined up "off tooth" (were really talking about the synchro teeth and not the actual gears). If gear A is stopped and gear B is stopped, then there is a chance that they are not stopped in the meshed position. Furthermore, there is a smaller chance that they will not mesh when pressed together(they are cut so that this isn't supposed to happen, but with normal wear, it certainly can).

Symptoms:
This condition is noted when you are at a dead stop AND you've had your foot on the clutch (which you shouldn't do) allowing the input shaft to come to a stop. Pushing the shifter towards 1st gear may not make the gear(synchro) rotate at all, which would line up the teeth and allow easy egagement.

Workarounds:
1. Let out the clutch while in neutral and try again. Don't let the input shaft come to a stop.

2. Stick it in second and go back to first gear. There is no chance that 2nd gear is going to have the same problem, and engaging 2nd gear WILL make the synchro rotate, even if it's only 1 or 2 degrees. First will now work.

3. Don't sit at a light with your clutch pressed, in neutral. It's bad on the TOB, the fingers, the cable, the quadrant...you name it.


Exacerbators (compoundable):
Any wear on the synchros
New fluid (increases friction between the synchro and the shaft)
Bearing wear (creates runout)
Worn clutch (easier to disengage, faster to stop input shaft)

In this case, "compoundable" means that with multiple exacerbators, the likelyhood that you can land with both cogs lined up in first gear increases, as does the likelyhood that pushing the shifter towards first will not rotate the synchro enough to allow engagement.

I didn't just come up with this out of the blue.

How it helps the OP:

Chances are not good that this is your problem. Because you've stated that it's better with the car off and the clutch pressed, I'd say a fluid change may help you...quite a bit. With the car off, it SHOULD be notchy. When the input shaft is SPINNING, it should be SMOOTHER. A drain plug or fluid sucker will help you get it all out. I'd use run of the mill dyno-ATF (mercon, not mercon V) and go from there.

 

[RonPorter]

Chances are not good that this is your problem. Because you've stated that it's better with the car off and the clutch pressed, I'd say a fluid change may help you...quite a bit. With the car off, it SHOULD be notchy. When the input shaft is SPINNING, it should be SMOOTHER. A drain plug or fluid sucker will help you get it all out. I'd use run of the mill dyno-ATF (mercon, not mercon V) and go from there.

I have personally always been leery of the drain plug that guys do, where they just tap a steel plug into the AL case. Sounds like disaster after a few years IMO, unless you do a steel threaded insert.

I won a vacuum brake bleed setup at a Convention years ago. Works off my compressor. IMO, not very good, especially once I got a Motive pressure bleeder that is da bomb.

But, the vacuum bleeder works great for sucking tranny fluid out of the tranny fill hole. I can get 3 qts out of the total capacity of what, 3.3 or something like that? Makes trying different fluids a snap.

Although the white car is in the shop right now while I'm in KY for an a/c fix, and I'm just having them do the cooling flush, PS flush, and the tranny (with BG's synchromesh equivalent). BTW, the BG PS flush is a nice deal. They flush it with a cleaner before putting in fresh fluid. IMO, good for a 21-year-old 135K car that probably never had it done.

 

[SHOCarGo]

k went and bought that Pennzoil synchromesh. i will let you know how it works for me

 

[CademiaX]

Of course rev-matching will make the car shift easier, you don't even need to use the clutch if you do it right

Step one, change the fluid. I can't recommend GM Synchromesh highly enough. These transmissions need fluid with a little bit of friction, most of the time when someone goes to a high-dollar synthetic it's just too slippery for the synchros to really do their job, which it why many people will actually run a friction-modifier along with the synthetic fluid (which seems pretty pointless IMO).

I used to run Royal Purple back in the day in my 89. After a fresh trans rebuild and brand new clutch I couldn't shift it to save my life, notchy doesn't even begin to describe it. I had the shop suck out the RP and fill it with Synchromesh and it was like a completely different trans.

Try the fluid first, give it a few miles, and then see how it shifts.

going to have to agree there, GM Synchromesh fixed my trans issues.