Eeek! Transmission is possessed!

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Devin

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It's head was spinning around and spewing pea soup everywhere. :woo-hoo:

But seriously I had a strange thing happen that has me worried. My car wouldn't shift out of neutral! So to back up this is how the morning went:

Started out, driving down my hill spirited-ly... and I take off easy at a light. There is lots of traffic and I smell a oil burning smell. Always worried it's my car I get on the highway and the smell goes away. Good enough.

2 miles later I coast to a stop light off the highway, clutch in and in neutral. Stop at the light, adjust volume, shift into fir-

Brick wall.

Shift into first. nothing. Just a solid wall. Second, same thing. No third, no fourth. I can't actually get the shifter into position. Clutch in and out a few times, and I can slam it into first.

Start driving. At the next light I throw it into first sub 20mph while I am still rolling. Another light later I roll into it clutch in, heat, lights, all on. The car dies while it rolls. Start it a few seconds later while I am still rolling and it starts right up. Well, I decided I'd best be off in the right lane so I drive the rest of the way to work wondering what's going on. Not once later did I have those problems again. I drove clutch in down a hill for a ways, no problems with shifting from stops. Stopped at a store and restarted with no issues.

Was this a fluke? What can I check to see if something important is breaking?
 

bubba

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It's head was spinning around and spewing pea soup everywhere. :woo-hoo:

But seriously I had a strange thing happen that has me worried. My car wouldn't shift out of neutral! So to back up this is how the morning went:

Started out, driving down my hill spirited-ly... and I take off easy at a light. There is lots of traffic and I smell a oil burning smell. Always worried it's my car I get on the highway and the smell goes away. Good enough.

2 miles later I coast to a stop light off the highway, clutch in and in neutral. Stop at the light, adjust volume, shift into fir-

Brick wall.

Shift into first. nothing. Just a solid wall. Second, same thing. No third, no fourth. I can't actually get the shifter into position. Clutch in and out a few times, and I can slam it into first.

Start driving. At the next light I throw it into first sub 20mph while I am still rolling. Another light later I roll into it clutch in, heat, lights, all on. The car dies while it rolls. Start it a few seconds later while I am still rolling and it starts right up. Well, I decided I'd best be off in the right lane so I drive the rest of the way to work wondering what's going on. Not once later did I have those problems again. I drove clutch in down a hill for a ways, no problems with shifting from stops. Stopped at a store and restarted with no issues.

Was this a fluke? What can I check to see if something important is breaking?



It sounds like the shift cable or fork. I had the same thing happen to me, but in a different platform
 

FrakensteinSHO

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Mine did that the day my clutch broke. I clutched in and rolled to a stop sign and it wouldnt let me in any gear. Clutched in + out a couple times and jammed it in first. Since then, i havent had a problems with it.
 

Devin

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Ugh, the forks on the inside. That'll be trouble. I will investigate the cable first. :swing:
 

Lorenr

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Shifter Binds

Sounds as though the transmission is working. However I read your post as a 1990 SHO, therefore I would:

1. Follow the threads here and install a drain plug in the bottom of the transmission. Be sure to follow the directions. An 1/8 pipe plug is plenty. Drain the fluid and replace with about three quarts of what the owner of this site uses, Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. They usually have it at auto parts stores. Drive it at least 50 miles to see if there is a difference.

2. Examine the cable shifter throughout its operation. Be sure everything works smoothly and is not binding. If it is broken your best bet is to install the newer rod style shifter which you can find here or on e-bay. It will save you a bunch if you get the correct mid pipe with the COMPLETE shifter.

Note: the first time I drained the transmission I replaced it with cheap ATF to wash it out before I again drained the unit and added the big dollar Mobil 1.

:omgsho:
 

Devin

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Thanks for the ideas. I'm hoping it's not the fluid, as I refilled it from empty and a dissassembly about 5K miles ago. I think I filled it with AMSoil

The shifter is the first thing to check but I think it could be the fork. It didn't appear to be in great condition.
 

BrianX

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When my cable shifter went bad, I lost 2nd, then reverse, and then 4th went AWOL. And then first went away [along with my clutch disk].

Somebody said I needed a new MTX [andof course a clutch] and lost hundreds instead of a $20 fix...


Anyway, does your clutch feel any different?

Did you have to rev-match or something to get into/out of gear?

Any noise/vibration coming from anywhere?
 

kikkinasphalt

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Thanks for the ideas. I'm hoping it's not the fluid, as I refilled it from empty and a dissassembly about 5K miles ago. I think I filled it with AMSoil

The shifter is the first thing to check but I think it could be the fork. It didn't appear to be in great condition.

regular ol atf is best for your transmission.. trust me


when i got my white car, it had hurst quick shift in it.. it was notchy as ****.
put in Regular Valvoline ATF and she was smoooooth as buttah
 

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