2nd gear grind

[Ben Johnson]

Hey I have a 1990 sho and sometimes I have a problem going into 2nd. If I try to speed shift it will grind. If I shift nice and easy it goes in fine. Is this a snycro problem? Is there anyway to adjust it? Do I have to bring it in to get it fixed or is it something I can do? Thanks for your help. JOHNSON

 

[BeatDaSHO]

yo man......that was happening to me and i couldn't figure out what i was doing wrong. then i realized that i was pushing in the clutch while pulling the stick out of first and then trying to shove it in second, yet i was still pushing in the clutch. i finally made sure i pushed in the clutch all the way before i touched the stick and it worked. But even if you are doing this and it still doesn't work, it's probably the synchros. i'm not sure what u have to do about this but i have just heard about it.

Greg

 

[Denny]

Mine does that too and my clutch slips a bit, I think the whole drivetrain is weak and on it's way out shoot

 

[mike 92 sho]

mine does the same shyt....i gotta go into 2nd then 1st or else 1st will grind....i know i know snychros

 

[Shoman594]

All 4 of you tell me when the last time that you changed your tranny fluid ????

then we can go from there.

 

[Denny]

Tranny fluid, what's that? JK
Unfortunately I have no idea when the fluid was changed last. I got the car in December. Never touched the trans, now I might be looking at some work frown

 

[sdpatt]

If your transmission is grinding when trying to shift into first when the car is stopped, your clutch is not fully disengaging. Try lifting the clutch pedal to see if you can use the automatic adjustment to take up some of the cable slack. If you hear a click, there was some slack removed. There is no replacement interval specified in the maintenance guide for the SHO's MTX. Maybe that's why they didn't see fit to install a drain plug. I think replacing the fluid each clutch job is probably sufficient. You may want to try using Ford's friction modifier with the Type F ATF to improve the ease of shifts. I have had similar or better results from that combination than from Redline D4 ATF. Cheaper too.

 

[fredhurderjr]

Mine does the same thing; 1-2 & 3-2 shifts occasionally grind. I understand it's the blocking ring(s). I honestly know little about the workings of a transaxle.

The plan is to have Shawn Pasley do my tranny rebuild sometime this spring. Depends on personal finances, though.

Mine was flushed last fall with the engine swap, & used Redline D4 I believe.

 

[Denny]

Scott, the trans fluid will be exchanged at some point soon. I'm going for some trans work soon.
Fred, how much is Shawns rebuild?

 

[fredhurderjr]

Give him a shout if he doesn't see this thread.

I will say his fees are very reasonable, and I trust him working on my vehicle a heck of a lot more than a generic tranny shop.

His contact info is at www.iptech.tv.

 

[drivinhard]

89 and 90 MTX-IV's used (gear 1-5) brass synchro blocking rings from the factory. These tend to not hold up as well (mileage-wise) as the 91-95 gear 1-4 fiber lined rings. (all year 5th gear rings are brass, including replacements from Ford).

Anyway, sometimes a change of fresh fluid will help things out, but basically the rings are worn and they don't have the proper braking action.

The brass rings visably will be "worn" if you check/replace them. They have a ridged friction surface that will feel smooth when they are worn pretty good. The fiber rings tend to get black and burnt looking when they are worn. The fiber rings hold up much much better long-term than the brass. To have a used up fiber ring, you had to really beat on the tranny with old or low fluid.

 

[Shoman594]

I asked because I had the same probem. 1st gear would be hard to go into and second would grind or be really hard to shift into. So i checked my tranny fluid and it was brown!!! eek!

I drained it out and put some new Dextron/Mercon in and all i have to say is that i have not missed a shift.

Now im not saying this is your guys problem because this might mean that your tranny is really going but it is an inexpensive thing to try before you empty $500-1000 into it.