5th Gear Woes (UPDATE: its not 5th... other issues?)

[shoon]

So already know my clutch is starting to go. I went to test it by putting it in 5th doing 40 and hitting the gas pedal a bit to see if the tach would shoot up or not. The engine bogged as it should but was also lurching and making loud clanging metal on metal noises. I was afraid I blew up 5th or something, cause the tach was bouncing.

So while parked on a minimal incline I put it in 5th and it rolled backwards really slowly and continued to do so.

Is the SHO supposed to be able to roll backwards if put into 5th gear when parked?

Took it out on the highway and 5th seems to operate as it should... Maybe it just wasnt engaged all the way the first time although im sure it was... or can it get kicked out of gear if you put lots of torque on it?

 

[rubydist]

Most cars will roll down an incline if parked in 5th gear - the ratio is such that the engine doesn't have to turn over very fast, so the compression will leak down allowing it to roll.

Lots of transmissions, if worn, will kick out of gear with large torque loads. However, that does not sound like what happened in your case, since once disengaged, they will not normally pop back into gear on their own.

My guess is that you have some other additional issue like bad motor mount that allows things to move around more than they should, causing the clanging noise.

fwiw, the "is the clutch good?" test I use is to try to get the car moving from a stop in 3rd. If the clutch is bad, the engine will cause it to keep slipping, if the clutch holds, it will make the engine work to get the car moving.

 

[1bad98SHO]

to test the clutch i always put it in high gear. run about 35-40 push the clutch in, floor the throttle and dump the clutch real quick. If the rpms slowly drop down then its about time for a clutch. if the RPM's shoot back down instantly then the clutch is good. I have had cars that i can put in 5th gear and heel toe them while stopped and end up being able to fully release the clutch while in 5th.

 

[shoon]

K so, was going through a drive through and went to move forward - but the car was hung up a little bit on a small hole in the pavement.

So it bogged the engine a bit, but in doing so it made the same noise again. Best way I can describe it is a chattering... foot completely off the clutch. not sure if this would be engine or transmission.

kind of reminds me of the sound a drill makes once you have reached the desired torque.. except with metal parts clashing or something.

Motor mounts subframe and axles are all in good shape... think it has to be something internal. Car drives fine otherwise, although the transmission does make "whirring" noises in gears 1-3

 

[1bad98SHO]

Sounds like clutch chatter to me. You probably have a weak Pressure Plate more then likely.

Is this what is happening to you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPIZFugC2P8