hard mtx shifting...

[laxmax327]

not sure if this is normal or what, given i have never driven another sho so dont konw exactly waht to expect. but it is pretty hard to get it into gears. it never grinds or just refuses to go in. so i dont think anything is really broken. its just takes a good bit of effort to put it into gear. especially 1st like at a red light. unless im slowly rolling foward then it pops right in w/ no effort. but most of them time you really gotta jam it in there. but like i said, it never once grinded even the slightest bit. and 2nd gear gives me some hassle too. if im not really payin attention, inbetween 1st and 2nd in neutral i hit a hard spot thinking its in gear, but its not. so i let off the clutch then start to grind, so i reclutch and slam it into gear. but unless its my fault like that w/ the clutch it never grinds. also when in neutral, unlike everyother 5spd i have ever driven in, know how you can go sideways like into 3 spots? but usually they always spring back into the middle spot. well not my sho, you move it over to either side and doesnt make the slightest effort to go back into the middle. this normal? seems like you just need to muscle it around and everything works fine though. am i in order for a fluid change perhaps? or just deal w/ it?

another subject real quick, ill be replacing my rear endlinks after finding that my sway bar wasnt even conected because of snaped endlink. any tips on doing this? couldnt find anything searching for it, but havent really looked at mine yet. a buddy said i would have to remove the strut? is this true? any advice on doing this would be great, thanks!

 

[1992SHOMTX]

well ive only had one vehicle do that to me and it was my 90 wrangler...we replaced the clutch and all that jazz(pp plate to bearing etc) and it never did it again.

what year is your car....does it have a cable shifter or rod?

 

[laxmax327]

92 so rod. dont think anythings wrong w/ the clutch, but dunno

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

I suspect a clutch problem.

But you should check the fluid level in the tranny first.

 

[JTSHO]

I put in a brand new clutch, shortly after mine did the same thing again,(hard to get in gear) I also suspect a clutch issue.For the endlink you can just take off the tires and on the side thats connected loosen it enough to slide a new one in the other side, then tighten em' back up.Personally if I was going to do one though I would replace the other one too and the bushings since youre already in there.

 

[yamapowered]

find here on the forum and drain your trans oil, you have to drill hole and tap the hole.
with all the right tools i/e drill, bit, tap, it dosent take long at all to do and its most necessary to do with these cars, it takes 3 quarts of mercon or you can use Amsoil MTF http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/mtf.aspx
this is made just for manual transaxle type boxes.
you can also look on shotimes.com for info on draining your mtxgood luck
Javier

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

This is seemingly a common problem...you and JTSHO myself, revhardsho, and some others have put in new clutches only to find that within a short time, the 1st gear at a light shifting issue manifests itself. I am still stumped as I have about 3k on my clutch (new everything). I have noted that it shifts fine under all circumstances except from a standstill. As the car warms up alot (20 miles or so), the shifting is like butter. I have put in 2 different kinds of fluids to no avail. Checked and rechecked the PP bolts thru the starter opening. All looks well. Could be TOB or uneven wear on my new fingers. I dont know. I'm going to drive it for a few more K before I tear into it again.

Meanwhile, dropping it into 4th then first allows it to slip into gear pretty easily.

 

[yamapowered]

This is seemingly a common problem...you and JTSHO myself, revhardsho, and some others have put in new clutches only to find that within a short time, the 1st gear at a light shifting issue manifests itself. I am still stumped as I have about 3k on my clutch (new everything). I have noted that it shifts fine under all circumstances except from a standstill. As the car warms up alot (20 miles or so), the shifting is like butter. I have put in 2 different kinds of fluids to no avail. Checked and rechecked the PP bolts thru the starter opening. All looks well. Could be TOB or uneven wear on my new fingers. I dont know. I'm going to drive it for a few more K before I tear into it again.

Meanwhile, dropping it into 4th then first allows it to slip into gear pretty easily.

now that I think about it I have the same problem every once in awhile, going into first gear gives me a hard time, I always try another gear, then back into first, it seems to work that way.
if the syncros are like t-5 transmissions they have a sandpaper friction lining then I understand the problem, I personally havent had a mtx apart yet, I do have a few laying around, but they are good why take it apart? right?
well anyway everytime I have trouble with first I try 5th or 3rd gear and it pops in after that.
Javier

 

[jedhead]

If you are get shift gears fairly easy first thing in the morning and later on driving it becomes harder and to get into gear, the problem is with the quill the throwout bearing rides on. The problem is that grease and clutch dust or other debries gets on the quill. As the crude gets warmed up the throw out bearing won't move the full length and clutch does not disengage completely. When I had this problem sometimes when I was stopped at a light with the clutch depressed and in first gear I could feel a light vibration from the clutch contacting the flywheel very lightly. When I pulled the tranny I still had a lot of clutch left but the quill and throwout bearing was galled. I have been told that Josh's ceramic bearing and quill will help alleviate this problem. I have no personal experience with Josh's bearing but I will soon when the SHO is back on the road.

Bob

 

[yamapowered]

If you are get shift gears fairly easy first thing in the morning and later on driving it becomes harder and to get into gear, the problem is with the quill the throwout bearing rides on. The problem is that grease and clutch dust or other debries gets on the quill. As the crude gets warmed up the throw out bearing won't move the full length and clutch does not disengage completely. When I had this problem sometimes when I was stopped at a light with the clutch depressed and in first gear I could feel a light vibration from the clutch contacting the flywheel very lightly. When I pulled the tranny I still had a lot of clutch left but the quill and throwout bearing was galled. I have been told that Josh's ceramic bearing and quill will help alleviate this problem. I have no personal experience with Josh's bearing but I will soon when the SHO is back on the road.

Bob

wouldnt it be nice to be able to just yank the trans out for lubrication of the throwout bearing like you can in a fox body mustang with a t-5.
these front wheel drives have good and bad points
Javier

 

[ohfosho]

it could be that the clutch master cylinder could be developing a slow leak too right? is it easier if you push the clutch down hard and then put it in gear right away? if it is hardr to get into gear after like 5 seconds with the clutch pedal in, then i would suspect this problem.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

SHOs do not have clutch master cylinders

 

[yamapowered]

it could be that the clutch master cylinder could be developing a slow leak too right? is it easier if you push the clutch down hard and then put it in gear right away? if it is hardr to get into gear after like 5 seconds with the clutch pedal in, then i would suspect this problem.

I think the SHO all came with a clutch cable, the cable could be old and binding or streched. maybe I could be wrong about this.
let the thread continue.
Javier

 

[mlatten]

I had the same problem with my '95. I changed the self-adjuster (ratcheter) on top of the pedal, which looked fine. Lo-and-behold though, that was it. The three piece assy. from Ford was $65, and and hour or so of work. I tore down the housing to check out the clutch (as it obviously wasn't disengaging all the way). Luckily, I caught it in time. I just put that plate in, so there was very little wear evident. Ever since, the SHO has shifted like a Jetta, lol.
BTW, the tranny fluid is over 17k.

Hope that helps, Matt.

 

[JTSHO]

I was thinking the same about a clutch cable stretching, but as f-22raptorsho said about the pp fingers, thats where my money lies.Reason being,I put a stock valeo in and at first shifted wonderful but after about 2k started getting notchy and harder to engage at a takeoff.What kind of clutch did you put in yours f-22raptorsho?

 

[dstig1]

I'm in the same boat. New clutch about 45k ago. Now it's starting to get tough into 1st and 2nd. I figured it's the blocker rings/synchros in the tranny getting old and worn. The first cltuch lasted 106k, and when it went, it was obvious (could barely release the clutch due to TOB binding). This is not the same feeling as that. Clutch moves fine, just getting hard to push into gears when it's not yet warmed up.

I'm really looking forward to how it will work at 20 below this winter. :cry: Just put new tranny fluid in so hopefully that helps. Of the fluids I've tried, Mobil1 Synthetic ATF has worked the best so far (Redline MTL and D4 were not as easy to shift). So I'm back to that now.

I draw the line at replacing the clutch again. It was too big of a job.

 

[jedhead]

My brother replaced his clutch without complete removing the tranny. He drop the driver's side of the subframe. Then he removed the hub and knuckle from the suspension along with the half shaft. Un bolted the tranny, pushed to the side and replaced the clutch. We took the tranny out my SHO through the driver's wheel well. A few more steps involved with that. I may have to replace the brake fluid bowl though.

Bob

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