INFO: Got a tranny problem? Read here...

[SkullingAxe]

Ok, I have been reading a lot of posts on "my tranny is doing this" and "my tranny is doing that". To help cut down on a lot of the redundant posts I'm posting this to help y'all diagnose a lot of the common problems.

Problem one: Loss of all gears, Shifter feels sloppy.
Diagnosing: Typically this is a shift selector issue. However, before going through the work to pull the shift tower check the basics first. Pull off your shifter boot and make sure a cable didn't pop off. Also check the cables at the shift tower. If the cables are ok, then pull the shift tower. It is held down with 6-8(roughly) 13mm bolts. Once the tower is off you will either see a chunk of the shift selector sitting in the gates(if it hasn't fallen into the trans yet).
Repair: Replace the Shift selector/broken cable.
Tip: To ease the shift tower removal, take all the 13mm bolts out that you can see. Then using a 13mm ratchet wrench, wrench the last bolt under the shift lever out while slowly pulling up on the shift tower.

Problem Two: Stuck in gear, Shifter sloppy:
Diagnosing: See problem one.
Repair: See problem one.

Problem three: Stuck in 2nd, 4th, or rev gear, can move sifter through gates but cant engage any other gears
Diagnosing: This is usually a classic case of a broken shift gate. If you cant get into any other gears but the shifter dont feel sloppy then its usually a broken shift gate. It will usually be stuck in 2nd, 4th, Rev. Because the back side of the gate is broken so when you pull the shifter back out of the gear the shift selector has nothing to pull back on. (remember what ever direction you move the shifter the opposite happens at the trans). To verify pull the shift tower and look at the gates.
Repair: If you have a broken gate you need to replace the fork. There are many ways to do this. You can pull the tranny or try to do it in the car by dropping the back side of the trans down and pulling the rear cover off. Search the forums for the way you want to do it.

Problem Four: Stuck in gear trans wont move.
Diagnosis: This is usually bad and if it happens while moving usually equates to a new transmission. What usually happens is one of the forks broke at the syncro, or you missed the gate by a little bit due to the gates being worn and selected two gates. Usually the transmission will lock down and needs to be torn apart and inspected.
Repair: Varies....

Problem Five: Transmission pops out of X gear/grinds x gear/hard to engage X Gear.
Diagnosis: This is usually a sign of a synchro going out or a bent fork. If it is limited to one gear and one gear only then that fork/synchro needs to be inspected. Bear in mind our transmission is a very stiff shifting transmission so dont over look too much into it. A lot comes into play with this kind of problem. Everything to not having the clutch disengaged correctly to not being lined up in the gate properly. If it starts to grind every time you try to shift or pops out everytime you engage the clutch then that is a sure sign of a synchro/fork.
Repair: Tear transmission down and inspect the Synchro/Fork. Also inspect the dog teeth on the gear itself. If they are filed down the gear must be replaced.

Problem Six: Trans engages gears properly but wont pull.
Diagnosing: This can be one of two things, broken input shaft/broken axle. Diagnosis is simple. Look under the car for a broken axle. Usually if its an axle a grinding noise will be accompanied with it. If the axles check out then you snapped your input shaft.
Repair: Replace the axle or input shaft.

Problem Seven: Hard shift in all gears when cold.
Diagnosis: First and foremost consider what kind of trans fluid you are using and how long it has been since you changed your fluid. The trans fluid plays an important role in how the trans shifts. Thinker fluids will shift harder when cold. Thinner fluids will shift harder when hot. I recommend ATF+4 since it is the factory fill. However, a lot of people have had luck with Royal Purple synchromax, and Amsoil MTF and Amsoil Atf. Ill let you choose that one.
Repair: Change your tranny fluid.

Problem Eight: Hard shift in all gears not temperature related.
Diagnosis: This can be 3 things. Shifter cross over cable adjustment, a clutch, or worn synchros. Im going to talk about clutchs later so I'm going stick with the cross over cable and worn synchros. If the cable is out of adjustment your going to be scraping the side of the gate next to the one you are trying to select. This will lead to the potential of engaging two gears at once when the trans starts to wear out. With the worn synchros due to mileage the trans will be harder in certain gears that get used more than the others. Usually its going to be 2nd, 3rd, or 4th that are the hardest. because those synchros get used the most. Also keep in mind your trans fluid. Never underestimate how much of a difference a fluid change can help.
Repair: Adjust your cross over cable on the trans, inspect synchros, change fluid.

Problem Nine: Hard downshift
Diagnosis: First and foremost I must say that down shifting is ALWAYS going to be harder on the transmission. Your forcing the synchro to speed up the gear. Meaning the synchro must cut threw the fluid and grab the gear and speed it up to match the output gear speed. That process in itself its always going to be harder, especially with our trans due to the design of the synchro blocker rings. This is why when you down shift you can hear what sounds like a super charger spooling when you engage the gear. Thats the gear speeding up. Now that being said if the gear grind on down shift or pops out that is usually a sign of a synchro that is on its last leg. It wont be long after that it will start to grind/pop out on up shift. Keep in mind down shifting is not good for the synchros and will wear them out quicker.
Repair: Replace affected gear synchro assembly. Inspect other synchros.

There are more issues, but this is a list of the common ones. Comments/input welcomed. Lets try to keep this post free of my trans is doing this and doing that questions. This is for discussion of common issues/what people have ran into and what fixed it.

[SkullingAxe]

*********clutch Issues*********

First and foremost, start with the basics. Check your clutch fluid level, and adjust your clutch pedal. Also take in consideration the ammount of miles on your clutch, and how you drive on it. If you think its worn out, it probably is.

Problem One: Clutch is slipping.
Diagnosis Pretty simple. Either your riding your clutch or over powering it. If you think your clutch is slipping and your not sure there are a couple ways to check it. Multiple people have opinions on how to check it and no one way is the set way to do it. I have 2 ways and it depends on the clutch type. 1st way, Put it into a higher gear (4th) at low speed and floor it. A slipping clutch should show its face at this point. Another way to do it is to have the car sitting at a stop, put the car in second gear and dump the clutch (dont do it repeatedly this can be very bad for a healthy clutch) and see if the motor stalls. If it pulls its way through then the clutch is slipping. That was is not the best way to check it, but it is one I have Heard of. Checking it is open for debate. When inspecting the clutch make sure there is no fluid leaks on the inside of the transmission bell housing. fluid contamination can cause a clutch to slip as well, and usually results in replacement of the clutch.
Repair: Replace clutch. If you have an aftermarket clutch that is not modular inspect the flywheel for glazing.

Problem Two: Clutch not disengaging all the way.
Diagnosis: This can be a sign of a worn out clutch, collapsed pressure plate spring, or a warped clutch disk, or leaking master cylinder/slave cylinder, worn out clutch fork. General problems from this will be Hard shifting in ALL gears, hard engagement in 1st/Rev. First inspect your master cylinder for fluid leaks. Peer under the dash and make sure that where the master cylinder comes through the firewall is clean of fluid. If clean inspect the slave cylinder for leaks (remember is a seal is leaking on a master/slave cylinder internally there should be signs of the fluid in the dust boot.). If the master and slave check out you need to pull the tranny and inspect the clutch fork. Look at the mounting surface on the fork for the Throw out bearing. If it is worn down Replace the fork. If the fork is ok, then inspect the clutch. If you have a modular clutch then you really cant inspect it.
Repair: Replace the clutch, master/slave cylinder, replace the clutch fork.

Problem Three: With gear in first and clutch disengaged, car inches forward.
Diagnosis: This is a classic sign of a worn out clutch. However, a clutch that doesn't fully disengage can do this as well. Inspect the master cylinder/slave cylinder as posted above along with the Clutch fork.
Repair: Replace the clutch.

Problem Four: Clutch pedal Vibration while accelerating
Diagnosis: This can be normal. If your feeling a clutch pedal vibration while accelerating take your foot of the pedal. Your riding it. Vibration under acceleration is mostly normal. If there is something wrong with the clutch you will feel it in the car not just the pedal, and usually it will be accompanied by a noise, excessive clutch chatter, poor disengagement, or slipping clutch. However, it could also be an issue with a imbalanced clutch. An imbalanced clutch can be felt out of gear by reving the engine at a stop. Also keep in mind that solid mounts will transfer a lot of engine/drivetrain vibration to the pedals and cabin. They will also increase clutch chatter.
Repair: If the clutch is imbalanced replace the clutch if modular. Or rotate the pressure plate 90* at a time if it is non-modular. Inspect the clutch and make sure all bolts are torques properly. Take foot off clutch pedal while driving.

Problem Five: Clutch chatter...
Diagnosis: Our cars naturally have a lot of clutch chatter in first gear/ reverse. Its due to the sloppy gear train in the transmission. A lot of the noise is normal. Solid Mounts will increase clutch chatter, as well as a beefier clutch. Stock clutch with stock mounts should be minimal, however keep in mind that it will still do it to some extent.
Repair: Turn up the radio/put bigger exhaust on the car. Or you can try replacing the stock clutch, though it might not do any good. If you don't have any other clutch issues don't worry about it.

Problem Six: Clutch pedal Vibration when sitting idle with pedal to floor. (May be acoompanied by grinding noise)
Diagnosis: This kind of vibration is usually a sign of the clutch fork hitting the Pressure plate. This can usually be caused by a worn out clutch fork, or a fubared throw out bearing. Also a collapsed pressure plate diaphragm spring can cause this as well if the fingers are bent. Also a miss adjusted clutch pedal can cause this as well. Remove of the tranny and inspection of the clutch componants will be required is clutch pedal is adjusted properly.
Repair: Replace affected part/adjust clutch pedal.

This section is open for discussion too on diagnosing a clutch or other clutch issues. Lets try to keep the "I'm having this issue with my clutch/trans" to another thread please.

Bryan

[AdvanSRT-4]

Good information.

I had the "Wouldn't go into gear during WOT" problem. Turned out to be a broken shift fork, and a fuxzored synchro. No matter what gear I had it in (including reverse) it was in 2nd gear. Got it home, then the tranny locked up.

[silver03srt]

damn so i guess my synchro and my buddys syncho is out then becuase it is hard as a bitch to get it in 3rd for both of our cars, you have to mess with it and half the time it still dont go in, just grinds a shit load, then we have to throw it in 4th, damn, i dont want to pay for that... could it be anything else??

[SkullingAxe]

Could be a bent fork in the trans. on the 3/4 shift fork. Always start with the basics though and make sure you clutch pedal is adjusted right and your cross over cable is set right. However, if it is doing it all the time and isolated to only 3rd gear than something is wrong with the syncro/fork.

[Maddog]

Nice post - very, very valuable information

[indian srt-4]

sticky material

[BLkDOuTSrT4[303]]

Very nice material. Could of used this information a few months back. STICKY!!!!

[SNOOPALOOP]

Sticky this!!!!

[SkullingAxe]

Bump to keep on 1st page. And for anyone else to add more information/correct me

[Turbd4DE]

Bump !! An make this one sticky. Damn 05 3rd gear problems.

[silver03srt]

its just an srt 3rd gear problem not just 05's ive got an 03 and mine is fked too, my fork is bent, now i just need to order a new one....... sticky!

[svtsrt]

this will clear up a lot of issues that people have. good info.

[BLkDOuTSrT4[303]]

i cant believe this aint a sticky yet

[YoNkErZsRt4]

its real hard to shift into second gear on my car....third gear sometimes going around a turn<<weird....but 1st and second is the main problem on my car....i was reading other post and they said something about replacing the throwout bearing fork? anyone hear of this?