2012 Mustang Gt Mt82

smittys302

New Member
Aug 19, 2011
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I don't know much about these newer mustang's. I'm old school and a fox is as far as I've ever been. But I've been looking at a 2012 mustang GT with the mt82 6 speed. The car has 60000 miles on it and the owner says it's never had any problems. I don't plan on drag racing, I'm over that, but I do want to see what it's made out of from time to time. I really like the car but I don't want to get it if the transmission is going to be a headache. Please help me here. Thanks
 
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You will see mixed opinions across mustang forums. From what i recall, the majority were fine but I have been out of the s197 loop for a couple of years now. I'm sure a Google search will get you all the threads on these problems. For what it's worth, I never had any problems when I had my 2012, although I sold it with a little under 30k miles.

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my 2012 imploded its MT at about 10K. Ford fixed it and it was fine. If it's not whining or grinding, it's likely just fine and you can probably buy with confidence. I have an '14 auto car now due to disability and the fact the auto is really flipping cool though.
 
I only have 4500 mile on my car but when I do drive it I drive it hard. It seems to be holding up fine. The issues I have are a slight crunch when I shift when it is cold especially 1-2 unless I shift it very slowly and carefully. After I drive it awhile its seems fine.It was hard to shift under WOT which is a known issue with the shifter, not the transmission. I installed the Whiteline trans mount insert http://www.americanmuscle.com/whiteline-positive-shift-kit-1114.html and amazingly it completely eliminated that problem. When the weather get warmer I am going to replace the fluid with Royal Purple Synchromax manual transmission fluid. I have read that this should eliminate the cold crunch and improve the overall shift feel.Otherwise I would have no problem buying another car with this transmission.
 
Some of the earlier (2011) manual transmissions had issues with not wanting to come out of 2nd gear at very high rpms. Not sure if it is the transmission or clutch assembly. There was a TSB for it. 2012 should be okay, though.

This could have been why I shattered the clutch plate on my stock clutch trying to shift into 3rd from 8k rpms in 2nd gear. It wouldn't disengage/got stuck in gear. I forced it out of gear and shattered the clutch plate in the process.

For what it's worth, my car was well out of Warranty range and is not stock, so those- as well as shifting at 8k rpms at 80 mph- probably played a factor.

I haven't had a chance to test the new setup in a proper race environment to see if it locks up, but I am interested in seeing how the new clutch and flywheel affect the "lockup" issue.
 
At first I thought the MT82 was trash, but it seems the shifter is more to blame than the transmission. Ford's poorly designed semi-remote shifter. IMO, this design is made worse by those who install a stiffer shifter bushing, since it essentially turns the shifter into a torque strut. I'm sure that's why Ford used such a soft, spongy rubber for the rear bushing.
 
..... IMO, this design is made worse by those who install a stiffer shifter bushing, since it essentially turns the shifter into a torque strut. I'm sure that's why Ford used such a soft, spongy rubber for the rear bushing.
Except that everyone who has installed the stiffer bushing, including myself, find that shifting is dramatically improved. It feels like a different shifter. Ford uses a spongy rubber transmission mount for the same reason the use things like flimsy compliant LCA s and a 2- piece drive shafts. Like most car companies today they are obsessed with reducing or eliminating NVH. Shifter bushing like the Whiteline Transmission Mount Insert I installed on my car, increase driveline noise.
But yes you are correct most of the issues are due to the poor shifter design.
 
This is all anecdotal so take it for what its worth.

Seems that most folks who install a shifter bushing also have supporting mods (such as the whiteline insert). I can see how BOTH of these together would improve shift quality. But just by evaluating Ford's design it seems that a stiff rear bushing and soft transmission mount would cause a lot of twisting in the shifter assembly and a whole lot of misalignment.

Regardless, I had trouble shifting especially in left turns. I tried the Energy Suspension bushing and it definitely did not make it better (but I felt good by getting rid of those zip ties). I just installed the Blowfish racing bracket and so far it seems to be a big improvement.
 
Ok. I only have the Whiteline mount insert. Everything else transmission wise is factory, and like I said it is night and day, The insert has completely eliminated all of my shifting issues, I can't speak to the insert in combinations with other parts, and I am not saying it is a cure all,. But I can say it worked for me. I didn't have the shifting while turning left issue, my biggest things were general sloppiness and shifting under WOT especially 2-3. Now its smooth as silk, and feels very precise. I had planned on upgrading the shifter, but after reading all the reviews of the insert I figure since my car came with a short throw shifter from the factory for $31.00 its worth it to see if it works as advertised and surprisingly it did.
 
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Yes we are I realized that after your 2nd post. You are talking about the piece that bolts to the floor of the car behind the shifter, with the rubber bushing held in by 2 zip ties that fits around the back of the shifter. I was thinking about replacing that as well, but I think the insert alone works just fine. Now that the weather is getting warm I'll see how I feel about it as drive the car more
 
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I have a Barton rear shifter support and an Energy Suspension polyurethane insert that fits the OEM bracket "FOR SALE" if anyone is interested???
I used the Barton for a couple weeks but never installed the ES one.....finally went the MGW shifter and very happy with it!! MGW is expensive but well worth it!!
Wonder why FORD didn't do something like Toyota did with their Getrag gearbox?? Looks like the MGW setup just not quite as refined!!

Getrag Shifter.PNG


I have both Barton and ES parts listed in the Classifieds if any of you are interested!!
 
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