Rough Shifting Feeling with the 5 Speed

RED2001GT

RED2001GT

Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Mar 18, 2003
270
2
18
#1
I've noticed that the shifter on my 02 Mustang doesn't feel smooth when I shift into the various gears. This happens only while I'm shifting into 1st, 2nd , 3rd and 4th gear. My clutch feels okay and the reverse gear is fine. The gears don't grind or anything like that, but I don't get the buttery smooth shifts as much anymore like I used to. The shifter stays in gear and I don't have any problems with the shifter popping out of gear while I'm driving or while I'm shifting. But the shifting feels a little rough. Is this normal? What causes the rough shifting?
My car is a 2002 Mustang 5 speed manual with the V6 engine in it.
 

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#3
The transmission fluid was changed at 30,000 miles and the transmission filter was also cleaned at the same time. My Mustang has only 38,900 miles on it. I religiously maintain it since I purchased it brand new 5 years ago.
 
#4
If you asked me, I'd say that your car needs 2 more cylinders...:rlaugh: Anyways, I tend to notice that my tranny is harder to shift when it's cold outside, but it's fine once it warms up (I'm sure that we have different trannies). You think that the weather could be playing any factor on yours though??
 
#5
02FastblackGT said:
If you asked me, I'd say that your car needs 2 more cylinders...:rlaugh: Anyways, I tend to notice that my tranny is harder to shift when it's cold outside, but it's fine once it warms up (I'm sure that we have different trannies). You think that the weather could be playing any factor on yours though??
Click to expand...
I was thinking about the same thing. The weather here in New England has been rather warm for the last 2 weeks. Yesterday was really cold outside and the shifting felt rough. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with the shifting not being smooth. I usually blast the heat inside the cabin so everything can get nice and warm while I'm driving. I have a feeling that most 6 and 8 cylinder 5 speed 99-04 Ford Mustangs have the same problem with the shifting not being smooth. I can live with it as long as there's nothing defective with the transmission and/or with the shift forks and nothing breaks. I don't have the money to start doing major repairs to my Mustang if anything like the transmission starts falling apart. I cannot afford to purchase another car right now. I currently don't owe anything on my Mustang and I want to keep this car for as long as possible for at least another 5 years without having it become a money pit for major repairs.
I'm hoping that the engine and transmission on my Mustang will last forever. I would like to be able to put over 250,000+ miles on my Mustang if I can without having to do any major engine and transmission repairs. I never beat on my car and I always maintain it according to the Ford service schedule.
I don't know what would be causing the roughness in the shifting. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with the shifting not being smooth?
 
#6
I wasn't aware the TR3650 had a filter?

Try switching to a synthetic. I happen to like the Royal Purple products in particular. The Synchromax is specifically designed for manual transmissions that call for ATF. The GM Sychromesh is also a good product for the 3650's.

The TR-3650 uses a hybrid organic/carbon fiber friction lining on the friction face of the blocker rings. The Royal Purple Sychromax and the GM Synchromesh are specifically designed to have a low sulfur content and work best with those specific type of blocker rings making gear engagements as smooth as possible.
 
#9
LaserRed01GT said:
I wasn't aware the TR3650 had a filter?

Try switching to a synthetic. I happen to like the Royal Purple products in particular. The Synchromax is specifically designed for manual transmissions that call for ATF. The GM Sychromesh is also a good product for the 3650's.

The TR-3650 uses a hybrid organic/carbon fiber friction lining on the friction face of the blocker rings. The Royal Purple Sychromax and the GM Synchromesh are specifically designed to have a low sulfur content and work best with those specific type of blocker rings making gear engagements as smooth as possible.
Click to expand...

Other than better shifting. Have you noticed any performance gain from using a synthetic lubricant in your transmission?
 
#10
Stan Weiss said:
Other than better shifting. Have you noticed any performance gain from using a synthetic lubricant in your transmission?
Click to expand...

I honestly didn't notice any performance increase, at least nothing significant enough for me to notice by the seat of my pants. I guess I could get it on the dyno and see if there was any increase.

I am considering having my ring and pinion mikronited and I am also going to switch to synthetic rear end lube.

A guy I know just had his ring/pinion gears mikronited as a guinea pig and he gained 11 RWHP/13 RWTQ from just the mikroniting alone. he has a relatively stock 2005 Mustang GT. I gotta call them to see what they charge for doing a ring/pinion to see if it is a cost effective power gain or not. Nevertheless, I was impressed at the gains from just mikroniting the ring/pinion. The Pros have been mikroniting parts for a while now, but this is starting to filter down to street guys now and apparently guys are now doing their bearings, cam followers, rockers, oil pumps, and so on.
 
#11
There is a 4 page article on this in the January issue of Car Craft page 44. Their test car was a'93 Mustang with 3.55:1 gears. They saw a 6 HP gain. It says MM&FF saw 7-8 HP on an '05 which made more HP. So it looks like the more power you make the more you will save. It says to do the ring and pinion is about $200.
 
#12
Stan Weiss said:
There is a 4 page article on this in the January issue of Car Craft page 44. Their test car was a'93 Mustang with 3.55:1 gears. They saw a 6 HP gain. It says MM&FF saw 7-8 HP on an '05 which made more HP. So it looks like the more power you make the more you will save. It says to do the ring and pinion is about $200.
Click to expand...

They are also saying that the Mikroniting process has shown to reduce the differential temps by 25-30°F, not to say they are much smoother and quiter as well. If it's only $200 for the ring and pinion, that's not too bad at all in my opinion. This has me thinking about other stuff like slip yokes, input shafts, output shafts, axles, pinion journal, carrier journals, etc. I'd be willing to bet there could be easily over 30 RWHP freed up in just the drivetrain alone.

I'd like to see a dyno comparison between a Mikronited piston skirt and a teflon/moly coated skirt.:)
 
#13
Stan Weiss said:
Being a V6 this car should not have a T-3650. But I do not know that the T-5/T-45 has a filter either.
Click to expand...

I remember that the chief mechanic at Ford Service mentioned something about taking off some sort of filter from the transmission and either cleaning it or replacing it at the 30,000 mile service which I did to my vehicle over 1 year ago. The 30,000 mile service was done to my car when it had 29,000 miles on it. My car now has 38,900 original miles on it.
 
#14
LaserRed01GT said:
They are also saying that the Mikroniting process has shown to reduce the differential temps by 25-30°F, not to say they are much smoother and quiter as well. If it's only $200 for the ring and pinion, that's not too bad at all in my opinion. This has me thinking about other stuff like slip yokes, input shafts, output shafts, axles, pinion journal, carrier journals, etc. I'd be willing to bet there could be easily over 30 RWHP freed up in just the drivetrain alone.

I'd like to see a dyno comparison between a Mikronited piston skirt and a teflon/moly coated skirt.:)
Click to expand...

I would think all the trans parts should show a nice gain in HP.
Here is the contact Info from the article
Mikronite Technologies
Eatontown NJ
732-544-2250
http://mikronite.com
 
#15
Stan Weiss said:
I would think all the trans parts should show a nice gain in HP.
Here is the contact Info from the article
Mikronite Technologies
Eatontown NJ
732-544-2250
http://mikronite.com
Click to expand...

Years back when I was just getting into NASCAR, I remember always being fascinated by the time and effort and money those teams would spend in just "freeing" up HP. All of their gears are straight cut in their transmisions and rear ends as opposed to our helically cut gears. But, the straight cut gears are very loud - too loud for a street car. I think you are right, I think doing the gears inside the trans would prove to show some very nice gains. I guess the disassembly and reassembly would be the pain in the neck though.
 
#17
LaserRed01GT said:
They are also saying that the Mikroniting process has shown to reduce the differential temps by 25-30°F, not to say they are much smoother and quiter as well. If it's only $200 for the ring and pinion, that's not too bad at all in my opinion. This has me thinking about other stuff like slip yokes, input shafts, output shafts, axles, pinion journal, carrier journals, etc. I'd be willing to bet there could be easily over 30 RWHP freed up in just the drivetrain alone.

I'd like to see a dyno comparison between a Mikronited piston skirt and a teflon/moly coated skirt.:)
Click to expand...
30 hp??? that doesnt add up, only 15-18 percent of your total power is lost through the drivetrain. if you gain 30 hp, that would mean you are only losing 2-5 percent. i guess its possible if you had your entire drivetrain coated, :lol:
 
#18
To know what percentage gain or loss the 30 HP would be you need to know the HP of his car. In the Car Craft article they got a 2.94% HP increase just be doing the ring and pinion. They went from 204 HP to 210 HP. On a 411 HP vehicle with 350 RWHP this is 15 % loss. If we get back 30 and have 380 RWHP this is a 7.7 % Loss
 
#19
Stan Weiss said:
To know what percentage gain or loss the 30 HP would be you need to know the HP of his car. In the Car Craft article they got a 2.94% HP increase just be doing the ring and pinion. They went from 204 HP to 210 HP. On a 411 HP vehicle with 350 RWHP this is 15 % loss. If we get back 30 and have 380 RWHP this is a 7.7 % Loss
Click to expand...

Thank you Stan.

BTW Rickyll7, the Mikronite process is NOT a coating. It is a very hi-tech method of polishing and strengthening a specific material. These guys are gaining 8-12 RWHP on relatively stock Mustangs by just having the ring/pinion gears Mikronited. NASCAR and NHRA/IHRA have been doing this for a while now. If you were to do the pinion journal, carrier journal, and transmision gears prior to assembly, and additinal 18 RWHP, or a total of 30 RWHP could easily be gained.

They are also finding decent gains by doing valvesprings, bearings, and camshaft followers and rockers.

http://www.mikronite.com/overview.asp
http://www.mikronite.com/documents/ValveSprings.pdf
 
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