Suddenly Grinds when going in to reverse.

DARCA · Nov 19, 2008

Ok, Just bought this car, I know very little about it. I have had it for about a week and have had 0 problems with it, and overall it has been a fantastic car. Today, not ten minutes ago, I was backing it in to my garage, and all of a sudden it grinds when I try and shift it in reverse (clutch all the way depressed). So I let it sit for a bout 30 seconds in neutral and than shifted it back in to first. I than try to shift it in to Reverse again and it goes no problem. Now unless I let it sit for a few and shift it in to first I can no longer put it in to reverse without grinds.

Any help is appreciated.

-Brad

Blandnuts · Nov 19, 2008

I've always shifted my car into 2nd and then reverse. There are certain years that don't have syncros for reverse. What year car is yours?

ShortThrow50 · Nov 19, 2008

normal. I had a 1990 gt back in 91 that had 4k miles on it when i got it and i always grinded in reverse. The most recent 5.0 i purchased had only 65k miles on it and did the same thing. Everywhere i read about 5.0's they all grind in reverse. I also read that the t5 trans does not have a synchronised reverse. My brand new tko600 grinds in reverse. Mustangs grind in reverse lol

DARCA · Nov 19, 2008

Its an '88 GT. Just bought it from a good friend that babied it. It has a rebuilt stock Transmition (5speed) with less then 100K miles on it. I have driven this car for a week without any problems shifting it in to reverse. I was told today also that the car has a raceing clutch if that makes a difference.

Mustang5L5 · Nov 20, 2008

DARCA said:
that the car has a raceing clutch if that makes a difference.

Racing clutch is a silly term really. High Performance clutch? yes. Aftermarket clutch? yes? But which brand is what matters.

But an '88 T-5 does not have a synchronized reverse. Usually most people put the car in 1st or 5th before shifting into reverse to stop the trans internals.

There is an idler gear internally that is not replaced during a typical rebuild for reverse that could help the prob as well. They tend to round over from years of use and lead to more frequent grinding of reverse. Short of tearing down the trans to freshen up the reverse parts, start using a forward gear before reverse...or wait 10-15 seconds with the clutch in before going to R.

Also, it could be a clutch point engagement issue. Perhaps the clutch does not fully release. If you push the clutch in, wait 15 seconds and try for reverse and still grind, the clutch disk is dragging and needs to be adjusted

SVT32VDOHC · Nov 20, 2008

Here's what you do. Before you put it in reverse, put it in 1st, roll forward an inch or so, then put it in into reverse....works everytime without grinding.

My 91 T5 did that once in a while and it was rebuilt. The thing was beautiful except when that happened.

NIKwoaC · Nov 20, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
Racing clutch is a silly term really. High Performance clutch? yes. Aftermarket clutch? yes? But which brand is what matters.

But an '88 T-5 does not have a synchronized reverse. Usually most people put the car in 1st or 5th before shifting into reverse to stop the trans internals.

There is an idler gear internally that is not replaced during a typical rebuild for reverse that could help the prob as well. They tend to round over from years of use and lead to more frequent grinding of reverse. Short of tearing down the trans to freshen up the reverse parts, start using a forward gear before reverse...or wait 10-15 seconds with the clutch in before going to R.

Also, it could be a clutch point engagement issue. Perhaps the clutch does not fully release. If you push the clutch in, wait 15 seconds and try for reverse and still grind, the clutch disk is dragging and needs to be adjusted

As usual, 5L5 is right on.

Because the reverse in these transmissions is not "syncronized", there are a few rules you get in habit of following when driving these cars.

1. Don't shift into reverse while rolling forward, it will grind every time. Wait until you come to a stop. You have to be kind of patient when navigating forward/backward with these cars.

2. Jam it into reverse like you're trying to break the shift lever (within reason). If you try to it, the gear's "dog teeth" are just going to keep smacking until the input/cluster shafts stop spinning (they free spin after you depress the clutch for a few seconds, even after the car is stopped). If you shift quickly, the teeth are forced to mesh quicker, and thus, no grinding. This is even more fun if you have an aftermarket shifter. Don't worry, this seems more brutal than it really is.

3. Like said above, shifting into a forward gear is always an option, as it stops the internals from spinning (with the car stopped and the clutch depressed).

Beasty306GT · Nov 20, 2008

my 89 gt grinds sometimes also going iton reverse ..its known for the t-5...dont worry about it its normal

DARCA · Nov 20, 2008

Thanks for all of the feedback. As for the clutch I am just repeating what I was told, so I am not entirely sure of the brand of this clutch I'll ask next time I talk to my buddy.

ShortThrow50 · Nov 20, 2008

DARCA said:
Thanks for all of the feedback. As for the clutch I am just repeating what I was told, so I am not entirely sure of the brand of this clutch I'll ask next time I talk to my buddy.

Ill bet you that it is a Ford Racing King cobra clutch. Thats what i run in my tremec. Maybe he told you it was a ford racing clutch and thats what you meant. Its rated for like 400 hp

DARCA · Nov 20, 2008

All he told me was that it was a racing clutch no brand or anything. He has put a lot of Ford Racing parts on it though so you are probably right.

I put it in to 5th before going in to reverse, no grinds.

cb71boss · Dec 15, 2009

getting into reverse

All t5's grind into reverse from time to time. to stop the grinding just shift into 4th gear then into reverse. Reverse has no syncros on it, but it can be synced just by putting it into 4th first. Whatever you do, do not force it into gear if it is grinding. I am rebuilding a t5 where the owner was in a hurry and jamed it into reverse and bit a tooth off.

25thmustang · Dec 15, 2009

If you don't use a forward gear they will grind...

I do it from time to time just to scare people.

Just slide it into a forward gear.

Also sometimes you will go for reverese and it simply wont go in, with the clutch pedal down. Best thing here is to try pulling it in and let the clutch out slightly. As soon as it goes to grab it will slide in.

Mustang5L5 · Dec 15, 2009

cb71boss said:
Reverse has no syncros on it,

1992 and on the T5 did gain a reverse synchro. The parts can be retrofitted into an early T-5, but you need the tailhousing and 5-R synchro parts.

It's actually more of a Reverse brake than a synchro. Just nudge the shifter slightly up against R before shifting into Reverse and the synchro will stop the cluster gear from spinning.

THOR74 · Dec 15, 2009

The T5 trannys put into the 1992 and up model year were improved/upgraded to eliminate this reverse "problem", as well as a 3-4 sychro issue:

The following is a direct quote from an excellent and quite thorough article on the full history of the T5 (Non-World Class and Word Class) titled "World Class Act" that was written by M. Davis and appeared in the May 1992 issue of Car Craft magazine:

"On Ford 1992 Mustang V8 WC (world class) transmissions, the organic 3-4 sychro blocker ring lining was enhanced for greater durability. Previously, the material's effectiveness could degrade if it was subjected to missed shifts or clutchless shifts. The latest compound can tolerate much more abuse...and can be retrofitted to and T5 WC trans...also new on the '92 Mustang is enhanced reverse engagement. After coming to a stop, it isn't necessary to wait to engage reverse, or 'clear' reverse gear, in order to avoid gear clash. Moving the shift handle/linkage stops everything in the box. This design change cannot be retrofitted to earlier transmissions."

I personally lucked out, in a sense, because my 1991 GT was actually made in the late spring of 1991 and the original owner before me had a tranny issue in 1992 while the full warranty was still in place. Ford was interested in taking the original tranny back to investigate what went wrong and so installed a complete new one in its place (a 1992 T5).

THAT BEING SAID I have driven both types of T5s and can attest to the fact that the '92 upgrade really works. However, when driving a T5 not equipped with this feature, I would always just hold the clutch all the way down and give it 4-5 seconds to stop spinning inside, after which I would robustly slide the stick into R. If I didn't feel like waiting, then I'd slip it into 1 (which would stop the internals from spinning) and then into R. The trick is to not try to engage R while the internals are still turning.

ADDITIONALLY, in my '91, even though it has the reverse gear upgrade, every so often, maybe 1 in 15 or 1 in 20 times when I try to put R in, the gear will simply not go in at all (no grinding, just won't go in). It seems that if the internals happen to line up just right way the R "teeth" will not mesh. All I do at this point is to slide the stick into 1, which always nudges the internals a bit, and the R goes in perfectly fine, every time.

I love driving my T5 - really well made and shifts like a dream - what a machine!

Suddenly Grinds when going in to reverse.

DARCA

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