Drivetrain T5-Shifting Issue (5th gear to 4th)

I just completed my T5 swap and so far I am loving the new driveline. I installed a Hurst short throw shifter and Maximum Motorsports Clutch Cable w/firewall adjuster and aluminum quadrant. At this time, I am having absolutely no issues with gears grinding. The only concern or issue I am having is (when driving) I can shift up through all gears perfectly but when coming down from 5th gear to 4th, it will not go in (no grinding), i have to put it into 3rd first and then I can go into 4th gear.

Anybody else dealt with this before?

I am able to shift down from 5th into any other gear. And when I’m stopped i can shift down to any gear as well. Could this be an issue with the clutch cable? Maybe i’m not fully disengaging the clutch? But why would every other gear allow it?

Mustang5L5 said:

At a dead stop let the clutch out with the engine running. Push the clutch in and immediately put it into gear. Do this for all 5 gears. Does it go in easily or is there any grinding/hesitation?

Now do the same, but this time push the clutch in, count to 10 and then try for a gear. Do this for all 5 again. Any change?


It should go into gear easily in all instances. If it doesn't, that might suggest clutch drag. Please report back

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At a dead stop, all gears go in easily. Same for the 10-second delay. Seems to only happen when driving and trying to shift down from 5th while in motion.

AeroCoupe said:

Seems this is a somewhat common issue (quick Google search). Found this thread over on the Corral (I know, I know) but SPeace-ATL knows his stuff on T5's so I thought it would be worth sharing.

https://www.corral.net/threads/t5-downshift-problem.1362338/

What is the history on the T5 that you put in your car and by this I mean do you know if it has been gone through or did it come out of a running car and did not have this issue prior to putting it into your car.

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Thank you for your response. I will check out that link. As for the transmission, it came out of a running 92’ GT. Regardless, I had it opened up at a reputable manual transmission shop. They said everything looked great and resealed it for me. I also had them install a steal bearing retainer. To my knowledge, there were no mechanical issues with this transmission.