Tranny troubles.

SuperStang83 · Apr 16, 2008

My car has been extremely hard to get into gear lately and I think that either the clutch cable is getting bad, or I am low on fluid. It is an aftermarket clutch cable and firewall adjuster and quadrant, and I believe a KC clutch which is still good. When it is stopped is when it is the hardest to get into gear. I really have to force it when I am stopped, like when I back out of a parking spot it is super tough to get into reverse and then just as hard to get into first. Upshifting isn't too bad, but it is definitely harder than it should be. When I am downshifting it is hard to get into gear while coming to a stop sign, but if I put it into gear while the car is still moving it is easier than when I try and put it in gear once I am stopped. This is in a stock T5 and other than this it shifts good and doesn't grind at all. I am going to check the fluid this weekend, and if it is alright, I am going to concentrate on the cable. Does anyone have any better ideas why the tranny is acting this way? Thank you!

Jacob

ShortThrow50 · Apr 17, 2008

doesnt sound like trans fluid to me. when you do get it in gear, at what point does the clutch start to grab? if it grabs soon as your clutch comes off the floor than you have a clutch adjustment thing goin on. if your cablewas bad, it would just snap not stretch.

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2008

Cables do stretch - been there and done that. If all gears seem equally affected, the clutch itself of cable are likely. If this is so, once the POE is known to be near the top of the pedal travel, then the clutch being bad is possible.

I'd check the fluid as you planned. Any howling?

If you have the stock quadrant, plan on replacing it.

Good luck bud. And lemme know if you need an extra set of hands for an R/R and I'll see if I can free up some time.

Mustang5L5 · Apr 17, 2008

Is the trans easy to shift at a complete dead stop with the engine off??

If you come to a stop, push the clutch in and wait 10 seconds then try for reverse or 1st and it doesn't want to go in....then it's a cable issue. It's prob stretched or the adjuster is set incorrectly.

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

The POE hasn't changed at all, but over the last few months it has just gotten real hard to get into gear, and I don't beat on the car barely at all. It is still extremely hard to get into gear when the car is stopped. Revving the car up seems to help getting it into gear a little though. It has a FWA and aftermarket quadrant on it, so I assume that the cable is an aftermarket adjustable one. I didn't put it on so I am not 100% sure. I don't hear any howling from it either.

5L5 I am going to have to check later about pushing the clutch in for 10 seconds, because I have never tried that. It might not be today because I am going to be drugged up. I am getting an implant in about an hour, and they use IV sedation in the military. Hopefully I won't be out of it all day and I'll get a chance to check on that later. Thank you for the replies guys!

Thanks for offering to lend a hand JT, I'll definitely call you if I need a hand!

Jacob

JEFF B · Apr 17, 2008

Sounds like a clutch related engagement issue. Could also be a stretched cable. Go ahead and re-adjust your clutch. If it gets better then you know where your issue is.

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Oh, another thing. I did adjust it a few weeks back with the FWA by turning it CCW and it seemed to be better for like a day. Then I tried adjusting it more on the FWA a few days later, but it didn't seem like there was anymore adjustment in it.

Jacob

ShortThrow50 · Apr 17, 2008

sorry for my false statement about cable stretch guys. i have never seen such a think before. you would think that if it was at a point of stretching, than it would be too weak to pull on the fork before breaking. thats why i mentioned that

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
Is the trans easy to shift at a complete dead stop with the engine off??

If you come to a stop, push the clutch in and wait 10 seconds then try for reverse or 1st and it doesn't want to go in....then it's a cable issue. It's prob stretched or the adjuster is set incorrectly.

I just went out and with the car parked and the engine off it went into the gears easily, but as soon as I stated the car I couldn't get it inot gear anymore. I pushed the clutch in for 10 seconds then tried to get it into any gear and it didn't want to go into any of them easily, and infact I didn't put it inot gear because I hate that I have to pound the shifter to get into gear. I'm gonna go and play with the FWA and see if that helps at all, but with what everyone is saying I think I need to get another cable.

I found an OEM cable from MM last night for $70. Is that the best deal that I am giong to find, or are there better deals out there? Thank you.

Jacob

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

It's gotta be the cable, I just went out again and adjusted it as far CCW as the FWA would go and now it is much easier to get into gears. The only problem that I have is that I don't think that the FWA will stay where it is, or maybe it will, but then the cable will stretch. Well it is good for now, but I am sure sometime in the near future I will be needing a new cable.

So does anyone know of a place better than MM to get the OEM cable? Thank you very much everyone.

Jacob

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2008

SuperStang83 said:
I am getting an implant in about an hour.....

Boom chucka lacka boom.

Seriously, good luck with that.

I got mine (the cable, not implant ) from Buyfordracing awhile back and it was about 50 beans shipped IIRC. That was awhile back though.

It does sound like a stretched cable. You could shim the FWA itself but you really risk popping that cable (since it sounds like it's stretched so bad already). I might do this instead of trying to drive it with a clutch that won't totally disengage however.

Shortthrow, no biggie. If I hadn't dealt with a lot of 'em, I wouldn't know. When I was younger I couldnt afford parts and would drive till car and motorcycle cables snapped. One time the closest 'parts place' was a VW shop. Don't ask about how I used VW parts to make a clutch cable for a motorcycle.

Mustang5L5 · Apr 17, 2008

SuperStang83 said:
I just went out and with the car parked and the engine off it went into the gears easily, but as soon as I stated the car I couldn't get it inot gear anymore. I pushed the clutch in for 10 seconds then tried to get it into any gear and it didn't want to go into any of them easily, and infact I didn't put it inot gear because I hate that I have to pound the shifter to get into gear. I'm gonna go and play with the FWA and see if that helps at all, but with what everyone is saying I think I need to get another cable.

I found an OEM cable from MM last night for $70. Is that the best deal that I am giong to find, or are there better deals out there? Thank you.

Jacob

It's the cable or one of the components related to it. Your trans is fine.

The theory is that if your clutch is fully disengaging, then after 10 seconds the trans internals should come to a stop and the tranny should be as easy to shift as if the car was completely off. Since it's hard to shift, they are still spinning which means the clutch is dragging.

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
It's the cable or one of the components related to it. Your trans is fine.

The theory is that if your clutch is fully disengaging, then after 10 seconds the trans internals should come to a stop and the tranny should be as easy to shift as if the car was completely off. Since it's hard to shift, they are still spinning which means the clutch is dragging.

That is good to know, cause I really don't have the extra cash flow for a new tranny right now. Thank you for the help guys, hopefully I will get a new cable soon. I've never put one in, but I have heard they are pretty easy to do. Is that true?

Jacob

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2008

It'll take you 5 minutes. I tighten the FWA (turn it CW) all the way. Undo the routing bracket. Slip the cable off the fork (undo the retention clip first), off the quad and remove the cable. Remove the grommet on the new cable, toss on the FWA and install the cable.

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Awesome, thanks man. I'm gonna look at buyfordracing and see if I can still get one for cheap.

LOL, yeah it was fun telling people for the last few months that I am getting an implant. The looks on people's faces were classic!

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Which one would you buy here because I believe that the first two are adjustable. Does that mean that the last one ($46) is the OEM type that I want?

http://www.buyfordracing.com/shop/index.php?cPath=3_29_32

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2008

I'm having issues seeing numbers on the parts but it should be a M-7553-A302 IIRC.

SuperStang83 · Apr 17, 2008

Awesome, thanks JT, that is the one on there! Appreciate it bro!

Jacob

SuperStang83 · Apr 18, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
The theory is that if your clutch is fully disengaging, then after 10 seconds the trans internals should come to a stop and the tranny should be as easy to shift as if the car was completely off. Since it's hard to shift, they are still spinning which means the clutch is dragging.

I'm gonna have to remember that, I didn't know it and it could come in very handy.

fiveohlxhatch · Apr 18, 2008

I purchased the MM one which is claimed to be as close as possible to the OEM piece. The Ford Racing piece is also a good choice and subsequently cheaper.

Tranny troubles.

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