very VERY hard to get in 2nd gear

[-[White90GT]-]

so i have a problem.........my car doesnt like 2nd gear at all.....its a 1990 5.0 GT......heres tha deal


first is fine......let tha clutch out...hit tha gas ..fine right....i go......i go to switch to second push tha clutch in.......switch to second...let tha clutch out and it grinds......

after i get done with my 1 second pissed of phase i try again......wut i have to do is when i let the clutch out i have to pull the shifter back and really hold it and pull and i let the clutch out and i feel it bump when it goes into gear..then i can go to third and so on......and all other gears are fine.........

at first i though it was a pretty simple problem.....i take the plastic off around the shifter...pull up the leather....look at the bolts on the shifter...they are absolutely fine where they are its not constricting me from shifting into second...then i slap myself for being stupid because it goes into 4th and reverse fine...so i wasted 10 minutes of my life...whatever...

i really need a new clutch cable and a new quadrant....but i dont no if it would help much....and i no thats prolly only a quarter of the problem......my cousin has a brand new quadrant so all i need is to go get a clutch cable.......i will prolly get back to yall as soon as i get done with all tha stuff......

any help would be appreciated......and you can call me dumb for being stupid...haha.........as far as the trans and stuff.....its the stock trans....and i have a hurst short throw shifter...oh yeah....king cobra clutch

 

[Daggar]

It's either needing the additional clutch adjustment that you mentioned above or you have synchros in the tranny that are going out or are already gone.

 

[seijirou]

Pull up on the clutch pedal to get any adjustment out of what you have if there's any left to have, and change the transmission fluid. If you're truly not having any shifter clearance issues, than that's basically all you can do with the trans in the car.

 

[86bluecobra]

I agree with what Daggar had to say. it maybe time for a rebuild to replace those syncro's.

 

[Turkey Sammich]

I would go ahead and do the adjustment. Then go from there.

 

[txstang84]

if you have to hold it for it to stay in gear, I'm also inclined to agree with Daggar on this one-synchros are probably shot...other possibilities being; a bent shift fork, worn blocker rings, dog ring, shift collar, etc...

The adjustment can't hurt, but you said the tranny is stock, and it has probably been beaten on quite a bit, thus lending more creedence to the bad synchro probability.

Does it make any whining noises in second or pop out of gear on accel or decel? Does it make any noise idling in neutral with the clutch out?

 

[Daggar]

I imagine that you still have the stock clutch quadrant? If so, you can still test the adjustment theory without having to replace the quadrant (so long as quadrant teeth are not stripped out).

Lay on your back on the friver side floor and look up till you see the quadrant. There is what looks like a U shaped hook up there. Press the clutch down with one hand a couple of inches. Put your thumb on the U shaped hook and pull the clutch back up until you hear 3 or 4 clicks. At this point, the cable is as tight as it can be without partially disengaging the clutch. If you go too many clicks then you WILL partially disengage the clutch and it will slip or eat itself up.

If you happen to pull up on the clutch pedal accidentally or on purpose after you've done this then this adustment will be gone and you'll need to repeat to get the same tension back in the cable. Thei method tightens the cable beyond what the automatic feature of the quadrant and prawl will do and is only a temporary measure to help you trouble shoot.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Synchro gears are screwed. Unless you feel like blowing the money on a rebuild, or you care to tackle the job yourself, you're probably better off to start shopping for a used T-5 in the boneyards, classifieds, Craigslist.com, or eBay.

 

[-[White90GT]-]

Got my clutch cable and quadrant today!......Going to install them as soon as I can. I will get back to everybody after I install it and tell you how it goes. I think it will help some but if I cant still feel anything I am going to save some money and buy tha $200 rebuild kit from FRPP and have someone rebuild it. Even if I dont feel anything at all the rebuild will probably still come...........thanks for everyones help....ill post after I get done..........