Hard shift/grind on manual

sc0tty8

Registered User
Well, I bought my sc with the tranny like this, at a dead stop, it can be hard to put into first or reverse.

I would like to chnage out the fluid in the tranny and see if that helps, I know it is not clutch related, otherwise it would apply to every gear, the clutch is nice and hard and is like a dream.

My book says how to drain the tranny, but, not how to fill.

Also, what do I use to top it off with?

Thanks!
 
Theres various posts about this...do a search for more details, but essentially:

*one of the best fluids to use is GM's syncro mesh
* drain the old fluid
*fill it back up either by using a long rubber hose and funnel so taht you can add the fluid from the engine bay OR take of your entire shifter assembly (have to remove console) and fill it from there.
*you have to add fluid until some of it starts pouring out of the whole that says "FILL" on the side of the trans.

Im about to do that on mine too! Good luck.
 
Ok cool, I think that is all I needed to know, I did a search, but, it was not much help, most of the stuff I seen was reguarding fresh rebuilds or autos..

So Just go to a GM dealer and say gimme some syncro mesh fluid? I should be able to get that pretty cheap, my friend's dad owns a stealership, gm too:)
 
Yeah, well im not sure if the GM dealers carry different types of manual trans. fluid but, im sure they'll know what u are talking about.
 
it actually sounds like the clutch isn't disengaging fully. the 1st and reverse synchros are likely just more worn (from downshifting into 1st and reverse is almost always weaker)
 
eh hehh hmm

if i had to guess id say its the syncro sleaves-they have teeth on them that wear, causing difficulty going into gear-common problem-the teeth dull and get worn over. bout 75 each from southern gear-entire trans. dissasembly req'd. best change blockers while youre in there. mike
 
Right now, I really can not afford a new tranny, so, I am trying this to see if it helps.

I can get first gear, I can not shift into 2 or 3rd on the downshift, unless I wait til the revs are at 1k or less, the, it will go into gear with a bit of resistance.

There is a forum member that has a tranny he would sell me for 600$ shipped, but, I don't have that much for a tranny right now for an 800$ car that I have already stuck 400$ worth of parts into and about 24-30hours of labor :mad:
 
Keep this thread alive...

My 5.0 uses the M5R2.
I have the same problems. Speed shifting (not power shifting) always has a quick grind 1-2-3. Downshifting at speed is fine 5-4-3 but 3-2 is almost impossible and forget about 2-1 unless the car is crawling. This is from a rebuilt tranny with 3000 miles on it. I use royal purple synchromesh, and have a centerforce dual friction with 500 miles (maybe). Another odd thing is that while rolling really slow with the clutch in, shifting from 1-2-1-2-1-2 will cause a loud clunk and it shakes the whole car. Is it time for another rebuild? That already cost $900. My sychros are too slow and something else has to be messed up. Tranny experts...... :confused:
 
Kind of sounds like they used all brass blockers in the rebuild.

blkbird95 said:
My 5.0 uses the M5R2.
I have the same problems. Speed shifting (not power shifting) always has a quick grind 1-2-3. Downshifting at speed is fine 5-4-3 but 3-2 is almost impossible and forget about 2-1 unless the car is crawling. This is from a rebuilt tranny with 3000 miles on it. I use royal purple synchromesh, and have a centerforce dual friction with 500 miles (maybe). Another odd thing is that while rolling really slow with the clutch in, shifting from 1-2-1-2-1-2 will cause a loud clunk and it shakes the whole car. Is it time for another rebuild? That already cost $900. My sychros are too slow and something else has to be messed up. Tranny experts...... :confused:
 
It's the syncros I have the same problem the only way to shift into first is to go into second before first at a dead stop it's a pain to get used to but it's what I have to do untill I have the money to rebuild the tranny. I have to do the same thing for reverse. Try just shifting into second before first at a dead stop that should get you by for now.
 
grinding gears

:(I have a 90 sc thunderbird. My problem is that my 1st and 2nd gear grinds sometimes
I bout the care for 1200.00. The second gear was grinding when shifting after shifting from 1st to 2nd.
And the pedal was hard I assume the clutch needed to be replaces. The mechanic changes the pressure plate and clutch and the bearing the complete kit. And call me advising me to replace the slave cylinder. So I agree. Then the master cylinder started to lick fluid. Is been replace
But still grinding gears and the pedal is really hard I think my mechanic didn’t do a good job
I hope is not an internal problem
 
:(I have a 90 sc thunderbird. My problem is that my 1st and 2nd gear grinds sometimes
I bout the care for 1200.00. The second gear was grinding when shifting after shifting from 1st to 2nd.
And the pedal was hard I assume the clutch needed to be replaces. The mechanic changes the pressure plate and clutch and the bearing the complete kit. And call me advising me to replace the slave cylinder. So I agree. Then the master cylinder started to lick fluid. Is been replace
But still grinding gears and the pedal is really hard I think my mechanic didn’t do a good job
I hope is not an internal problem
whats concerning is the hard pedal. If anything were wrong it should be soft.. that is unless he used a stage 4 clutch on the thing. That would be totally wrong for this car though.. stage 4's are for like 700hp and up! The thing that makes the pedal hard to push is the springs on the pressure plate. But there's absolutely nothing you can do wrong that will make those springs softer or harder than they were designed for. The pressure plate is what it is.
The excess force needed could cause the master cylinder to leak because it just wasnt designed for it.

As for the grinding.. if it was grinding before, a new clutch won't fix that. Also if there was a problem with how much the clutch travel, then you would have grinding in all gears.. not just 1 or 2. The 1,2 synchro blocker rings tend to have more wear. What you would need to fix that is new blocker rings which is what Mike is referring to. It does mean a complete tear down of the trans however.
 
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