5 Speed Guys - Syncro or shifter?

JeffTBird93

Registered User
Ok, my 92's developed a slight tranny issue. 2nd grinds pretty bad when trying to shift into it, whether it be from 1-2 or 3-2. It doesn't do it all the time, mainly at rpms above 1500, and when I pull it into gear slowly, it doesn't do it either. My gut instinct tells me it's the syncro, but I can't see why...I've never missed, grinded, or raked 2nd...and the only time it really gets driven hard is at the track. Here's what is making me wonder though. The shifter...when it's in 3rd,4th,5th, or reverse, it's nice and tight only in those gears. When it's in 1st or 2nd, it's very sloppy, like about 3/4" of wiggle room back and forth on the shifter. I'm wondering if one time at the track, I could've bent something in/on the shifter somehow, and it's not engaging 2nd right.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge on what makes up a manual tranny. I've never had to mess with one before. Either way it's no real worry, I've got a good spare that I can throw in it. How tough is it to swap these things...easier or harder than an auto? Any insight appreciated.
 
hmm...

Im going to call it and say its the syncro for sure. Its the exact problem my 95-speed had. 2nd and 3rd are usually good candidates to go out also. I don't know how to explain the extra sloppyness in the shifter.

If your taking the tranny out for the first time, expect it to take you a while. But defintely doable.
 
Coming from some heavy experience with this, the synchronizer(s) is/are bad.

My transmission grinds from 1-2,2-3,3-4 and from 5-4,4-3,3-2, 2-1. Pretty much any combo you can think of besides reverse and OD.

Upshifting I can get them to go in without grinding, but I have to let it idle down before I shift. I can even put it in gear without pressing the clutch in at the right speed for each gear.
 
i argee with everyone else. The second gear synchro is notorious for cr@pping out. The sloppiness in the shifter probably has to do with the fork for the 1/2 gears in the trannie. The little tounge on the shifter shaft or grooves on the selector plate could be wearing out a little. Maybe where the selector plate attaches to the fork could be a little loose...When you have it open to put the synchro in you could check them out for obvious wear/loosness.
 
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Yeah that's what I've been thinking about the fork too. Like I said I've got a good tranny I can put back in it. And I'm not too worried about the work itself. My dad knows a good bit about standard tranny's and there's plenty of local help I can get to provide some extra hands. I've got a good bit of experience with pulling auto's from these things. So I know it takes a little work.

The only thing I'm really worried about is the clutch line and getting it bled back out. Just looking at it...how do you go about disconnecting/reconnecting the clutch line...?
 
the line definitly requires some kinda special tool that i didn't have....i just ened up cutting mine after getting fed up...lol
 
Don't cut the line. They are expensive (if you can find one) from Ford or you'll need to make a custom one. Do a search here in the tech forum. I believe there are a few threads that have pics of how it comes apart. It's pretty easy once you see how it works.
 
That line!

I have a friend who had the special diconnect tool for when I did mine. It was still very goofy to get off, but I think the tool I use was a little too big. I had to do some finaggling then all the sudden it just let loose.:rolleyes: I sure wasn't about to put it back on and try it again for the fun of it though.
 
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