cucumber
20+ Year Contributor
- 2,475
- 7
- May 17, 2002
It's been a while since I've posted here, but I'm currently working hard on the Spyder. Here's the dilemna, any input, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated.
It was a couple of nights ago, when I was driving my car around. I hit 1st gear to about 5K and then grab 2nd really hard, then I hear a THUMP, and 2nd gear is stuck. My immediate inclination was that my tranny was locked. I turned the car off and waited for my friends to come check it out. We couldn't get the shifter out of 2nd gear. I was really nervous, however, I only lived two blocks away from the scene, so I drove there in 2nd gear.
Once I got home, I was able to free up the shifter out of 2nd gear. I moved it around a little in all gears and it seemed to be "ok". I then took it out on a country road that would give a good balance of upshifting, downshifting, and normal driving in one trip. The trip started normal, but once I got going, the shifter began to have a TON of play in it. I noticed that it took a lot of travel to get the shifter into 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear. I was a little worried at this point as well. I sat the car down overnight, and pondered what the problem was.
The next morning I head out to the car and have a friend play with the shifting of the tranny while I look in the engine at any "obvious" problems. I notice that a bolt was missing that connected the shifter cables to the transmission.
Here is a picture of the bolt:
That is the exact same bolt that we found sitting on the tranny in the engine. My diagnosis is that the bolt because jarred loose, thus getting the car stuck in 2nd gear and causing the little fiasco. The reason the shifter had so much play was because the shifter cables weren't even connected to the tranny, therefore causing them to have a TON of play.
The day after, I drive the car around. The shifting is MAGNIFICENT, and the throws are SUPER SHORT! The ACT 2600 doesn't feel as STIFF anymore. I remember a buddy of mine who has a 2900 in his car saying my 2600 felt as stiff or stiffer than his 2900.
I guess, after this novel I wrote for you guys, I want some input on the following things:
1. Why is it shifting so smooth and so short? Is it because the bolt must have been loose the entire time I've owned the car, and I have never ever felt the way the shifter SHOULD be?
2. Why does my clutch not feel as stiff anymore? Also, the clutch makes a CLICK-CLICK sound when being engaged with the car off. Why does it do that?
3. Does it sound like I have any symptoms of a failing transmission?
All help is greatly appreciated, and for those who read this long post, thank you.
j.
It was a couple of nights ago, when I was driving my car around. I hit 1st gear to about 5K and then grab 2nd really hard, then I hear a THUMP, and 2nd gear is stuck. My immediate inclination was that my tranny was locked. I turned the car off and waited for my friends to come check it out. We couldn't get the shifter out of 2nd gear. I was really nervous, however, I only lived two blocks away from the scene, so I drove there in 2nd gear.
Once I got home, I was able to free up the shifter out of 2nd gear. I moved it around a little in all gears and it seemed to be "ok". I then took it out on a country road that would give a good balance of upshifting, downshifting, and normal driving in one trip. The trip started normal, but once I got going, the shifter began to have a TON of play in it. I noticed that it took a lot of travel to get the shifter into 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear. I was a little worried at this point as well. I sat the car down overnight, and pondered what the problem was.
The next morning I head out to the car and have a friend play with the shifting of the tranny while I look in the engine at any "obvious" problems. I notice that a bolt was missing that connected the shifter cables to the transmission.
Here is a picture of the bolt:
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That is the exact same bolt that we found sitting on the tranny in the engine. My diagnosis is that the bolt because jarred loose, thus getting the car stuck in 2nd gear and causing the little fiasco. The reason the shifter had so much play was because the shifter cables weren't even connected to the tranny, therefore causing them to have a TON of play.
The day after, I drive the car around. The shifting is MAGNIFICENT, and the throws are SUPER SHORT! The ACT 2600 doesn't feel as STIFF anymore. I remember a buddy of mine who has a 2900 in his car saying my 2600 felt as stiff or stiffer than his 2900.
I guess, after this novel I wrote for you guys, I want some input on the following things:
1. Why is it shifting so smooth and so short? Is it because the bolt must have been loose the entire time I've owned the car, and I have never ever felt the way the shifter SHOULD be?
2. Why does my clutch not feel as stiff anymore? Also, the clutch makes a CLICK-CLICK sound when being engaged with the car off. Why does it do that?
3. Does it sound like I have any symptoms of a failing transmission?
All help is greatly appreciated, and for those who read this long post, thank you.
j.
! I heard about that before. You better undo whatever you did. Your "easier shifting" is gonna cause tension in your shifter cables and cause them to snap 
