track horror story...need help

[dcskater82]

Ok, well for starters, i just had a shift fork replaced in my car the ohter week, and i just put in my shiny new walbro 255, so i was pretty exited to go to the track last night....well anyways, i line up next to a z28, thinking he wont be shit, so we slap helmets on and go, and boy did whoop his ass, i was beating the HELL out of him till i tried shifting into 3rd gear, but it wudnt go in...i finally get in gear and he passes me and makes me look stupid....but pullin off the track, i notice that i only have 3rd 4th 5th and reverse...no 1st or second gear....so i accept my loss due to broken car....so later one when i go to leave the track, im bout to pull out on the main raod, and im fighting like hell to get in 1st or at least 2nd and it goes in...stop light, i notice everything goes...now i only have a 3rd gear or 4th gear...its weird...the shifter will only move forward and back..by that i mean only 3 ord 4, i cant even push it to the left or right, just up and down...i dont htink its the actual tranny, as ive never had any problems with it grinding or synchros or anything, and the clutch only has like 4000 miles on it, and it shifts smoothly from 3rd to 4th, so....i dont know...any help would be appreciated!!

 

[13secGST]

not exactly a horror story...I thought I might die in 7 days

Check that shift fork, and check to make sure nothing is blocking the shifting the shift linkage...my guess is that it is a simple bolt gone loose or something.

Any idea on how your thrust bearing looks?

 

[pr0_re]

im gona have to agree check all your linkage and cables and see if the fork is loose.

 

[ArticNemesis]

don't get him started on his thrust bearing.. It's irrelevant to his problem.. There are 2 bolts that hold the linkage mount to the transmission.. One of the bolts probably came loose or completely off.. Happened to me last week... (I was scared, I only had 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. 5th was hard to get in..) Luckily, i found the bolt nested between the transmission and the motor mount, so didn't have to go bolt hunting.

 

[dcskater82]

i know we tightened down two bolts after this happened, which i think are the bolts you are eferring too...any other ideas?

 

[ArticNemesis]

Well, a list of things you can check...

-Clutch pedal adjustment.
-Check your shifter linkage (make sure one of them isn't caught on something, make sure there aren't any bends or snags in the cable.)
Have someone shift through the gears while you watch the cables in the engine bay..

***The fact that you can only move it forwards and back really makes me think something is wrong with one of your linkage cables... One controls vertical movement. (up/down or foward/back, whichever way you want to look at it.) The other cable controls side to side movement.

Also, I know you said you tightened down some bolts.. But seriously, just to be positive, look for the mount right before where the cables attach to the transmission with the cotter pins. Both cables should run through the mount. Make sure the mount does not move at all. Should be 2 bolts under the cables holding the mount to the transmission. Any movement in this mount will make the cables not line up right with the gearing in the transmission. Also, make sure both cables are still actually attached to the mount, and that one of the cables didn't find it's way off of the mount.

 

[dcskater82]

ok well, it definitly sounds like SOMETHING is loose in there, when someone sits in my car and shifts, i can hear a nice amount of noise by the tranny, definity sounds like something is loose, what it is i cant exactly tell, as we have tightened down the only bolts i can see, but ill check again to make sure that everything is tightened down, and that the cables arent snagged and are in proper place....thanks for the help.

 

[ArticNemesis]

no problem... I hate problems with my car and i can't quite figure it out.. Just finished an engine rebuild about 2 weeks ago... (cw problems.) all was good, then at the 500mile mark, changed the oil and did the oil pan gasket this time.. was letting it idle, making sure wasn't leaking oil.. blipped the throttle to build up pressure to make sure everything was good... and bam.. actually it was more of a phsssst....

shut the car down in time.. oil all over the front of the engine.. Next project!!! find out what the hell busted this time.. It never ends. =) hopefully your shifting problems will be fixed easily...

 

[dcskater82]

yeah i feel your pain i just replaced a crankwalked engine and shit...but yeah hopefully this shifting problem will be easy, cuz my college student income is becoming difficult to fund a dsm, but im addicted to awd boost,haha so....oh well...im gonna go look at it somemore...

 

[ArticNemesis]

yea... the funds on this car are killing me. I could have put a 3sgte into my 5th gen. celica 3 times over now... ohwell, I love my dsm.

back to topic.

Another thing I completely forgot to check is.
Have you removed the console yet and checked the gear shifter itself.. Are all 4 bolts still holding the gear shifter to the frame. Are both cables connected properly to the shifter.?

 

[dcskater82]

yeah man, took of the console, twice now just be sure...everything seems fine to me in there....checked all the cables running to the tranny 3 times now, everything there seems fine. loose bolts were tightened...to no avail...im beginning to think that im real real ####ed now....if my trannys done, its at least a reason to save for a shepherd tranny....hopefully not tho...i think im gonna take it to my mechanic for a professional opinion...then go from there....but God willing i wont have replace/rebuild the trans....

 

[RipperXX]

I would guess it's a problem in your shift linkage if you can't move the shifter left or right.


(yea i looked at the first 2 posts )

^ after reading your last post, could it in any way be the throw out bearing???? I dont know alot about tran's but I know I used the ACT throw out bearing (no problems yet, I dont see why everyone says go with OEM) could the clip that holds the TB have come off or something and cause this?


Just brain storming, dont flame.

 

[dcskater82]

its cool, im open to all suggestions, as i know very little about trannys myself

 

[CYCLONE]

You said that a shift fork was just replaced in you tranny.
Maybe someone didn't assemble it right. Take the linkage
of the tranny and try to go through all the gears.
If you can't go into all the gears by moving the levers
by hand something is screwed inside the tranny.

 

[RipperXX]

Originally posted by CYCLONE
You said that a shift fork was just replaced in you tranny.
Maybe someone didn't assemble it right..

Thats why I was thinking maybe some how the TB? Becouse from what I know when I replaced my clutch.. I didn't notice to much else that could cause a problem.. The fork isnt that complex or anything.

 

[ArticNemesis]

but.. If it were the clutch fork or the throw out bearing, he *should* have trouble getting it out of the gear it was in, and into any gear at all after that.. (he stated he can get it in in 3rd and 4th.)


I dunno what to tell you really.. Unless it is something internally.. (have you checked your gear oil / trans oil lately.? )

 

[rebuilt65]

Always suspect the thing that was last repaired. As a technician, i have often seen things like that crop up. That sugjestion about removing the linkage at the tranny and checkink gear selection at the transmission is good. HAve someone pressing the clutch while your doing that.
Good luck

 

[dcskater82]

my mistake a clutch fork was replaced, not a shift fork....but anyways, yeah im gonna take off the shift linkage and see if shit still moves...if not, im goin to be knee-deep in shit....im broke as can be right now iwth no money for a rebuilt tranny, and i have no beater...so hopefully this is something small, or i dont know what the hell im goin to do...

 

[boostedinaz]

Has to be the cables or somehting that they are attached to. A few days ago I lost 2,4,R anf thought the same thing. After I looked and the cables I could see that when the cabel was pushed it would just deflect and not move the lever. The cable on the driver side has to be the problem if you have lost those specific gears. I cant think of any tranny related problem that would kill those gears and levae the rest alive.

Check the cables closley it took me 2 hours of fu(king with it to find them. I out new cables in and some solid bushings and it shift sssssssssssssoooooooooooo much better.

Michael