I have a 91 Talon 2.0 N/T 5spd (F5M22) Since I bought the car I have not been able to accelerate in 4th gear, it grinds on almost every shift, and makes a horrible growling noise on deceleration. I've been told that the obvious is that I need new synchros which I already knew. My problem is that for 4th gear, I can't accelerate, but if I downshift into 4th it will stay in and let the engine slow the car down. This morning on my way to work I somehow managed to try giving it throttle in 4th and low and behold it didn't grind or kick out. Afterwords whenever I had it in 2nd, 3rd, or 5th there was a horrid clicking sound coming from the front end of the car and the shifter was vibrating so bad it sounded like it was gonna come apart. If I held the shifter as far as possible into each gear it would go away, but as soon as I let go, it came back. Problem is that this was an isolated incident and has not happened since. I changed the gear lube in the trans 3 weeks ago with pennzoil synchromesh gear lube and it sorta helps with the bad synchros. Does anyone have extensive knowledge on the internals of these transmissions and possible causes, I used the search, FAQ, and VFAQ and didn't find anything (I'm still trying though) I know I need new synchros, but if I take this trans somewhere I don't want to spend a fortune when they tell me I have a bent/broken/dissintegrated (Insert part name here)! I'd probably be better off buying a used trans anyway, I think every shop in the NW Ohio area is clueless, at least they are when it comes to a simple quote. Any help would be great, Thanks

-=Greg=-

I have rebuilt quite a few dsm trannys but i am not sure i understand what the problem is. You are saying that it will grind into and pop out of 4th gear. You said that the trans also makes a noise in every gear but 4th. If this is the case the 4th gear needle bearing and 4th gear may be worn. The needle bearing is 'working' (allowing the 4th gear to spin on the intermediate shaft) in every gear but 4th. When the needle bearing wears it usually distroys the gear to. If the gears wears it will move farther from the slider causing to not interlock as well so it may pop out of gear. if this is not the case you may have damaged sub gear that is attached to 4th gear. Its hard to say without opening the trans.

Bottom line: it may be cheaper to find a used trans it you dont want it to rebuild it yourself

Thanks, I will more than likely go that route, but I'm gonna keep my trans around in case I decide to try rebuilding it myself, purely for experience because I hate paying someone else to do anything for me.

-=Greg=-

Well I finally got around to removing the transmission for rebuilding and after getting a bunch of runaround from a few shops I've decided to tackle the job myself, it's probably going to take me forever to finish it due to time and money constraints so I'm also looking for a used trans to throw in it so I can at least drive the car. When I removed the rear cover I noticed the reverse brake cone assembly is heavily gouged and there's a few parts hanging out from underneath, 2 of the 3 spring retainers for the 5th gear synchronizer assembly are missing as well as the springs. I still haven't removed the center section of the case for two reason, first being that I haven't removed the retaining nuts for the input or intermediate shafts, and 2 of the bolts that hold the case together are seized up. I'm sure when I remove the center section I'll find all sorts of interesting stuff, like the rest of the synchronizer that was lodged into the 5th gear assembly, or maybe even the retainers and spring for the synchronizer assembly for 5th. I'll post some more pics as I get deeper into this rebuild.

-=Greg=-



Pieces of the synchro that fell out!


These are the bolts holding me back on the center section of the case


The shift fork closest to the camera has a bearing stuck in there, when I removed the spring the ball bearing will not come out...


The 3 screws that hold the cone in place are a lost cause... I have no idea what the pieces hanging out from underneath it are.

alright, so that synchro that was floating around has done a little more damage than I first expected.... it really gouged the hell out of the case around the intermediate shaft, and between the input & intermediate shafts... now if I could only get those last 2 bolts out of the housing...
-=Greg=-

Well I finally got the case apart, didn't find the rest of that synchro ring, but I did find one of the missing spring retainers, in the photo the one found inside the case is on the right side. The differential looked pretty good until I saw the chunk of tooth missing from the ring gear, if any Wisemen, or someone knowledgeable in transmissions happen to read this, Can the Diff be used as is? or does the ring gear need to be replaced? Hopefully sooner or later I'll get this thing back together, or get a used one so I can get my car back on the road. I have a ton more photos, but instead of posting them all on here I'll probably host them and provide a link to them.

-=Greg=-

Alright, if there are any wisemen reading this, I need some good advise. I've got this transmission torn halfway apart, and thus far the only problem spots have been under the rear cover where the reverse brake cone is located, and half a tooth missing from the ring gear on the differential. All of the synchronizer rings have minimal wear, and all of the gears themselves are virtually flawless... When I bought this car I was never able to give it throttle in 4th gear, if I did it popped out, but if I put it into 4th and just let off the clutch and gas, it would slow the car down just as if I were downshifting to slow down. There was one synchronizer ring that was half gone floating around in the case itself, and I'm not sure where it was supposed to be... I think it has to have been for reverse, but I'm having a difficult time navigating the manual CD. All of the teardown photos and instruction I found on the VFAQ have been for AWD transmissions. What I'm trying to figure out is whether or not I should just replace the reverse brake cone, wave spring, and set screws, bearings, synchro springs etc, locate a synchro ring for reverse, slap it back together and hope for the best. Or if I should take it to somebody that can look it over without raping my wallet. Of course there's always option C, I can take my chances buying a used transmission, I'd pay to have this thing rebuilt but it's not in the budget right now. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-=Greg=-