Tranny Grindage?

[92_talon_awd]

I've been having a problem with my tranny for some time now, and it's starting to get worse. It grinds when going from 1st to 2nd, and from 2nd to 3rd. It also doesn't want to go into any gear when I'm downshifting. I thought it was my tranny and it may be but it just seems strange as it's less then 2 years old and was a stage 1 rebuild from TRE. When downshifting, I can only really get into second gear and to do that, I have to hold the clutch in, let the revs normalize around 900-1000, then rev it up and kinda put pressure on the lever and then it will slide into 2nd as the revs start to decrease. The reason I'm starting to think it might not be a tranny problem is because when I'm sitting at a light in 1st gear with the clutch all the way to the floor, it still wants to move as if it's halfway engaged. I also have a really hard time getting it into 1st from N, sometimes I'm afraid I'm gonna break/bend the lever, that's how hard I push it. Not all the times, but sometimes. I've got a new slave cylinder, a new master cylinder, I even bought a new Clutch Pedal Lever from MachV and installed it (1G DSM Clutch Pedal Lever Joint) but still no joy. I'm kinda stuck and I've already convinced myself I need a new tranny but what if I buy a shep stage 2 and it does the same thing? It gets worse as the engine/tranny warms up. The fluid I'm running in my tranny is 2qts BG synchroshift II and topped of with Redline MT90. The only thing I can think of is maybe I need to upgrade my clutch fluid to something more robust as I've got such a heavy pressure plate and it is warming up the fluid past it's effective operating temp. Just a thought but I wanted to see if anyone has some insight/ideas. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to try and get all the relevant information out there for the most accurate diagnosis. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[TimG]

It sounds to me like a disengagement issue for sure. I'd bet money on it. Your transmission is probably fine but you aren't doing it any favors by driving it and grinding it. I'll start off by asking the easier questions;

1. Master cylinder adjustment rod is extended fully?

2. If you push your clutch down and let it release back up, can you pull the pedal up higher with your hand? And if so, when you pull it up does it feel limp or stiff?

 

[92_talon_awd]

The master cylinder rod is fully adjusted outwards, I made sure to do that when I put in that new clutch pedal lever. I also forgot to mention that I have an extended slave cylinder rod. I'm not 100% clear on what you meant by your second question but when the clutch pedal is just sitting there in its natural resting position, I can grab ahold of it and try to pull upwards, but it has not a single bit of give at all. Is the pushing down and releasing of the pedal an important part of this test because I just went out to my car and tried to yank on the clutch pedal.

 

[TimG]

It seems as if you have no slop in your pedal assembly and your master cylinder is all the way out. That should give you all the extension you need to release the clutch disk. You're going to have to look for worn out parts now (ie - pivot ball, bent clutch fork, pivot ball seat in the clutch fork, etc).

Just humour me and make sure all 4 bolts holding your transmission to your block as tight. The 3x 14mm bolts and the one 12mm at the back of the block. Those need to be installed correctly and tightly. I've seen them work loose and cause havok with shifting.

 

[92_talon_awd]

Thanks, I will check the tranny bolts first. I won't be able to check the fork or pivot ball till this weekend as school won't allow me to. I will report back though but fyi, if the tranny bolts are loose, I will not be disclosing that information and will blame it on a clutch fork ha ha. Just kidding, but I will be annoyed if it is the clutch fork as I put in a new one along with a new pivot ball when I put the tranny in. Both were ordered from MachV and the fork is supposed to be some new revised stronger one. Oh well, I guess if that's the problem I can just chalk it up to the price of driving a modified vehicle. Thanks again and I will report back.

 

[wangboy925]

I had grinding going from 1st to 2nd gear. The problem was that the tranny wasn't filled with tranny oil all the way to the top. I added some more tranny fluid and it solved the problem.

 

[92_talon_awd]

It's definitely full of fluid. I've flushed it twice. I put in straight Pennzoil Synchromesh and ran it for about a week, drained it, filled it back up with synchromesh, ran it for a week, drained it again, and then filled it with the expensive mixture that is in there now (see original post). After running that for a couple of weeks, I pulled off the transmission drain plug quickly and fluid was coming out as soon as I took it off so I put it right back on. I did check my transmission mounting bolts and they were good and tight so now I'm waiting for the weekend to pull the the trans off and check my clutch release fork. I'm probably going to order a new one and install it along with a pivot ball since I'll already have it off. I'm gonna be pissed though about it though. When I originally got this transmission I was in Iraq and wanted to drive it as soon as I got home so I had a local DSM shop install it for me. I had a clutch fork and pivot ball new from MachV ordered in and had my brother give them that along with the trans and car. I'm now leaning towards the idea that the owner just kept the new parts, figured the old ones were good, and put the trans in. The owner turned out to be a big cheat and liar, he shut down shop and ran outta town without tellin anybody anything. He ran off with my old AWD trans, which didn't grind at all, my EvoIII 16g, and tons of other stuff from local people. Oh well. I'll let everyone know what happens after I install a new clutch fork and shimmed pivot ball.