WHat to try next... still cant shift

[silvercoffin]

I have been through two new clutches and then a new RPM Trans and another new clutch and still cant shift. Very sloppy on the street...gets better after it runs for a little while and heats up but still intermittent sloppy rough shifting. At the track forget it. 9 times out of 10 i cant get down the strip. I have put some more miles on the the new trans abnd cltuch and changed the fluid at 500 miles just to make sure it was clean.

All this after years of great 11 sec. runs on the few mods i have.

I'm not sure what to do next because I have taken the car to a trans place and a shop who both said it seems fine and refused to work on it. I am 100% sure its not fine.

Places here in NJ wont take my money because they dont know if they will fix it because it shifts...just not well and like i said impossible at the track.

David Norten from Spec told me that bell housing alignment could very well be an issue. I talked to another trans shop who told me that there are already supposed to be alignment dowels on the trans and as long as they are there it has to be aligned. I have no idea what they look like or where they are so I am assuming they are still there.. ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THESE ALIGNMENT DOWELS? have a picture???

Kevin from Wicked Motorsports in NJ (mustang shop) said he would take the car and check it out. He didnt want to just try another clutch. I guess I'll try him and if he cant find anything Ill tell him to put in another clutch.

Or I was thinking about JDm Engineering but I already know they will drive it down the street and say its ok unless I pay them to put in a clutch.

There is no one that I know well who is good at and willing to really figure otu the problem and even when I stress that I am willing to pay them for their diagnosing time. Except Wicked... Guess I should try them next?

FYI I have the adjuster and quadrant and adjusted everything right and had it doubled checked by JDM at their track day. I have tried different adjustments and a new stock cable.

IDEAS?

 

[Posi]

Stupid question but you do have the clutch cable routed for the least amount of sharp bends correct? I had a car that was really hard to shift and we found out if was that. Or maybe try another clutch cable.

 

[Jockcobra]

At what rpm are you trying to shift? My guess is high around 4500-6500. Some say that the LDC CLUTCH FREEPLAY KIT helps.

 

[EVILNSS]

C4

 

[cbr repsol]

^^ cant go wrong with one of those.

 

[ASUSMC]

C4

^^ cant go wrong with one of those.

unless of course you are going to drive the car on the freeway

 

[Derek@Amazon]

unless of course you are going to drive the car on the freeway

in that case 4r70w

 

[ASUSMC]

in that case 4r70w

CORRECT! I was just pointing out the lack of an overdrive for the C4

 

[silvercoffin]

haha

Yeah...right... I already spent thousands for nothing. I hope I can figure this out without another tranny. My car was great for years with the stock tranny and I really doubt its the tranny. I had almost the same problems with the stock trans as I did with two RPM Level V rebuilt trannys.

Shifting definetely got worse after I had the spec flywheel and first clutch installed that was with the original trans. Then when I got the new trans I switched to the present clutch and stayed with the same flywheel and had the same problems. SO I know its not the clutch disk itself.

I had the LDC free play kit installed and took it out to see if that could be the problem. Doesnt make a difference.

I put in a second cable just because it was something I could do myself. It was another stock cable and I installed it exactly the way the stock cable was installed. IS THERE A BETTER WAY?

I purposly fed the new cable down whlie the original was still on to make sure I installed it the same way.

Shifting is intermittently sloppy all the time and at the track I might get through the gears good 1 out of 10 runs. If I shift real slow its still weird but I can usually get down the track.

Feels like its hitting something when your shift... I guess like the clutch isnt completely doing what its supposed to. This is real noticable in 2nd until it heats up but also noticable in 3rd and 4th....i think probably all the gears but I just dont notice it as much in other gears.

My mechanic that I had been using expects me to believe that its the new RPM trans. I still doubt it because I had the same problem with the stock trans and two rpm trannys. RPM refuses to return my call after I called to get them to send me a second trans. The first RPM TRans I bought had a weird clicking sound in it all the time and you could see chips in the speedo gears.

WOuld not recommend RPM TRansmissions to anyone. But im still hoping thats not the problem

 

[Crazy Ray]

I had a problem with shifting under high RPM. Adjusred the cluch and changed shift lever to Pro 5.0. If you still have the stock one,change it out. Hopes this helps.

 

[NY04snake]

go see Kevin at Wicked and let him drive it. He will not charge you for something you don't need and knows newer Mustangs like few other people. If it is obvious, he will figure it out quickly and if it is more complicated at least you will know when he is done, it will be working correctly.

from your description of the problem, it would be difficult to even know where to begin because so many things you have or had already done. It needs an expericed setup guy to verbalize what is going on because "Feels like its hitting something when your shift" and "intermittent sloppy rough shifting" may be a result of a more competition gearbox, I dunno but you can not rule out a warped clutch disk from improper installation or a bad flywheel or possibly the improper adjustment (or lack there of) of the clutch fork pivot location or a bad pressure plate but Kevin can troubleshoot it and tell you what you have to do.

Kevin is highly recommended.

 

[IronTerp]

Copy and paste your first post into a PM to Wiseguy on this board. He's rebuilt about 10 MACA T-56's and has great trouble shooting instincts.

 

[silvercoffin]

...

"go see Kevin at Wicked and let him drive it. He will not charge you for something you don't need and knows newer Mustangs like few other people. If i"

Kevin comes highly recommended by many people, but I am afriad he will say its ok and refuse to take it apart. Its not that bad on the street. I guess if he takes it for a few days and drives it cold he will definetely notice something though..

I know the car isnt shifting on the street like new.. And it should with a new trans right? And it definetely has issues at the track.

Stiffer gear box? I dont know RPM and people I have met in person with the RPM trans talk about how great it shifts...notchy but it goes easily into gear and they are very happy with it at the track.

LOL I guess Kevin will be my last hope... Otherwise the car is going to become a museum piece in my garage or get sold.

 

[NY04snake]

"go see Kevin at Wicked and let him drive it. He will not charge you for something you don't need and knows newer Mustangs like few other people. If i"

Kevin comes highly recommended by many people, but I am afriad he will say its ok and refuse to take it apart. Its not that bad on the street. I guess if he takes it for a few days and drives it cold he will definetely notice something though..

I know the car isnt shifting on the street like new.. And it should with a new trans right? And it definetely has issues at the track.

Stiffer gear box? I dont know RPM and people I have met in person with the RPM trans talk about how great it shifts...notchy but it goes easily into gear and they are very happy with it at the track.

LOL I guess Kevin will be my last hope... Otherwise the car is going to become a museum piece in my garage or get sold.

see those are the type of assumptions I'm not sure you are correct about. A dragstrip trani, depending on how extreme you go and you mentioned some sort of "level" that means nothing to me, in some cases will not downshift as easy as a stock one. That is because it is setup to do one thing upshift, many times power upshifts and that is at the expense of drivability on the street.

did you buy a track setup and now you are not happy on the street with it or did they sell you a street setup that can handle some track passes? What fluid did you use in it, because the wrong fluid can have a tremendous negative effect on shiftabilty, did you use Royal Purple or another super premium synthetic? Did you add modifier or was it included in the trani lube? Like another fellow said, did a new shifter get added into the mix because incorrect adjustment of stops can also cause issues that are hard to diagnose. You reused the flywheel without resurfacing, well that could lead to hot spots and very jinky shifts that either get progressively worse or better depending on how hot you make the flywheel.

If Kevin drives it on the street and thinks it is acceptable and if he can get it into gear OK, maybe you have to relearn how you need to shift this new piece. You do realize most of the special built trani's require lengthy break-ins and don't shift smooth until they have dozens of HARD drag passes under their belt. The stock T-56 is extremely forgiving and easy to drive on the street so possibly what you needed was a completely stock rebuild, not a modded style trani, I dunno but you might have to re-align your expectations, but without driving it I'm only guessing. I do know that I was asked to jump into another fellows Cobra at the track who could not for the life of him get 3 shifts in one pass and I powershifted without issue and bested his time by over a 1/2 sec, then he listened to me, started being more methodical, developed a routine to hit the gears and then slowly began speeding his routine up until he was shifting pretty good. I'm not saying you don't have a problem but it sounds like you don't want anybody to tell you there is nothing wrong because that might mean you have to work on a driver mod?

Listen I'm a racer, not a trani guy. I battled with my own clutch setup so I learned some tricks but you really need a Pro, just be willing to listen to him.

Good luck there dude, I hope you get it sorted out! :beer:

call him: 732-904-9000

I trusted him with a $3500 full race 9 Moser SRA build.

 

[jm@ReischePerf]

Feels like its hitting something when your shift...

This is what happens when you try to shift a car but the clutch isn't fully disengaged. I've seen you post about these issues more than once. Your problems started when you changed clutches. I'll say it again, I'll bet a new stock clutch and flywheel, properly adjusted, will solve your problem.

 

[NY04snake]

This is what happens when you try to shift a car but the clutch isn't fully disengaged. I've seen you post about these issues more than once. Your problems started when you changed clutches. I'll say it again, I'll bet a new stock clutch and flywheel, properly adjusted, will solve your problem.

did the pilot bushing get swapped to a solid brass one or is the stock roller bearings still in there? that too can cause a blocked feeling as well!

but we are all guessing.

 

[silvercoffin]

...

I am going to give Kevin a call.

I forgot to mention that yes I do have a pro 5.0

The problem started with the stock trans right after I had my second FMS clutch installed. I started having trouble with 4th gear and sloppy shifting, but I always had toruble with 4th so I was sure it was the trans. At that point I switched to the quadrant and firewall adjuster to see if it helped and it did not.

It got worse after I had the spec flywheel and 3+ installed (with original trans) and then continued to be bad after the new tranny and another new clutch.. same flywheel but with new insert. Things definetely took a turn for the worse after I got the spec flywheel installed on the original trans.

My problem isnt downshifting...its regular shifting.. and its a level V rpm trans which is just a rebuilt T56 but with some beefed up parts..

According to RPMtransmissions.com its supposed to be even better than stock.

I will take it to Kevin at wicked and if he cant find anything Ill tell him to put in a good old FMS clutch and flywheel along with a new fork/lever... I still have the original one in the car. That way everything is new and it can be nothing else other than the trans.

 

[silvercoffin]

....

"did the pilot bushing get swapped to a solid brass one or is the stock roller bearings still in there"

I am sure its just the bearing spec sent or its possible the mechanic I used put in stock ford parts. I think he said he put in new bearings again when I switched trannys even though I only put 500 miles on the first spec clutch before switching to the next one.

Whats the scoop on bearings?

 

[NY04snake]

"did the pilot bushing get swapped to a solid brass one or is the stock roller bearings still in there"

I am sure its just the bearing spec sent or its possible the mechanic I used put in stock ford parts. I think he said he put in new bearings again when I switched trannys even though I only put 500 miles on the first spec clutch before switching to the next one.

Whats the scoop on bearings?

The input shaft gets held inside the pilot bushing/bearing which sits at the center of the end of the crank. the OEM roller bearings are designed to be silient but can get distorted and cause issues because the shaft is not centered and true behind the crank. One way they get wrecked is forcing a trani in or a less than true twisted input shaft. So repeated trani swaps could put it at risk. The brass replacement that comes with most aftermarket clutches is not expensive but it should be used because it is less delicate, especially if your swapping clutches often. I had older trucks with brass pilot bushings and they were made to take a beating, the roller bearnings are less noisey but far more easy to destroy. I always use the brass ones, many guys don't bother swapping them because it can be a PIA to remove them from the end of the crank. Don't confuse that with the throwout bearing, that is on the opposite side of the clutch. It probably doesn't explain what your problems are , just one of the things that you do when you switch to a heavier clutch and start dropping the trani often.

 

[04torchred]

Did all new syncros get put in? New bearings in the trans as well?

How often do you make adjustments to the amount of freeplay you are running with. I do find after beating the piss out of mine with a few powershifts that I need to make a slight adjustment or I will not be able to powershift right away. Once it cools good things are okay.