curtisharrington

Whenever i shift my car, it catches when i try and put it in gear.

when i am in 1st, and want to go to 2nd, i can pull it back to neutral supersuper easy, with no effort, but when i shift up to second, i have to pull my stick down to the slot it is supposed to go to, and apply a small amount of pressure, and then wait untill it allows me to put it into gear. It is hard to explain, its not big enough to be considered wrong or broken, but i just drove another 7, and that car shifted like heaven. there is a second or less delay for my transmission to allow me to shift. doesnt matter how hard i try and crank it over or whatnot. it just will not go into gear untill my rpms drop down a little.

the prev. owner installed a kevlar stage 3 clutch. I am not sure really what this is, how much of it is actually upgraded, etc. im scared to start taking things apart as this is my ONLY car, only transportation, its my life. I will take it apart, if someone can help me. and the project would not be able to be a overnight thing until saturday, cause thats my friday. thanks guys.

xXGslseSleeperXx

nothing to do with clutch. most likely your syncro rings aren't seating on the cones cuz they are worn

curtisharrington

so something is not functioning properly? this was not designed to be like this?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

what kind of oil do you have in the transmission? i personally like 50/50 mix of gear oil and ATF, it shifts like the expensive synthetic, without being expensive.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

It could be a number of things causing this to feel this way.

1. Worn synchros can cause this.

2. Old fluid.

3. The stage 3 clutch maybe not completely disengaging or the pilot bearing wasn't changed
and its grabbing.

I would try changing the tranny oil to a nice synthetic. I use Royal Purple in mine and it helps.
Thats the cheapest way to try and fix it. Sometimes it works too!. Some folks swear by using
50/50 mix of tranny oil and auto tranny fluid as well. If changing the fluid makes no difference
you will have to pull the tranny to find the definitive issue.

I'd change the fluid and live with it until it breaks.

IanS

iTrader: (4)

I personally like 100% synthetic, because it IS expensive (Lucas is my preferred brand), because Im a baller and that's what baller's do.

xXGslseSleeperXx

no its not designed to do that, that pilot bearing is a good thought tho if it seized up but the problem with that statement is that it would be hard to get into ALL gears, especially from a dead stop goin into first. but do change your fluid and try royal purps as i have seen better results with that in my toyota off road truck which was seen that problem after years of unessasary abuse. it does help!

curtisharrington

Yes this is closer to my problem. It feels like there are walls from 135 side, neutral, and 24r side. If that makes any sense

curtisharrington

Additionally, 1st gear whinnes. Which means bad things right?

Twilightoptics

iTrader: (1)

Change the fluid.

curtisharrington

Took a pic with my iPad, dunno how to upload it. Wanted a confirm deny on the two bolts. I've never drained a tranny. One big bolt on bottom looks like a 21 or something, and a weird nut lookin thing on the side that I could un twist with vicegrips. Sound right?

xXGslseSleeperXx

not really lol. u mean its hard to get into all gears? especially first or reverse from stop??? first gear whining is not good but change the fluid and it can band-aid it for a while but will need a rebuild in the future. check for metal in the fluid. try to warm up the fluid (warm not scoulding hot) when you change it. if i remeber correctly it is the one that looks like a square bit to a ratchet sticking out and the other on the very bottom of the gear box just like a regular drain plug.

xXGslseSleeperXx

if it is hard to get INTO gear from a stop then it could be the clutch not disengaging all the way. make sure there is no air in the lines. check free play n pedal hieght. if you suspect the pilot bearing is bad leave it in a gear while at a dead stop and listen for whining noise. i dont remeber on this certain trans( ive seen too many) but sometimes you can move the slave cylinder about a quater of an inch(again i dont remeber if its this one that can do that), if it can, move it all the way torwards the back of the car. very rarely is it due to a worn clutch fork, but then again it does happen, then clech the play in that. i hope thats what you mean by the way!

curtisharrington

Well I just bled my clutch but I'll do it again. It didn't help this problem much, and I'll change tranny fluids tomorrow. How hard is a tranny rebuild? Overnight thing, or week long project. When you say leave it in gear at a dead stop and listen, is that wi the clutch depressed or pressed? When im stopped and the clutch is in and im in first It hums sometimes, not sure about all the times as I have subs. I'll pay attention and get back to you. Can I simply replace the pilot bearing?

Thank you.

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

Not trying to rag on you, but if you need reassurance on where to drain and fill your tranny from, rebuilding the thing could run into a couple months of frustrations for you. A shop or knowledgable friend could do it in a few days depending on parts availability but that will cost a few hundred dollars. With some machanical appitude and common sence its really not that complicated. If the oil change does not help and it becomes real bad, another option is to find a used tranny to swap in. Quicker / easier than the rebuild, plus you could fix the bad one while still driving the car. Then you'd have a spare just in case. Not a bad thing to have for a thirty something year old car.

curtisharrington

thats not ragging. thats valid. I happily accept constructive criticism. but here's the deal. if it takes me ten hours of hard work, and the shop will charge me 100 dollars in labor, that is ten dollars an hour. If the shop is charging closer to 400 bucks just in labor, which im guessing is what it will be closer to, thats alot of money for something im going to need to know how to do later on in life. but i guess if the order dictates....... has anyone had a stage 3 before? do they shift smooth? I am not sure if this helps at all, but for a long time now, about a third of the time i try and go into reverse, it will grind. and pretty much all you can do to get it into reverse is either grind or kill, shift, start, drive. someone said the stage 3 isnt disengaging. im not sure what this means, but thats what it feels like, as dumb as it sounds. i feel like im shifting with no shifter. but again, im gonna replace the oil, and see if some magic will happen. quick question.

does doing the 5050 mix, last/ feel good as long as using full synth? or is that question a matter of opinion that is going to start a whole giant debate. If this changing tran oil is like a bandaid, i dont want it to be one of those crappy plastic ones that last for like 2 days and come off when you sweat.

curtisharrington

mmkay, so i have attempted 1st gear thing. at a dead stop, when i shift into 1st, there is no noise. ive found its easier to shift at closer to 3k and let it fall for a second. so like 2.4 rpm or something. anyways, when im going twenty and i try and downshift into first, its a very loud humming noise. and its absolutely not hard to ever get out of a gear. i can get out of the gear and into neutral with a flick of my pinky. its just getting back into a gear thats the issue. fifth is pretty easy also, but there is still a wall i can feel.
thanks.

if problem is still bad after oil change, ill take a quick video of what im talking about in case im leaving anything out.

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

Comming out of a gear is normally not a problem. Two gears will disengage easily because they are both spinning at the same rate. Not so when you are trying to engage two different diameter of gears turning different speeds. People are pointing at the synchro's because their job is to equalize (synchronize) the RPM's of the specific two gears being engaged. When they are spinning the same speed the teeth mesh together much easier. If the friction material or surface of the synchro wears out, it loses its ability to spin the other gear up or down speed and they will enage more stubbornly. Changing your tranny fluid can help improve this performance but only to a point. Also, you can chip, burr or deform the edge of a gear making engagement more difficult, but normally gears are hardened to a point where they just break instead of deform.

BTW, if your problem WAS clutch related, not only would it affect every gear change it could also make make comming out of a gear a little difficult too, due to having a constant or partical load on the gear train from the drive train (wheels, rear diff and propeller shaft). The whole gear set moves easier when you take the drive load (pressure) off by pushing in and engaging the clutch.

curtisharrington

im sure this is a stupid question, but can just the synchros be replaced? or would it be a good time to start looking at a new tranny?

xXGslseSleeperXx

^ he knows wats up! Thank you banzai for saving me sum lengthly typing! i still kinda dont understand if you have to drop rpm to match shaft speeds in ALL gears?! very rarely have i seen all the syncros go at the same time is why i ask. definately change the oil. and banzai is right you would feel resistance coming out of gear if the clutch were sticking. i have yet to see a "stage 3" in a stock 7 with no major upgrades. seems overkill and depending on the pressure plate rating, can sometimes hurt your thrust bearings.

xXGslseSleeperXx

they can as all these parts are sold individually, but usually if those are worn there is also something else of importance worn down too. Change you oil First!

curtisharrington

will do, and the car isnt stock. has some upgrades, but i think a stage 3 is a little high also.

RB header exhaust carb and msd ignition coils is what i have discovered to be aftermarket so far.

anyways thanks guys for your input. ill change the oil and tell you how it goes after that. update either tonight or tomorrow.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Not mentioned here but worth noting; changing the synchros requires pretty much the same level of effort and skill as rebuilding the trans. It's got to come pretty much all apart either way, and disassembling it will require a couple uncommon tools.

On your question regarding the drain and fill plugs, the large hex plug on the center bottom is the drain; the square-drive plug on the left side halfway up is the fill hole. Don't use pliers on it, use an adjustable wrench like a Crescent wrench.

You need the vehicle raised and level (measure for level using the frame rail) before you fill the trans. If the car's not pretty much level, it may not drain completely, and you'll possibly get an improper fill level.

Time to download your Factory Service Manual (FSM) from the link in the faq, too. It answers a bazillion questions without having to type or wait for replies.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the fill plug is a 14mm, so you can use an open 14mm wrench. always remove the fill plug first, because if it sticks you can't refill it!

curtisharrington

Yeh. I've read that in other posts. Seems to be the most given piece of advice. Thank you for the input. Saturday is when I'm going to do this.