Cant shift

Scrapla · 09-28-2002, 11:20 AM

I have a 90gt 5spd and latley its been grinding goin into 2nd gear and sometimes fifth, well last night I went to drop 4th to 3rd and messed up and kinda missed so later on like 10min or so it was just gettin really hard to get into any gear and then finally it was just stuck in nutruel and didnt wanna shift it just grinded everytime I tried puttin it in gear. Its a stock tranny and clutch I'm hoping its just the throw out bearing please help cause this is my daily.

bigblockcoupe · 09-28-2002, 06:42 PM

well you have just detroyed your first t-5 this is pretty common and i know of several people that the exact same thing happened to. you are going to need to buy another trans I would say rebuild it but if you can't do it yourself it will cost as much as a new one.

Unit 5302 · 09-28-2002, 07:04 PM

Can you get into gears with the engine off? Was the transmission making any noise while in gear before or was it just when you were trying to shift from gear to gear that you were getting problems.

The times I've actually seen T-5's go you get a lot of clunks and bangs with it. Or you may just have 1 or 2 gears that always grind a little/lot. That's because not all the gears share the same syncronizers, and if you have something that actually breaks in there, you've usually got some audible crashing going on.

If you can get gears with the engine off, and you start your car up (while in gear) and are able to drive in the gears, I'd have to say your tranny may be fine, and your factory cable/quadrent/clutch/pressure plate is shot. I've seen this numerous times. It hasn't been a shot tranny yet. Always it's been the stock adjuster/cable. Either the adjuster has some nylon teeth broken so it's unable to adjust the cable properly or your clutch cable has been stretched or in extreme cases, the clutch is coming apart.

Another way to check for this problem is to be on a completely flat surface and keep your engine running with the clutch in, and the transmission in gear. If your car rolls with the clutch depressed or has a tendency to roll faster when you rev, there is something wrong in the clutch system not allowing the proper release.

You can also try a procedure which can be hard on the syncros, but at least you'll know if you have a clutch problem. Shift the transmission without using the clutch at all. First gear is the most difficult to get out of. Drive the car up to a low speed, easier if you stay well below 2500rpms, hold the car at a steady speed with mild throttle input, just enough to keep from accelerating or decelerating. Pull the transmission out of gear, you can use the clutch for this part to help if you like. Then let out the clutch, match engine rpm to the rpm you'll be turning in the next gear. A quick rev as you're pulling will find the spot. As you pull back into 2nd lightly, you should be able to feel the point where the stress is almost totally gone. Once that happens, the mild force should engauge the next gear without use of the clutch. If you can shift this way, you've got a clutch problem, not a major failure in your gearbox.

Scrapla · 09-28-2002, 10:05 PM

It just would grind goin into 2nd but only goin fast at a normal speed it would be fine and Ive been hearing like a whirling sound when i'm coming out of gear which some people say is the throw out bearing but other then that the car goes into gear when its off, it starts up fine just wont go into any gears with out grinding and clunking, i'll have more time to play with it tommarow but i think i'm gonna get a rebuild for $450, thanks for the help.

Coupe50h · 09-28-2002, 10:23 PM

My old t-5 made a bad whineing sound just before it broke, none of the gears grinded, the cluster gear had broke in pieces and made a horrible bang...clunk! but i still had 4th and drove it home, you probaly just have a synchronizer problem, but it's gonna have to come apart regardles, so might as well get a rebuilt core, i paid $575 with core swap and it has been strong.

When my tranny would whine, i always blamed the throwout bearing too, but i realize now that wasnt it at all, the Tob will chirp, or have a high pitch squeal, so if your t-5 has a whirl sound it's probaly going to go sooner or later.

09-28-2002, 11:20 AM	#1
Scrapla Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 532	Cant shift I have a 90gt 5spd and latley its been grinding goin into 2nd gear and sometimes fifth, well last night I went to drop 4th to 3rd and messed up and kinda missed so later on like 10min or so it was just gettin really hard to get into any gear and then finally it was just stuck in nutruel and didnt wanna shift it just grinded everytime I tried puttin it in gear. Its a stock tranny and clutch I'm hoping its just the throw out bearing please help cause this is my daily. __________________ 90gt 347 and some bolt ons :-) RICE HATERS MEMBER #73

09-28-2002, 06:42 PM	#2
bigblockcoupe Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: broken arrow Posts: 212	well you have just detroyed your first t-5 this is pretty common and i know of several people that the exact same thing happened to. you are going to need to buy another trans I would say rebuild it but if you can't do it yourself it will cost as much as a new one. __________________ Rice Haters Club member #68 '93 Cobra 10.20@135 '89 Gt Coupe 12.20@115

09-28-2002, 10:05 PM	#4
Scrapla Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 532	It just would grind goin into 2nd but only goin fast at a normal speed it would be fine and Ive been hearing like a whirling sound when i'm coming out of gear which some people say is the throw out bearing but other then that the car goes into gear when its off, it starts up fine just wont go into any gears with out grinding and clunking, i'll have more time to play with it tommarow but i think i'm gonna get a rebuild for $450, thanks for the help. __________________ 90gt 347 and some bolt ons :-) RICE HATERS MEMBER #73

09-28-2002, 10:23 PM	#5
Coupe50h Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: SanAntonio, Tx Posts: 957	My old t-5 made a bad whineing sound just before it broke, none of the gears grinded, the cluster gear had broke in pieces and made a horrible bang...clunk! but i still had 4th and drove it home, you probaly just have a synchronizer problem, but it's gonna have to come apart regardles, so might as well get a rebuilt core, i paid $575 with core swap and it has been strong. When my tranny would whine, i always blamed the throwout bearing too, but i realize now that wasnt it at all, the Tob will chirp, or have a high pitch squeal, so if your t-5 has a whirl sound it's probaly going to go sooner or later. __________________ X-Texas highway patrol ssp 1990 coupe - exploder Gt-40 iron heads, Explorer intake, 19 lber's. E-cam. crane 1.7 rollers. 190fp. 75mm maf. 65mm tb, tubular subframe connectors, mac cai, Asp crank pulley, T-5, king cobra clutch, flowtech 1-5/8 unequals, mac X-pipe Frpp driveshaft, lakewood Lca's. race weight 3,160 12.69 @ 107.35, 1.71 60' 26x8.5 drag's 3.90 gear 13.20 @ 106.91 - 235/60/15 firestones 2.3 60' 3.27 gear

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09-28-2002, 07:04 PM	#3
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Can you get into gears with the engine off? Was the transmission making any noise while in gear before or was it just when you were trying to shift from gear to gear that you were getting problems. The times I've actually seen T-5's go you get a lot of clunks and bangs with it. Or you may just have 1 or 2 gears that always grind a little/lot. That's because not all the gears share the same syncronizers, and if you have something that actually breaks in there, you've usually got some audible crashing going on. If you can get gears with the engine off, and you start your car up (while in gear) and are able to drive in the gears, I'd have to say your tranny may be fine, and your factory cable/quadrent/clutch/pressure plate is shot. I've seen this numerous times. It hasn't been a shot tranny yet. Always it's been the stock adjuster/cable. Either the adjuster has some nylon teeth broken so it's unable to adjust the cable properly or your clutch cable has been stretched or in extreme cases, the clutch is coming apart. Another way to check for this problem is to be on a completely flat surface and keep your engine running with the clutch in, and the transmission in gear. If your car rolls with the clutch depressed or has a tendency to roll faster when you rev, there is something wrong in the clutch system not allowing the proper release. You can also try a procedure which can be hard on the syncros, but at least you'll know if you have a clutch problem. Shift the transmission without using the clutch at all. First gear is the most difficult to get out of. Drive the car up to a low speed, easier if you stay well below 2500rpms, hold the car at a steady speed with mild throttle input, just enough to keep from accelerating or decelerating. Pull the transmission out of gear, you can use the clutch for this part to help if you like. Then let out the clutch, match engine rpm to the rpm you'll be turning in the next gear. A quick rev as you're pulling will find the spot. As you pull back into 2nd lightly, you should be able to feel the point where the stress is almost totally gone. Once that happens, the mild force should engauge the next gear without use of the clutch. If you can shift this way, you've got a clutch problem, not a major failure in your gearbox.