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Shifter Problem (hard shifting)


1BADGT500

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I have recently noticed that my trans is getting hard and harder to shift...... feels almost like my F350 trans now. It doesn't simply slide into first at a stop anymore.... gotta force it into gear sometimes and it isn't a smooth upshift into other gears anymore either.... sometimes third grinds into gear occasionally now on an upshift and sometimes even on a downshift (depending on my speed).

 

Iv'e checked my fluid resovoir (it's full), clutch pedal play (less than 1/2"), hydraulic system (no leaks or air in the system), checked the master cylinder and everything seems okay.

 

Anyone else having this problem??

 

p.s. Yea I know, if I drive the hell out of it I wont even notice it.

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I have recently noticed that my trans is getting hard and harder to shift...... feels almost like my F350 trans now. It doesn't simply slide into first at a stop anymore.... gotta force it into gear sometimes and it isn't a smooth upshift into other gears anymore either.... sometimes third grinds into gear occasionally now on an upshift and sometimes even on a downshift (depending on my speed).

 

Iv'e checked my fluid resovoir (it's full), clutch pedal play (less than 1/2"), hydraulic system (no leaks or air in the system), checked the master cylinder and everything seems okay.

 

Anyone else having this problem??

 

p.s. Yea I know, if I drive the hell out of it I wont even notice it.

 

 

1BAD, someone posted on here in the last week or so, that they had some problems with the tranny and had some warranty work done to it. It sort of sounded to me like we were all going to have that problem done the road because the parts that were replaced were defective. I have never heard of any recall, so far. Sorry I can't help you more. Good Luck Bud.

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1BAD, someone posted on here in the last week or so, that they had some problems with the tranny and had some warranty work done to it. It sort of sounded to me like we were all going to have that problem done the road because the parts that were replaced were defective. I have never heard of any recall, so far. Sorry I can't help you more. Good Luck Bud.

That's not good news svtkeith.... I surely don't want to have to take it in for warranty work, I'd rather do the work myself (if I knew what parts needed replacing). Thanks for the info though!

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That has been a problem from day one for me. It only shifts hard though when it's cold. After a few miles of driving it, it isn't that bad. I haven't driven it daily so I think it's probably from sitting in my garage too much. When I begin driving it again in April if it continues I'll probably schedule a service appointment to have it checked out. :shift:

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That has been a problem from day one for me. It only shifts hard though when it's cold. After a few miles of driving it, it isn't that bad. I haven't driven it daily so I think it's probably from sitting in my garage too much. When I begin driving it again in April if it continues I'll probably schedule a service appointment to have it checked out. :shift:

 

Just got back from a 60 mile drive.

 

Mine seems to be about the same even when it's hot, it's not undrivable but it is not as smooth as it was when it was new (and this irritates me) and it seems to be getting worse day by day (either that or I am paying more attention to it now than I was before which amplifies it in my head).

 

I don't want to schedule an appointment for it now because I already know what the dealer would say: "Our mechanics test drove your car today sir and they couldn't seem to find anything wrong with it."

 

That's because they have nothing to compare it to.... no new Shelby to test drive before driving mine.... so I'll just have to wait until it gets really bad and then they WILL notice it.

 

Or maybe it'll just go away once the trans get "broken in"... eh??

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I have recently noticed that my trans is getting hard and harder to shift...... feels almost like my F350 trans now. It doesn't simply slide into first at a stop anymore.... gotta force it into gear sometimes and it isn't a smooth upshift into other gears anymore either.... sometimes third grinds into gear occasionally now on an upshift and sometimes even on a downshift (depending on my speed).

 

Iv'e checked my fluid resovoir (it's full), clutch pedal play (less than 1/2"), hydraulic system (no leaks or air in the system), checked the master cylinder and everything seems okay.

 

Anyone else having this problem??

 

p.s. Yea I know, if I drive the hell out of it I wont even notice it.

 

 

U shouldnt have to force it to get it into 1st gear when at a stop

 

If your noticing that its getting progressivly harder to shift at first you definitly want to have it checked out by a SVT dealer .. someone who knows what theyre doing

 

They had some quality control issues during assembly of these clutches back in the summer and early fall ... if your car was produced around this time just keep a heads up.

 

My shelby was built after this .. in Nov and supposedly quality control was ramped up ..

 

I have had no issues

 

dond

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U shouldnt have to force it to get it into 1st gear when at a stop

 

If your noticing that its getting progressivly harder to shift at first you definitly want to have it checked out by a SVT dealer .. someone who knows what theyre doing

 

They had some quality control issues during assembly of these clutches back in the summer and early fall ... if your car was produced around this time just keep a heads up.

 

My shelby was built after this .. in Nov and supposedly quality control was ramped up ..

 

I have had no issues

 

dond

 

That's the problem, I think the nearest SVT dealership is about 3000 miles away (over water)... that's why I'm going to have to do these things myself.

 

I got a great DVD off of ebay that has the GT500 in it (Ford Mustang Service Manual) and it has diagrams, schematics, wiring, part numbers, and everything you could ever need to work on your car (other than the right tools)... even has diagnostics, trouble shooting etc... paid 39.00 for it and it is all I ever need to work on my car.

 

yea my car was built in July I believe. Thanks

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My car is an early one and I have 6,000 miles on it. No problems. None. At first I did not like the shifter, but now I love it. But no transmission trouble. No wheel hop, sliding but no wheel hop. Well unless you are counting the front wheels...these cars like to rear. The clutch can be funny but once you realize how good it actually is...you'll like it. In my opinion, these cars are not for the common Joe (that was me) they need to be driven with finesse and care. I've ridden in a modified GT500 with a friend...a very good driver and his car is wild (he disagrees with this assessment) but he is capable. It scares me to think some of us new GT500 owners just think we are going to go out and jump on the throttle and everything is going to be okay....it won't.

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I have recently noticed that my trans is getting hard and harder to shift...... feels almost like my F350 trans now. It doesn't simply slide into first at a stop anymore.... gotta force it into gear sometimes and it isn't a smooth upshift into other gears anymore either.... sometimes third grinds into gear occasionally now on an upshift and sometimes even on a downshift (depending on my speed).

 

Iv'e checked my fluid resovoir (it's full), clutch pedal play (less than 1/2"), hydraulic system (no leaks or air in the system), checked the master cylinder and everything seems okay.

 

Anyone else having this problem??

 

p.s. Yea I know, if I drive the hell out of it I wont even notice it.

someone posted earlier about same problem.he took to dealer and had fixed, something to do with early shelby's produced wrong rivet's in pressure plate making difficult to shift .

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It scares me to think some of us new GT500 owners just think we are going to go out and jump on the throttle and everything is going to be okay....it won't.

You have to respect a car with 500 horses(or 600+ for some of yous) and learn the car before getting too wild in it. It drives just like any grocery getter if you stay off the gas, but you better be ready to react and have it pointed in the right direction when you put the hammer down.

 

My shifter was stiff the first hundred miles but seemed to loosen up after that. Its not half bad, Im starting to like it in fact. No problems engaging the gears though, sounds like you might have a synchro problem if you can't get it into gear. Or your clutch leg is too short :hysterical2:

 

KC666

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Thanks, that narrows it down for me. I will look for that post and see if I can find it.

 

 

1badgt500

 

I posted that post and work for a ford store .. PM me and i will give u the poop on what was going on with these earlier production cars.

 

dond

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someone posted earlier about same problem.he took to dealer and had fixed, something to do with early shelby's produced wrong rivet's in pressure plate making difficult to shift .

What do we consider early cars??????? Do we know when this was rectified?

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Not having problems shifting, but I do feel a vibration in the shifter when I'm in 3RD gear (and only in 3RD gear). Anyone else experiencing this?

I have'nt noticed that one yet, but I'm going to have to pull my trans soon and check my clutch pack and slave cyclinder.

 

When I decide to do it I'll take some pics and do a little tech thread on trans/clutch removal on our cars.

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1badgt500

 

I posted that post and work for a ford store .. PM me and i will give u the poop on what was going on with these earlier production cars.

 

dond

 

Mine was built in June, do all early GT500's have the bad rivets or whatever? My clutch has never had any chatter and transmission shifts good. I was told by a reputable source that extra care was given to the early cars.

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Mine was built in June, do all early GT500's have the bad rivets or whatever? My clutch has never had any chatter and transmission shifts good. I was told by a reputable source that extra care was given to the early cars.

 

I think that the early clutch packs were assembled in Mexico and hear that they skimped (skipped) on the locktight for the studs/nuts on the straps which can backout and cause some problems.

 

All I know is that my clutch worked fine for about 3000 miles (no complaints at all) and now it doesn't want to go into gear and it's getting harder and harder to up/down shift it.

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I think that the early clutch packs were assembled in Mexico and hear that they skimped (skipped) on the locktight for the studs/nuts on the straps which can backout and cause some problems.

 

All I know is that my clutch worked fine for about 3000 miles (no complaints at all) and now it doesn't want to go into gear and it's getting harder and harder to up/down shift it.

Good information, thanks. I am looking forward to seeing the pix you take of the problem.

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someone posted earlier about same problem.he took to dealer and had fixed, something to do with early shelby's produced wrong rivet's in pressure plate making difficult to shift .

 

 

That sounds like it. My 05 had a pressure plate issue and it sounds just like this problem. It wont get better. Its a simple install for any dealer.

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IBad -

My car was built 6/28, has 8900 miles on it with no problems. I think the problems with the early cars' clutches was just with a few cars, not the whole run. Still, sucks to be you if you're one of those. You did all the same troubleshooting steps I would. Have you thought of double-clutching when you are stopped and want to go into first? The problem won't fix itself, of course, but when I've had a similar problem on another car, double-clutching worked to get it into gear without force or grinding.

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I have recently noticed that my trans is getting hard and harder to shift...... feels almost like my F350 trans now. It doesn't simply slide into first at a stop anymore.... gotta force it into gear sometimes and it isn't a smooth upshift into other gears anymore either.... sometimes third grinds into gear occasionally now on an upshift and sometimes even on a downshift (depending on my speed).

 

Iv'e checked my fluid resovoir (it's full), clutch pedal play (less than 1/2"), hydraulic system (no leaks or air in the system), checked the master cylinder and everything seems okay.

 

Anyone else having this problem??

 

p.s. Yea I know, if I drive the hell out of it I wont even notice it.

Hey BAD, where do you live? Any chance it could be the outside temp? I know trans fluids can become very different in cold weather...I had a Toyota with synthetic gear lube that was like that whenever it got cold.

 

Just an idea.

 

Dave

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Hey BAD, where do you live? Any chance it could be the outside temp? I know trans fluids can become very different in cold weather...I had a Toyota with synthetic gear lube that was like that whenever it got cold.

 

Just an idea.

 

Dave

 

I live in Hawaii so my trans oil is always pretty thin as opposed to living in the cold, someone else sent me a pm and said that they had to replace his entire clutch (under warranty) due to the same issues.... the early cluthes were apparently no good.

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IBad -

My car was built 6/28, has 8900 miles on it with no problems. I think the problems with the early cars' clutches was just with a few cars, not the whole run. Still, sucks to be you if you're one of those. You did all the same troubleshooting steps I would. Have you thought of double-clutching when you are stopped and want to go into first? The problem won't fix itself, of course, but when I've had a similar problem on another car, double-clutching worked to get it into gear without force or grinding.

 

I (usually) have to go into second gear before I can get it into first (at a stop)and even then it's not a smooth transition... kind of pops into gear like I have some air in my hydralic system (but I don't).

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1Bad -

Yeah, that has worked for me too. If you put it in neutral, let out the clutch, then push the clutch in it gets the gears turning so the synchros can do their job. It will usually slide into gear then.

I'm sure you don't need a whole lot of advice, but have you checked the ATF level in the trans? I agree it's probably the clutch, but it might also be low trans fluid level that may be interfering with synchro operation. Just a thought.

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What do we consider early cars??????? Do we know when this was rectified?

 

 

Early cars were july, aug and sept production dates. When ford saw the issue they instituted a more rigid quality control on the pressure plates and esp the bolts/nuts that hold the straps.

 

Since this was done, i havent heard any more issues with the clutch

 

dond

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1Bad -

Yeah, that has worked for me too. If you put it in neutral, let out the clutch, then push the clutch in it gets the gears turning so the synchros can do their job. It will usually slide into gear then.

I'm sure you don't need a whole lot of advice, but have you checked the ATF level in the trans? I agree it's probably the clutch, but it might also be low trans fluid level that may be interfering with synchro operation. Just a thought.

No I didn't think of checking the fluid level since it is not leaking but it's worth a shot thanks.

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