very hard 1st, 2nd, and reverse gears

[saturnspeed_12]

okay well i was hoping i wouldnt have too much more trouble with this car ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW! i got a new job and i have to travel a ways. so now the car decides to become extremely hard to shift into first, second, and reverse. reverse has always been a problem. now even forcing it into gear sometimes doesnt work. i have been holding it at the gear and waiting for it to pop in.

first gear i can feel it go in in stages. it will like start to go in, stop, go in more, stop, go in more, and that happens within 2 secs. second gear is an issue because i know its in, i cant make it go any farther its traveled the distance, but yet sometimes will grind which pops right at the same time. now reverse is like second gear, it goes in but then it grinds. i cant make it go any farther, so i usually have to grind it to go in. there is no choice to it. i have since had to park like someone dying behind the wheel so i can ensure it doesnt pop out of gear.

i have a feeling its something internal causing my problems. i know i dont have the time to deal with such problems. i dont have any time to tear the trans apart starting this new job. im extremely pissed, just means more money into this thing. practically new car with used body now, $6,000 later.

please someone tell me they had the same problem and it wasnt internal. im just thinking of the worst, since it always is.

[Big Jim]

What kind of lubricant do you have in the trans?

[saturnspeed_12]

that i couldnt tell you. when my grandfather had it at the ford garage, they were suppose to put fluid in it. i gave them a list to follow since i was busy. they followed about 1% of it.

im thinking normal mercon, if there is fluid in it. i just have never went to check. i will probably drain it at the end of the month and put something better in, unless i have internal problems.

so to say, i guess mercon. and now that i think back to the order, i think it said mercon.

[Big Jim]

Drain it and fill it with ATF+3 and see if that helps. It may take a week or so of driving to free up the shift forks. If it does help, spend the money for a synthetic, such as Torco.

If that doesn't help, you probably need to install the updated fork with roller bearings.

[saturnspeed_12]

prices on the new forks and possibly other things to replace while i would tear a trans apart (if it comes to that)? probably wont put a lsd in, i will probably just weld the diff pin for extra security so i dont throw it.

[Tony2005]

Also before putting it into R, put it in 4 or 5 first.

And before putting it in 1 (put in 2 first or if 2 is a problem put it in 3 first).

Those two "methods" usually help for manual trannys.

[saturnspeed_12]

well today i didnt have a problem. it was even colder today. i mean i had some normal force ive always used to get into first and second, but this time if i just waited to let it pop in, it would happen almost instantly.

thing i did differently though, i had the car warm up before i left. but yet yesterday after driving it on the highway and through about 10 miles of city, it was still funky.

im back on the other side of the state, so i might just drive down to summit and pick up some synchromax and see if that helps my situation. hope to hell it will for the price of the stuff. although i dont skimp on fluid

[Big Jim]

Some have reported that it helps to start the car, make sure the trans is in neutral, then blip the throttle a couple for times (no more than 3000 RPM. This will splash some oil up on the shift forks and rails and may help. Warming up the car certainly helps too.

[Ray]

(Briefly skimmed the thread, so apologies if I missed something)


Has anyone suggested adjusting/checking the shift cables? I know that caused a 1st gear grind on my car that I would have sworn was the spider gears going out.

[saturnspeed_12]

i have a 96, rods, but i may need to adjust the rod (thought about it but havent). i did notice while changing trans fluid that my rear mount is dead. the center of it is laying flat on the bottom.

i will say, the synchromax is pretty good. most of the stiff shifting is gone. i think all i have left is maybe a sticking shift fork and/or the rear mount throwing it off center. the tranny fluid that was in it had to have been mercon V. just the smell of it caught my attention as it had a light smell and was a bit darker. i noticed this with the mercon V i put in my dads focus.