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3rd gear grinding

I

I<3mycontour

CEG'er
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
66
Location
Peoria, IL
So for some reason whenever I try to whip it into 3rd gear (2.5 duratec slow edition) It grinds like hell, but if I ease it up to the gear and hold it there gently it just slides in, any ideas as to what this could be?
 
Welcome to owning a MTX75. Sometimes different fluids will hide the crunch but it is just a cover up.
 
Certain fluids will help..... Before my clutch was first replaced back in 2001 I had no transmission issues, and the day I picked up the car the alignment was off and I had a 3rd gear grind and had it until I swapped trans 2 years ago. So that would tell me that certain fluids or mixes of fluids will almost get rid of the crunch under normal shifting (not slamming gears). Still, it is just covering up a bigger problem but if fluid type/mix helps I would definetly try.
 
You answered your own question, do what your doing, or maybe you should ask why you need to slam shift 3rd. There are better ways to have fun! Girls for one.

I don't baby third, but I try and hold it till I engage the clutch completely. I also switched to Ford's synthetic trans fluid.
 
I don't slam it but during normal driving if I shift to fast it grinds, I drive my car in a peppy fashion but i never dump the clutch or get too crazy with it, it sees redline once or twice a week, as for girls, I dont think my wife would like that lol.
 
I would just shift genlty to prolong the life, otherwise you are going to have to rebuild the tranny soon. Make sure your cable ends are not too worn otherwise the shift tower wont fully engage 3rd during a "jarring" shift
 
greasemonkey1489 said:
I would just shift genlty to prolong the life, otherwise you are going to have to rebuild the tranny soon. Make sure your cable ends are not too worn otherwise the shift tower wont fully engage 3rd during a "jarring" shift
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if the cable ends are worn then you will see issues with all gears, not just third. this is a syncro issue and the mtx is going to have to be rebuilt. fresh fluid is just going to cover it up. repair it before any more damage is done and it costs more to fix.
 
BrApple said:
if the cable ends are worn then you will see issues with all gears, not just third. this is a syncro issue and the mtx is going to have to be rebuilt. fresh fluid is just going to cover it up. repair it before any more damage is done and it costs more to fix.
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You speak so confidently, sir. I had a bushing wear out so badly that when I grabbed the cable end, the bushing fell right out into two pieces. I was just inspecting under my car and I would NOT have known that it was worn unless I looked at it. Prior to that, I ONLY had difficulty shifting ONLY 2nd gear and that was ONLY during high-rev shifts. So it is possible that a bushing affects ONE gear. I never said that was his problem, just suggesting ideas before he spends a thousand dollars to get his transmission fixed. It's called troubleshooting, not assumptions. I realize you've been around these cars for a long time but not every symptom will have the same problem. Typical mechanic mentality is to just throw parts at the car till the problem is fixed.
 
yeah the general rule is if one one gear is effected then its an internal transmission problem.

yes I had my bushing split in half and fall out when I was removing the cable end. never had shifting problem or grinding. And i'm not saying just throw parts at it. yes check it all out first. but this sounds like a syncro problem.
 
You can also make sure the shifter is not loose. Pull up the leather boot cover and make sure the two bolts are tight that hold the assembly to the car. I added two more bolts, as it seems it can take four and either Ford or the assembly guys only added two.
 
marvinstockman said:
You can also make sure the shifter is not loose. Pull up the leather boot cover and make sure the two bolts are tight that hold the assembly to the car. I added two more bolts, as it seems it can take four and either Ford or the assembly guys only added two.
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this has been covered before. it only comes with 2 bolts from the factory .... and yes they can loosen up. however thats going to tend to effect all gears, not just one.
 
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