Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Tricky shift to 2nd

I just bought my 1999 contour yesterday and have been practicing driving on a 1993 and 1995 mustang gt. The clutch ont he svt is a lot easier and handles smooth but i have been having a lot of trouble actually geting into 2nd gear. When i hit the clutch and shift the gear never engages. Its only after i move the shifter from 1st and then back into 2nd hard does it actually work. Is this nroaml or am i doing something wrong. PS thsi is an aftermarket shifter. I don't have the problem with any other gears. Sometimes i'll here a grinding noise then i hit the clutch again and move the shifter to 1st and then throw in back hard but with out concentrating to hard and it usually seems to work, if not i just repeat this process. what can i do to fix it? :rolleyes:

Bleed the clutch first & retry.f its still band on 2nd(up****s/down shifts could be worn blocker rings in the trans.Mileage?

Did you buy that car as is, or is there a warranty?

Get a friend who definitely knows how to drive stick (as a comparison - not a flame) and see if he has the same problem. If so, you may be experiencing the common "MTX-75 synchro death". Do this ASAP and get back to where you bought the car to get it fixed (on their dime). Otherwise, find a good tranny shop.

The shifter should not cause gears to grind.

EDIT: Or, on the other hand, do whatever Terry says. He is THE expert.

I talked to a friend and he tried driving the car and had no problem, he told me to just make sure that it is engaged and that the after market shifter makes it a little different. he said i was probably pushing it to the right or left a little and it wasen't fully engaging. thanks for the quick feedback guys, im gonna try again today. keep in mind i am a new mtx driver.

I to have joined the mtx gang and have learned pretty mcuh how to do it.

just a thought --I had my secound gear sincro going out around -- 40,000 miles and my thro-out bearing too- so they replaced them-- and I had them throw in a clutch while they were in there. I had to pay for the cost of the clutch - that was it-- ask the asist. service manager go on a test drive with you..

You should also check your shift linkage bushings at the tranny. One of my bushings had worn away and getting into second became very difficult.

Also when your in that area of the tranny have someone hold the gear shift into 2nd. At the same time on the shifter cables there is a adjustment button. Its orange, when you push the orange section in all the way it will lock down. The pressure from your friend holding to gear shift in second will push the cable at the adjustment and should give you more travel for that gear.

Give these two things a try. Good luck