When I bought my 98 SVT, it had been titled for ten months and had 17k on the clock. From the beginning, at very low speeds, the transaxle sometimes binds and refuses to shift into 1st and/or reverse. When it happens, I have to put it in neutral, waggle the shifer and kind of zero it out. Sometimes this clears the problem. Other times, I have to basically muscle it into gear -- which usually causes it to grind in a way that could get very expensive some day. Changing to Amsoil synthetic ATF helped somewhat. But I can ALMOST ALWAYS reproduce the problem by backing into a parking space, shifting into 1st to adjust the angle and move out of door-ding range, then TRY to shift into Rev again to back the car fully into the space. When I asked a Service Writer at a local dealership about this, he looked at me like I was speaking Chinese (the car was still under warranty at the time. I didn't expect to get much help there, anyway). Because it only affects 1st and Rev, it's obviously not a synchro problem. Could the clutch-cable have been stretched enough after only 17000 mi to
cause something like this?
I'm clueless. Anyone with a clue please lay it on me.
Thanks.
