Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Question: What happens if...

...your synchros start to go. My synchro is grinding when I shift from 2 to 3. I am wondering what the potential long term problem will be? Will my transmission one day freeze up as I am shifting on the highway? Will it simply not engage the gear at anymore?

I am looking for the realistic worst case scenario if I don't do anything to replace the synchro (and any others if they start to go).

Thanks.

at the absolute worst case you won't be able to shift into
3rd, but still able to drive the car.

others may not agree, but grinding -> synchro going out
is a very long process (unless you abuse your tranny), and
you can significantly prolong it with good tranny fluid, (and properly working release bearing btw)

you'll slowly get used to not using fast and agressive
shifting, just do it grandpa-style, then you'll learn
rev matching and double clutching, and finally you won't
even notice that you no longer have that synchro

seriously, using the right techniques it takes really long
until your tranny becomes a pain to use.
theoretically it should affect 3rd gear only, but I guess
at the end (after forcing it into gear several times using
both arms ) other parts of the tranny will also show
signs of increased mechanical wear...

Tiv

I have this exact problem. It first started early last year when I would shift really fast from 2-3 it would grind. Since then, it's steadily gotten worse and worse and now, I have to match my revs perfectly or I grind going into 3rd gear. Makes going on a 0-60+ sprint or passing car's really annoying becuase I have to wait for the revs to match right before I can put the shifter into 3rd.

I've opted to just replace my tranny with a rebuilt unit with quaife.... I can't wait to shift normall again!! It's been over 18 months dealing with this thing....

VRRRROOOOM! 1-2 shift VROOOOOM!!!! ....2-3 shift (waiting for revs to match)........................................VROOOOM!!! 3-4 shift VRROOOOOM!

Trust me. It sucks after 18 months. Your car won't even be fun to drive at all anymore, and you'll be completely uninspired to go on the twisties (which usually taxes 3rd gear more than any other).

I haven't had ANY problems with the other gears yet, and the only thing thats gotten worse is how hard it is to match revs right to prevent grindage. But who knows what will happen to 3rd gear if I just kept driving on it....

That reminds me of a buddy of mine who had a T-Bird Supercoupe with a stickshift. like 130,000 miles on it, the tranny was almost junk. It wouldn't go into first gear unless the car was shut off, or you matched the revs as you were slowing down. If you nurse 3rd gear, it should last a while. I have a Ranger with 126,000 on factory everything, and it sees redline 2nd gear shifts daily. It does grind when I slam it into 2nd, but if I drive it normal, it is great.