Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting SVT tranny situation

How much terry?

Terry-

If I

a) thought the dealer would let me have one of the old trannies, and

b) had the dough

I'd take you up on this in a minute!

If you ship me the trans its $350 + parts & return shipping.(parts depening on what is worn etc,fit and LSD etc)

Hi there Craig. Re: your 4th tranny. Me too, me too!

Just getting caught up reading all the postings in the 2 threads re: 1st/reverse problem. Flying out on vacation next week so have been asking Bill/Campbell's what they could try next since i won't need a car while away and can thus avoid loaner insurance charges and being seen in a gold Focus! He's chasing up the new tranny rev; although i tried to expand his perspective into considering other potential fault sources.

Across the 2 threads i note/confirm that my problem is *not* only at cold start. In winter, a whole new set of undesirable tranny behaviour opens up, at least until the car is at operating temperature.

At least every other day, if not daily, after driving the car long enough for it to be at full op. temperature, i've had to park in a tight spot (i'm living downtown and resort to street parking frequently) that required to'ing and fro'ing with each 1st/reverse attempt being locked out, or some similar situation where i was clearly stuck in the neutral gate. Stopping the engine, moving the stick, and restarting the engine always works (and thus our 'rule' about parking in reverse if we must back out upon start-up). To the casual observer it must look like i don't know how to shift nor how to avoid stalling the car!!

i suppose it is comforting to see other souls with same/similar problem which suggests a persistent design (or tolerance or maybe assembly)fault rather than my SVT having a singular bad part.

Good luck, will catch up on private email channel shortly.

Linas

Hey guys i don't have quite the same problem as you but mine deals with the shift from 1st to 2nd. When I race I notice that I have to throw the shifter back hard to engage in 2nd. Has anyone experienced this problem?

well contrary to what a lot of people believe, do not try to ruin your tranny in order to get a new one. unless u personally know the person that will be fixing the tranny, don't do it. i have a friend with a t-bird with a new tranny and it sucks. shifts harder than anyone could ever believe. just my 2 cents. good luck.

Okay, here's the latest:

Got my car back from dealer yesterday, with new tranny (this is the third replacement) AND a new clutch.

I have not driven very far yet, but so far, there is not even a hint of the old first-reverse lockout problem.

The clutch however, has a slight "judder" when taking up drive in first and reverse. I'm wondering if they slopped a bit of oil or something in it during installation. Does not seem to be any slippage in any other gear.

If it is oil contamination, is that likely to burn off over time, or should it be opened up and cleaned out?

Now, I have suspected the clutch from the beginning, and the dealer now seems to agree that the clutch was malfunctioning on an intermittent basis. For example, sometimes, when I started the car in gear instead of in neutral, there'd be a strange little shudder in the front end, and the car would pull forward ever-so-slightly...as if the clutch was sticking for an instant.

As for the tranny, I'm giving it a few more days before I declare an "all clear."

Steener...

Man, I am scared as heck now. My 99 SVT goes in on Friday to have the tranny replaced because of the 1st/reverse problem. This the first tranny.

What are the chances of this fixing the problem? Not good I see.

Did they replace the pressure plate when they replaced the clutch? I suspect that it is the clutch or pressure plate myself, but the dealer wants to replace the tranny...

Any info you can give me would be great.

Patrick

My synchros went out (83K) and I couldnt use 3rd without grinding. After a month in the shop the tranny was replaced. It is VERY notchy now, which I dont like, and I am starting to get the same thing in 3rd. Not bad, just a little bit. I think my clutch blows...but we will see..

Hi there Craig. Just back from vacation; while i was away the dealer had my car for a week to try new/further measures to fix the tranny problem. Bill didn't say he was for sure going to put the 4th tranny in. The workorder says he replaced the pressure release plate and disc, but says nothing about the tranny. Since someone fetched the car for me; i've not yet seen/spoken to Bill since my return and thus didn't get any feedback from him after the repairs.

i've only driven it yesterday and today but so far all is well; like you i'm reserving judgement! Part of the problem is i now "automatically" park in reverse, so i've got to break this habit to try and give the tranny occassion to lock-up in neutral. Somehow, though, i'm more hopeful this time around!

Linas