Loss of 1st & 2nd gears.
01-06-2005, 12:50 AM
#1
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 12
Loss of 1st & 2nd gears.
Its happened twice now.....For example I'll shift from 2nd to 3rd, but when I go to downshift back to 2nd, its as if they (1st or 2nd) dont exist. the neutral position in the shift gate wont allow you to even move it tword 2nd.......but then it just suddenly goes back to normal.....it stays this way just long enough to make you wounder how the hell your gonna start off in 3rd all the time....haha
Matt
Matt
01-06-2005, 08:42 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,371
this just happend to me about 3 weeks ago luckily i had a spare trans to swap in the next day
it happened to me rolling to a stop and i tryed to down shift and it wouldnt go in to either gear so i started out in 3rd and once i was going it slide right back in to 2nd and it was fine for a day but the next day i was in stop and go traffic on the highway and it did it again and this time it wouldnt go into 2nd after starting out in 3rd so finally i put all may stregh into 2nd and proboly bent somthing in the trans but it was in 2nd and i drove around like that for the rest of the day till i got home and throught the other spare 5spd in
i think mine happend because the front input shaft bearing had so much play in it that the input shaft got to misaligned and wouldnt alow them to engage but every other gear worked fine. when i pulled the trans i could move the input shaft about 1/4 inch up and down side to side. where as the replace had no play at all although it still has the same knocking sound in neutral so it also hyas a bad input shaft bearing
it happened to me rolling to a stop and i tryed to down shift and it wouldnt go in to either gear so i started out in 3rd and once i was going it slide right back in to 2nd and it was fine for a day but the next day i was in stop and go traffic on the highway and it did it again and this time it wouldnt go into 2nd after starting out in 3rd so finally i put all may stregh into 2nd and proboly bent somthing in the trans but it was in 2nd and i drove around like that for the rest of the day till i got home and throught the other spare 5spd in
i think mine happend because the front input shaft bearing had so much play in it that the input shaft got to misaligned and wouldnt alow them to engage but every other gear worked fine. when i pulled the trans i could move the input shaft about 1/4 inch up and down side to side. where as the replace had no play at all although it still has the same knocking sound in neutral so it also hyas a bad input shaft bearing
01-06-2005, 08:47 AM
#5
You gonna put new bearings in? I'm looking into that for mine also.
Originally Posted by subs1000w
this just happend to me about 3 weeks ago luckily i had a spare trans to swap in the next day
it happened to me rolling to a stop and i tryed to down shift and it wouldnt go in to either gear so i started out in 3rd and once i was going it slide right back in to 2nd and it was fine for a day but the next day i was in stop and go traffic on the highway and it did it again and this time it wouldnt go into 2nd after starting out in 3rd so finally i put all may stregh into 2nd and proboly bent somthing in the trans but it was in 2nd and i drove around like that for the rest of the day till i got home and throught the other spare 5spd in
i think mine happend because the front input shaft bearing had so much play in it that the input shaft got to misaligned and wouldnt alow them to engage but every other gear worked fine. when i pulled the trans i could move the input shaft about 1/4 inch up and down side to side. where as the replace had no play at all although it still has the same knocking sound in neutral so it also hyas a bad input shaft bearing
it happened to me rolling to a stop and i tryed to down shift and it wouldnt go in to either gear so i started out in 3rd and once i was going it slide right back in to 2nd and it was fine for a day but the next day i was in stop and go traffic on the highway and it did it again and this time it wouldnt go into 2nd after starting out in 3rd so finally i put all may stregh into 2nd and proboly bent somthing in the trans but it was in 2nd and i drove around like that for the rest of the day till i got home and throught the other spare 5spd in
i think mine happend because the front input shaft bearing had so much play in it that the input shaft got to misaligned and wouldnt alow them to engage but every other gear worked fine. when i pulled the trans i could move the input shaft about 1/4 inch up and down side to side. where as the replace had no play at all although it still has the same knocking sound in neutral so it also hyas a bad input shaft bearing
01-06-2005, 03:54 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 131
i had the same problem over summer... filled the damn thing up about 3 times and its finally staying full and now it shifts fine. it wouldnt by your master clutch fluid... thatll just make using the clutch a pain in the ***, had that happen also
01-06-2005, 04:23 PM
#7
this is a mechanical issue, not a clutch issue.
do you hear any whining/grinding sounds when you actually do get it into 1st and 2nd gears?
If so, then your input bearings are shot- it's a very common occurence on these cars.
My car was doing the exact same thing as yours, and here's what was causing it:
http://mattblehm.com/pics/car/tranny/IM001405.JPG
http://mattblehm.com/pics/car/tranny/IM001411.JPG
The chunks of metal that came out of the input shaft bearing were getting stuck behind the shift rods in the bottom of the transmission, physically preventing the shift forks from moving far enough over to go into 1st and 2nd.
After cooking my clutch from having to start in 3rd gear uphill half a dozen times, I finally broke down and rebuilt the tranny.
do you hear any whining/grinding sounds when you actually do get it into 1st and 2nd gears?
If so, then your input bearings are shot- it's a very common occurence on these cars.
My car was doing the exact same thing as yours, and here's what was causing it:
http://mattblehm.com/pics/car/tranny/IM001405.JPG
http://mattblehm.com/pics/car/tranny/IM001411.JPG
The chunks of metal that came out of the input shaft bearing were getting stuck behind the shift rods in the bottom of the transmission, physically preventing the shift forks from moving far enough over to go into 1st and 2nd.
After cooking my clutch from having to start in 3rd gear uphill half a dozen times, I finally broke down and rebuilt the tranny.
01-06-2005, 08:55 PM
#9
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,371
well i have 2 complete spare broken 5spds plus a bucket full of internals from another broken 5spd so im going to combine all into one good one and put new bearing in and have the gears cryo treated so it will hopfully last alittle while longer. im on my 4th trans in 3 years and only one of the brakeges were due to abuse so this is getting alittle old althought what can i expect when i keep slaping in trannys with unknown milage
01-06-2005, 08:56 PM
#10
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,371
Originally Posted by PulsarDriver
My trans makes a little bit of whirry/metallic noise and I often have trouble getting it into reverse 
I've also noticed that shifts can sometimes be notchier than one would expect 
Its got new Redline Mt90 in it.
I've also noticed that shifts can sometimes be notchier than one would expect Its got new Redline Mt90 in it.
01-07-2005, 06:48 PM
#13
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,371
Originally Posted by PulsarDriver
The noise seems to be the same regardless of clutch position or speed :\
Its worse when the car is in 1st, 3rd, or 5th :\ Doesn't really make noise in 2nd or 4th
Its worse when the car is in 1st, 3rd, or 5th :\ Doesn't really make noise in 2nd or 4th
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