Hello,
As the topic states, im having a peculiar problem with my GSR trans. Its a 94 on the stock motor, with boost. The clutch is the ACT Extreme pressure plate with a street disk. Anyway heres the problem. The trans in perfect, every gear is smooth with no problems whatsoever. However recently, like within the last two weeks at most, when i race thru the gears, redline first, shift, redline second, and go to shift into third, its like i hit a wall. I tried a few more times and the same thing, no grind, no throw back, just a wall. To me it seemed maybe some **** is loose and im hitting the area between 1st and 3rd, so i tightened the shifter up today (more mental fix than anything) and i still have the same problem. Recap, ONLY when shifting hard (racing) into third gear, when revving out 2nd past 6000rpms or so, does this happen. When normal driving its fine, then just at the high RPM shift into third, it hits this wall, and if i push hard enough, which i dont mean to do, it catches a mild grind and throws it back out. If i pause for a second or two it will drop into third with no problem. This confuses the **** outta me. IT doesnt even grind, it just wont go into gear. If i had to compare it to somehting, id compare it what i would think it would be like to shift into third with the clutch disengaged, just a wall until u push hard enough, then a grind, and it still doesnt go in, i gotta let off the gas and then pop it into third, and its fine. Sorry its so long and any help is greatly appreciated.
BTW i have GM synchromesh in there, (non-Friction modified)

Dan

 

Lets see some thoughts...

 

mine did that too when i took it to the track...just shift earlier....its probably like a rev lim or something....i cant think of anything else, when i shifted earlier it was fine and my times were actually better anyways if i shifted before the redline...i dont have boost on the gsr though, if you have a boost controller, you may want to play w/that bc my wrx did that and when i adjusted the boost controller it was fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mine did that too when i took it to the track...just shift earlier....its probably like a rev lim or something.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That doesnt sound like a limiter.... I have no idea.. Def something in that tranny box...

 

i've experienced it too...i thought the synchros were designed like that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmjerk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That doesnt sound like a limiter.... I have no idea.. Def something in that tranny box...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea thats what im thinkin. A buddy of mine claimed the same thing happened to him when the shifter was lose, and something bent so it didnt line up right.
Shifting earlier may help, but the bottom line is this shouldnt happen. Ive had my car for 3 years and shifted that gear a thousand times flawlessly, and this just started in the last two weeks or so, drove again just now today, tranny is flawless under normal driving conditions.

Thanx for the replies guys, any other ideas?

 

Hmm...that makes me wonder...just thinking outloud here.....my friend had adjusted my clutch pedal up bc it kept slamming into the floorboard and tearing a hole in it (this was before i changed my clutch and it wasnt giving any dead givaways that it was bad)....would adjusting the clutch pedal higher have anything to do w/that sorta problem?...just wonderin bc we never put it back after we changed the clutch

 

change your shifter bushings... sounds like it is worn.

 

thanx for the thoughts guys, i appreciate it. As far as the clutch pedal goes, i suppose its possible, however my engagement time is small, and its when the pedal is pretty far off the groud so im thinkin thats not it, but ill check that out.

As far as the bushings go, i have a B&M shifter in there with a new bushing kit, but i forget which brand bushings.

UPDATE: just now im my way home i decided to experiment some more to see if i can explain it better. I tried it at 5k, shifting hard and it was ok, then at 6k, it would go. But i remember during regular driving the engagement into third seems to slide a little farther to the right than normal, so i decided to try shifting hard again only pushing slightly a little more to the right, and it went right in, even at redline in 2nd. So this is definetly a good thing, however its not normal, and its not the way it was like 3 weeks ago. What could have changed and effected that? Any ideas on that or any experiences or more "thinking out loud" is more than welcome. thanx guys
Dan

 

ok guys, some more thoughts...

 

ok experimented some more. i raced up to redline in second, shifter pretty hard, this time concentrating on pushing the shifter a little farther to the right, and it went in, it seems to tap whatever wall type thing i was hitting before but it went in. but i dont remember pushing it on purpose like that slightly to the right....any ideas?
thanx
Dan

 

check your clutch fluid bro... you might be low, sounds dumb... buts its the simple stuff we often miss. bleed the lines, then refill... MAKE SURE THERE ISNT ANY AIR IN THE LINES. gl. use your helms if u need more help doing that.

 

Sounds like your 3rd gear synchro can't keep up, might be kinda beat up. If they don't line gears up in time, they can't keep up w/ your shifting.

 

Had the same problem with my tranny. I flushed the whole system and put in some new fluid. Problem has been gone for the last 4 months *knock on wood*. For me it only happened sometimes and only happened on a downshift to 2nd... everyone said syncros, but like i said, no problem after swapping the fluid. Try that first, much cheaper than replacing syncros. Good luck.

 

It is not the syncros. It is the Shift arm shaht assembley that is either bent or missalined. This is what moves the forks for the syncros in gear. There are 3 forks. Ist and 2ond are on 1 fork 3 & 4 are on a second fork and 5th and Reverse is on the last fork . When moving between forks you are hitting the 1st and 2ond fork. the difference is about 3mm betwwen the forks.

Try this check When in 1st gear move the shifter from side to side and if you can move it move that 1.5 inches than you need to tighten up the slack at the bottom of your shifter and the Shift shaft.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frankintegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It is not the syncros. It is the Shift arm shaht assembley that is either bent or missalined. This is what moves the forks for the syncros in gear. There are 3 forks. Ist and 2ond are on 1 fork 3 & 4 are on a second fork and 5th and Reverse is on the last fork . When moving between forks you are hitting the 1st and 2ond fork. the difference is about 3mm betwwen the forks.

Try this check When in 1st gear move the shifter from side to side and if you can move it move that 1.5 inches than you need to tighten up the slack at the bottom of your shifter and the Shift shaft. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ok this seems to make alot of sense, and to me it seems to be an alignment issue. But is there any adjustment to be made other than the bolt thru the bottom of the shifter, that just makes the shifter tighter? I notice alot of play when in gear, in any gear it can wobble quite a bit left and right, which might have always happened, but im not sure. Is there another adjustment to make other than that one at the the bottom of the shifter to suck up some of that play?

Also im prolly going to flush the clutch fluid, it was a little low the other day, and when i filled it with new clear stuff, some old *** black crap got swirled to the top of the fill thing, prolly has nothing to do with it but we will see.

Trans fluid is less than 4k miles old. So that should be fine.

Any other thoughts? Especially on that adjustment issue and where else to adjust if possible? Also if i have a bend, like u said, in one of the arms, where should i check for that first, near the trans or the shifter?

thanx

 

Check these:

Roll pin in shift linkage (this will cause slack in all gears)
Exhuast clearance *
Shift stablizer and bushing (both ends)
Motor mounts (causes rocking of motor)

* If you have a short throw shifter installed, the clearance between the exhaust and the bottom of the lever is greatly reduced. I had to grind off the hangers on my exhaust because they stuck up too far into the shifter.

Try this: put the transmission into neutral. Put the ebrake on Then hit the top of the shifter **** with medium force towards the ground with your fist. If you hear a dunk or dink or similar then you know its binding.

It's a long shot, but you never know. I had it happen. Still do. I can make a cool sound, can you? haha.

-Junior-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JUN1OR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check these:

Roll pin in shift linkage (this will cause slack in all gears)
Exhuast clearance *
Shift stablizer and bushing (both ends)
Motor mounts (causes rocking of motor)

* If you have a short throw shifter installed, the clearance between the exhaust and the bottom of the lever is greatly reduced. I had to grind off the hangers on my exhaust because they stuck up too far into the shifter.

Try this: put the transmission into neutral. Put the ebrake on Then hit the top of the shifter **** with medium force towards the ground with your fist. If you hear a dunk or dink or similar then you know its binding.


-Junior-</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where is the roll pin located? As far as the bushings u listed, would those have been replaced with the bushing kit for the short shifter or no? Motor mounts should be fine, and so should the exhaust clearance. I have 3 inch turbo back, and when i was under there it seemed to have plenty of room, but ill look into that. I do also have a short shifter installed, so im gonna double check those clearances just for the hell of it.
It definetly seems like something is guiding it farther to the right than normal, could this be internal in the tranny? Man some things just stump ya...any other thoughts would be great.
Dan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ChillOutWayne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Where is the roll pin located? As far as the bushings u listed, would those have been replaced with the bushing kit for the short shifter or no? Motor mounts should be fine, and so should the exhaust clearance. I have 3 inch turbo back, and when i was under there it seemed to have plenty of room, but ill look into that. I do also have a short shifter installed, so im gonna double check those clearances just for the hell of it.
It definetly seems like something is guiding it farther to the right than normal, could this be internal in the tranny? Man some things just stump ya...any other thoughts would be great.
Dan</TD></TR></TABLE>

1.) Roll pin is on the transmission side of the shift linkage. If you pull back the rubber boot, you will notice a thick snap style protective ring. pop it off and inspect. It would be rare, but you never know.

2.) The shift stabilizer bushing and bolt is right next to it, so while you're down there, check that badazz too.

3.) Check the two visible motor mounts by the L+R wheel wells. Those tend to bust first.

Those 3 inspections should only take 10 minutes.

If you do look at the exhaust and underside of the short shifter, inspect the u-style clamp bracket and bolts that holds the end of the linkage in place, and all other bolts down there. This might take more than 10 minutes if your fatazz 3" exhaust is in the way.

Hope this helps.

-Junior-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JUN1OR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

1.) Roll pin is on the transmission side of the shift linkage. If you pull back the rubber boot, you will notice a thick snap style protective ring. pop it off and inspect. It would be rare, but you never know.

2.) The shift stabilizer bushing and bolt is right next to it, so while you're down there, check that badazz too.

3.) Check the two visible motor mounts by the L+R wheel wells. Those tend to bust first.

Those 3 inspections should only take 10 minutes.

If you do look at the exhaust and underside of the short shifter, inspect the u-style clamp bracket and bolts that holds the end of the linkage in place, and all other bolts down there. This might take more than 10 minutes if your fatazz 3" exhaust is in the way.

Hope this helps.

-Junior-</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cool, im gonna head out now and check that list of things. Im thinkin its a little too gimpy when in any gear, it seems to be able to go right and left a little too much, maybe that has something to do with it? Also is that adjustment at the tranny where u specified? Also what makes u sure its not the synchros? (which im real glad to hear)
thanx alot
Dan

 

Ok i went out and did some inspecting. I pulled the rubber boot back from the rear side of it to start. I was looking at the c clip thing and it looked fine, other than the spot that was obviously supposed to be in the hole part wasnt lined up right, but im sure that doesnt matter. Then i pulled the other side off and really didnt find much there, and covered that back up. The movement seems alot less when in gear while moving it right there, so im sure thats normal too. I just hope no damage is done and id like to figure out whats goin on. Also the exhaust leaves all the clearance in the world for the shifter parts, and the mounts seem fine. Any ideas?
thanx
Dan

 

Knowing for sure it's not a synchro is not feasibe, I am mearly providing suggestions for common problems other than those internal to the tranny.

Underneath the c-clip is the roll pin. The clip mearly protects the roll pin from falling out, should the roll pin get crunched and not do it's job.

Did you check the shift stabilzer bar? it's right by the linkage by the tranny.

The reason I asked about the motor mounts is b/c my roomate had a 88 civic zc swap and whenever he shifted hard, it would pop out of second. After a long process he found it to be the motor mounts. He would rev it up in first and let it go back down, and you could physically see the shifter move while the motor rocked. Try rocking the motor, you know, like on that Chevy commercial when the driver is trying to spill the passengers coffee? remember?

-Junior-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Radon_03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Had the same problem with my tranny. I flushed the whole system and put in some new fluid. Problem has been gone for the last 4 months *knock on wood*. For me it only happened sometimes and only happened on a downshift to 2nd... everyone said syncros, but like i said, no problem after swapping the fluid. Try that first, much cheaper than replacing syncros. Good luck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JUN1OR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Knowing for sure it's not a synchro is not feasibe, I am mearly providing suggestions for common problems other than those internal to the tranny.

Underneath the c-clip is the roll pin. The clip mearly protects the roll pin from falling out, should the roll pin get crunched and not do it's job.

Did you check the shift stabilzer bar? it's right by the linkage by the tranny.

The reason I asked about the motor mounts is b/c my roomate had a 88 civic zc swap and whenever he shifted hard, it would pop out of second. After a long process he found it to be the motor mounts. He would rev it up in first and let it go back down, and you could physically see the shifter move while the motor rocked. Try rocking the motor, you know, like on that Chevy commercial when the driver is trying to spill the passengers coffee? remember?

-Junior-</TD></TR></TABLE>

I checked the stabilizier bar, all seemed well there. As far as motor mounts, i can see that being a possibility, im gonna try and rock that bitch and experiment a little more to see if its movement that throws it outta whack. Thanx for the thoughts.
Dan

 

Try this:

Start and drive in first gear. do not press the clutch.
Go from 2k and rev to 5k or similar, then back down to 4k back up to 5k, 3k, 5k, etc...

Do all this while watching the shifter ****. Does it move a lot? does it rock?

If it does, buy some new mounts, or make solid ones.

Otherwise, did you end up checking that roll pin, I mean did you take the clip off? The roll pin will fall out if it's crushed. I used a bolt instead of the roll pin for about a week and I had a ton of free play in the shifter while it was in gear. That roll pin has to be VERY tight in there. That's why they're a bitch to get out. I'm sure others will agree

-Junior-