The Definitive "Hard To Shift" Thread

[Defiance GT]

So my clutch isn't fully disengaging and I was having the shifting problem before now its magnified. I feel that my slave isn't shimmed enough and was wondering if anyone tried the other spacer for this problem ram has a .150 which comes in most clutch kits but ram offers a .750 spacer wondering if anyone has used that to the shifting problems. I believe some one tried adjusting there mcl adj slave and it helped them in their case. I am switch over to poly motor mounts, torque limiters and syncromesh fluid.

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[ksack]

Installed the barton with stock knob option last week and had the chance to take it to the strip on friday night. It is everything I could want from a shifter: short throw, smooth engagement into all the gears, not notchy, quiet. Getting it into first has taken some getting used to because of the strong centering spring but I'm already over it.

Install was a little tricky- I have a Coast 4" aluminum 1 piece DS so I had to drop that down to get the space to slide the shifter up into place. The front bolt of the shifter that mounts to the transmission would not slide in because the bushing is wider than the stock (or in my case the hurst I had) and the head would get caught on the tunnel, so I had to drop the transmission down about an inch to get the bolt to slide in.

One Concern- With my 4" DS, there is about a quarter inch of clearance between the bottom of the shifting level and the expansion boot on the DS when it is in first, and about half an inch when in neutral. Haven't had any problems yet so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Shipping was very timely and all the parts were wrapped in multiple layers of foam. It came with an instructional DVD that I didn't watch, but I'm assuming it was install instructions that I didn't need.

If you are in the market for a new shifter or simply aren't happy with your current one, jump on the train and buy the Barton. It is a beautifully engineered piece and has not disappointed me in the slightest. 10/10

 

[lostsoul]

I had issues and bought a used torque limiter and brace and helped about 50% more. I think my shaved motor mounts made things rough before

 

[Defiance GT]

So I switched to a Mach 500 clutch and prothane motor mounts. Ordered the torque limiters and didn't get here till today. So while waiting for them I broke in the clutch and was able to do a couple pulls and it shifted like butter so the new clutch, motor mounts and also penzoil syncromesh fluid instead of mobil 1 atf. Its been a great improvement. Hopefully now that the backordered torque limiters are here it will be consistent good shifts for the rest of the time. So my final set up so far is prothane shifter bushings for stock shifter, prothane motor mounts, penzoil syncromesh, torque limiters and a new clutch and now all is well.

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[brent_G]

i have a hurst with prothane mounts. Never missed a shift. Never have had a single problem with getting into any gears. Im so used to the throw already that it feels long almost. I think the mounts have ALOT to do with the shifter. I felt a barton once and it reminded me of my stock shifter compared to the hurst. I like the hurst and the notchyness.

 

[Defiance GT]

Installed the limiters and I'm in awe the my car can shift this well again I did a couple more pulls and am giddy with excitement. Like the day I drove it off the lot

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[skwerl]

An update on my issue (locks me out of 3rd when shifting above 6K rpm). I didn't address it earlier since I haven't done much drag racing since the issue began back in February, and it drives perfect on the street. I've done the MGW shifter, motor mounts, CHE brace, Syncromesh fluid, SS clutch line and pretty much every other recommended fix I could find and nothing worked. This week we pulled the transmission to have it checked out by a pro. The shop couldn't find anything wrong with it and said it looked pristine inside. We had them double check the 2-3 syncro and nothing was out of the ordinary so they buttoned it back up and sent it back.

That leaves the clutch, so I'm putting a new clutch in Tuesday.

 

[ksack]

what clutch you decide to go with? the Spec 3+ fixed my problem. I left the che brace for good measure and bought a barton =D

 

[JanShelbyGT500]

Oh man do I hear you. I had have 6 months with the car, and could not get a decent 2nd to 3rd shift. I put on the che brace, new engine mounts, new slave, new RST clutch, new MGW shifter and it got better. This weekend I took the tranny to the shop and change 3rd, 4th and 5th syncros. My syncros were bad. Put the new fluid in and now my car is better than ever! Wow! I have spent a lot of money to correct this problem but seems like it is finally corrected. Now I can start to enjoy my car again and visit the strip to see waht it can do.

 

[skwerl]

Congrats! I wasn't so fortunate. I got mine back with the new clutch and now there's excessive resistance/binding in the shifter. If I roll to a stop light in second gear with the clutch depressed, I'll be damned if I can get it out of gear without feeling like I'm going to break the linkage. I'm completely drained from this fiasco and haven't put 5 miles on the car since getting it back. The transmission shop owner is a track buddy and basically did the job for free, he also test drove the car and thought it drove beautifully. He was ranting and raving over how great it was when he called me to come pick it up. If he's that clueless that there's a huge problem then he's not the guy who can fix it.

Now I have well over $40K invested in a car I can't drive and no good options for fixing it without spending massive dollars. I'm seriously considering a T56 XL on the credit card.

 

[JanShelbyGT500]

OMG I feel your pain believe me. Sounds like your clutch is not releasing probably. I had a spec II clutch and it was a piece of crapola. Check your slave and clutch, maybe you need to shim it, maybe you need a new clutch. Spec II are notorious for deforming.

 

[skwerl]

Today I spoke with the guy who actually removed and reinstalled the transmission. He said that he noticed it was slightly hard to move it into and out of gear before he stuck it back in the car. Gee whiz, thanks for saying something while you had the fucking thing in your hands.

I've removed and reassembled all the linkage twice since getting it back so it isn't in the external linkage. The clutch is disengaging properly with no creep with the pedal depressed. It's an internal assembly issue, so it has to come back out and get sent off to the rebuilder again. My transmission guy does 98% automatics and the 3650 requires a jig for reassembly to get all three shafts in place. This is why he couldn't work on it himself.

 

[csracing]

My transmission guy does 98% automatics and the 3650 requires a jig for reassembly to get all three shafts in place. This is why he couldn't work on it himself.

I just rebuilt mine in my garage with nothing more than a bearing splitter, press and common hand tools. Transmission works flawlessly now.

Not so sure about any special jigs or anything like that.

CSR

 

[skwerl]

Well hell, that gives me hope. I'm guessing it's just something in the linkage bound up, perhaps a pinched seal or something. I'm thinking I may end up just pulling it out myself and seeing what I can find. Worst that can happen is I bust it and have to buy a junkyard replacement, or else spring for the T56.

 

[csracing]

download the tremec rebuild manual and have at it. It's not hard if you have access to some tools.

 

[Backroad_Beast]

I have been having a ton of shifter issues lately, from the sounds of t the same symptoms as many of the people in this thread. Put a Ram XD clutch and a MGW shifter in it and this thing has honestly never shifted so nice since I've owned the car.

 

[JanShelbyGT500]

Tranny is very smooth finally!! First time on the track i managed 12.2@112 mph cutting a 1.7 60 ft on 20 inch Nitto 555R drag radials . this was with pump 89 octane fuel.

i think this car can touch 11s with racing fuel and more seat time

 

[Defiance GT]

Tranny is very smooth finally!! First time on the track i managed 12.2@112 mph cutting a 1.7 60 ft on 20 inch Nitto 555R drag radials . this was with pump 89 octane fuel.

i think this car can touch 11s with racing fuel and more seat time

Congrats man nice time!

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[James33411]

Anyone know if these will fit with a Hellion single kit?

 

[ksack]

by these do you mean the che brace?