Doug-Nash 5sp. Transmission

[BAsque1]

Need some advise:
Anyone with any experience with Doug-Nash 5sp. Transmissions please let me know your thoughts on this transmission.

My car's transmission is fine, however, many times it is very hard to shift, and downshifting sometimes is close to impossible unless double clutching.

I have a fairly new clutch less and preassure plate with less than 4K miles so I know it is not the clutch.

Sometime backing out of my slightly inclined driveway it bucks out the reverse gear. Someone told me that the linkage needed adjustment, have not done that yet. Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Sincerely
Lou (Basque1)

[Ant]

Do the simple setup first, the linkage may have an alignment hole which you can put a screwdriver in when in neutral and then make sure all the selectors are in neutral, then make sure each gear selected goes all the way for the detents to hold.

Trans oil make sure it hasnt got too heavier oil.

[ERA 778]

Doug Nash became Richmond Gear. Check their web site. It should have something about adjusting the shifter as suggested by the poster above. If you don't find it there, check Long Shifters website. They make a shifter for the RG and have set up instructions on their site.

[BAsque1]

ok that's a start. Tks guys
Lou

[RICK LAKE]

BAsque1 Lou I have both a G-force, race trans and a 6spd Richmond. I use both for racing. The problem I have found is heat soaking after a 20 minute track run. A thinner fluid will help but the tunnel next to you gets really hot and the trannies are not big fans of this. The couple of things to check are the spring clips in the shifter,they break over time. Greasing the shifter sliders with a lite grease. As others have said, check and adjust the shift linkage. Make sure the tunnel is in the correct location. Fiberglass moves and may have knock this hole off center. Look for any rub marks on the tunnel, you may have to trim a little for clearance. Make sure the shifter boot and trim ring are not getting hit when in reverse. This will knock the trans out of gear. Make sure you have not split a motor mount. If running rubber ones there is a simple fix for this. Drill and bolt both of them. Use aircraft nyloc nuts and body washers. This will limit motor twist in car. Back to hot trans, best thing I have found and done is install small bildge fans under the hood to help remove heat. I have 3 fans. (2) 4" ones that pull the hot air out of the engine compartment through the fender louvers. The other fan take air from the front brake duct on the r/s and splits the air between inside and down the trans tunnel. This cools the trans and I have had no problems with shifting since this repair was done. These 4" fans pull 280 cfm and draw 3-4 amps. They move alot of air.
The other choise is to install a trans cooler with pump, cooler and fan. I was looking at this but space is limited under the car and to still get some fresh air to help cool. I have fire shield on my tunnel to protect me and this also keeps the heat in the tunnel and causes shifting problems. Safety first. Hope this helps and covers problem. Rick L.

[BAsque1]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

BAsque1 Lou I have both a G-force, race trans and a 6spd Richmond. I use both for racing. The problem I have found is heat soaking after a 20 minute track run. A thinner fluid will help but the tunnel next to you gets really hot and the trannies are not big fans of this. The couple of things to check are the spring clips in the shifter,they break over time. Greasing the shifter sliders with a lite grease. As others have said, check and adjust the shift linkage. Make sure the tunnel is in the correct location. Fiberglass moves and may have knock this hole off center. Look for any rub marks on the tunnel, you may have to trim a little for clearance. Make sure the shifter boot and trim ring are not getting hit when in reverse. This will knock the trans out of gear. Make sure you have not split a motor mount. If running rubber ones there is a simple fix for this. Drill and bolt both of them. Use aircraft nyloc nuts and body washers. This will limit motor twist in car. Back to hot trans, best thing I have found and done is install small bildge fans under the hood to help remove heat. I have 3 fans. (2) 4" ones that pull the hot air out of the engine compartment through the fender louvers. The other fan take air from the front brake duct on the r/s and splits the air between inside and down the trans tunnel. This cools the trans and I have had no problems with shifting since this repair was done. These 4" fans pull 280 cfm and draw 3-4 amps. They move alot of air.
The other choise is to install a trans cooler with pump, cooler and fan. I was looking at this but space is limited under the car and to still get some fresh air to help cool. I have fire shield on my tunnel to protect me and this also keeps the heat in the tunnel and causes shifting problems. Safety first. Hope this helps and covers problem. Rick L.

Hi Rick:
Well, I have heard so many things about Doug-Nash trannies, they are stricly for drag racing and they are not easy to downshift while street usage(I know this).
I was also told that Richmond gear took over D-N and I am in contact with them as maybe I might need to change my tranny. I don't want to become that invasive with my car. I need to get underneath , which in my car's situation is not easy for it is very low I also need to get into a mechanic with the appropriate lift.

The fans I think they are out of the question due to space limitations as well as the trannt cooler. I do want to check the linkage. The boot and rim are ok no problems there.

I will verify the motor mounts, they were replace by the previous owner so they are relatively new and I don't feel that the engine is moving awkwardly, being a 427 side oiler (balanced) the running is pretty smooth. I don't abuse or gun my car, this is strictly a cruising car and show car.
Sincerely
Lou (Basque1)

[RICK LAKE]

BAsque1 Lou My G-force is a clutchless 5 speed. It's clogs and sliders. It's more for 1/4 mile racing as I have the vertigate also for this trans. I just tap the throttle and pull the shifts for going up, for going down, tap the clutch pedal to unload torque and shift down. It's a smooth shift if done right. I had the trans checked 5 years ago and they said that there was no problems internally. There was little wear on the parts. They replaced the springs in the shifter for centering it for gears 3 and 4. I have to work at not man handling the shifter. G-force doesn't sell and overdrive trans. Richmond has come out with a super street 5 speed trans good for 600/600 of hp and torque. It's syncroed and built to handle abuse better that the 6 spd I have. I am also above the limit on the 6 spd of 450/450, with 600 ft of torque. I had looked TKO 600 and the Viper 6spd. Kiesler has come out with a bullet proof 5 or 6 spd. I don't have any info. I do know they are installing this trans behind some big HEMI'S.
Lou is your trans a race trans? Lugging them causes jumping out of gear. The other issue is what clutch are you using in the car? If it's a centerforce, though it in the garbage, it's JUNK. Buy a stock 11.5" oem one or look at McLeod or Ram. See brent on here for a good deal. There is a serial number stamped into the case that when you call richmond they can tell you what the trans is and ratio's inside. The other thing to check is with the clutch pedal engaged there should be between .035"-.055" air gap for complete disengagement of the clutch disc from flywheel and pressure plate. It's a real pain to check but if not clear it can cause shifting problems. We have had a couple of guys here have cracked pressure plates. This will cause a problem with the clutch and shifting too. Rick L.

[BAsque1]

Hi Rick:
I checked today the motor mounts and interestingly enough the ones on the car now were installed in a funky manner 2 bolts per side and the 3rd bolt not installed due to not being able to cent the hole I guess I an including pictures of both sides and one bottom looking up so you can see what I am talking about, This said, the engine is well locked in place so that problem is out of my mind. I was able to peek slightly under the car and the tranny tunnel is lined with about 1/2 insulation material. I was not able to get under enough to be able to see the linkage but that is next. My tranny is supposed to be a drag racing type (this is what I have been told. I will check the case # to check on the gear ratios as you suggested, I will tap the clutch as you say to to down shift going down and tap the throtle going up and see what results I get. Tks buddy it is a work in progress and I guess part to the fun.
Sincerely
Lou