Difficulty shifting into first gear

[SBSerpent]

Took the Cobra out for a spin this afternoon and after driving awhile (city traffic), there were a couple of times where, from a full stop, I couldn't get the shifter into first gear or any gear for that matter and times where it was a little difficult but eventually went into first. On the way home, the shifting became easier. Parked it and no problem going into all 5 gears while the car was parked in the driveway. This is on a Tremec T-5 with only 5500 miles on it. Any ideas?

[twobjshelbys]

Check the clutch fluid level.

[olddog]

The clutch is not disengaging or the pilot bearing is dragging. The synchronizer is unable to stop the input shaft from turning, therefore the clutch or pilot drag is stronger than the synchronizer.

As stated, low fluid level, boiling fluid, bad master cylinder, bad slave cylinder, air in the lines, are all possible. If you do a search, you should find approaching a million threads on this subject. Exaggerated? Yes! There are tons of information already written on this.

[genolan]

I had the same problem and it was the clutch slave cylinder

[jhv48]

Check the trans fluid level. When mine did this, my fluid level was low. Topped it off and the problem went away.

[SBSerpent]

One thing that I should note is that just prior to this occurrence, I had adjusted the clevis on the master cylinder plunger rod to where it connects to the clutch pedal - bringing the pedal closer to the firewall. I will re-adjust it back to where it was before this issue popped up and see if that resolves the problem.

Is it a pilot bearing or a bushing? And if it is indeed dragging, what is the fix for that? Complete removal of the tranny and replacement of the bearing? I'm not hearing any odd noises coming from the bell housing when I depress and release the clutch pedal.

I will check the fluid but when I went underneath the car to inspect the slave cylinder, I did not notice any leaks around it (which I assume would indicate a bad slave cylinder)?

[SBSerpent]

Originally Posted by genolan

I had the same problem and it was the clutch slave cylinder

What was the problem with it? Was it something obvious, like a leak?

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by SBSerpent

What was the problem with it? Was it something obvious, like a leak?

My HTOB went out and leaked fluid but it never showed up on the ground but the reservoir can was empty...

[olddog]

Originally Posted by SBSerpent

One thing that I should note is that just prior to this occurrence, I had adjusted the clevis on the master cylinder plunger rod to where it connects to the clutch pedal - bringing the pedal closer to the firewall. I will re-adjust it back to where it was before this issue popped up and see if that resolves the problem.

Bingo. That's your problem.

[ront49]

I had the same issue...2004 BDR...about 4K. My problem came from the heat the headers throw off. The reservoir is located directly above the headers and the heat "cooked" the fluid....It looked like gooey graphite oil. Once cleaned and refilled problem gone.

[cbreez]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Check the trans fluid level. When mine did this, my fluid level was low. Topped it off and the problem went away.

Wow!!! are you serious?

[jhv48]

Originally Posted by cbreez

Wow!!! are you serious?

Yep. Surprised me too.

[SBSerpent]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Check the trans fluid level. When mine did this, my fluid level was low. Topped it off and the problem went away.

What type of gear oil is used in the trans? Mine still has the original fluid from 2011 with only 5500 miles on it. Would it be the conventional oil or synthetic that Tremec would have put in there?

Full is when the fluid is up to the top fill plug, correct? Worth at least checking the fluid level.

[jhv48]

Q: What type of fluid does TREMEC recommend?

A: For all TKO five-speed models, TREMEC recommends TREMEC HP-MTF, GM Synchromesh, or Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. For all other aftermarket models, we recommend Dexron III ATF

[SBSerpent]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Q: What type of fluid does TREMEC recommend?

A: For all TKO five-speed models, TREMEC recommends TREMEC HP-MTF, GM Synchromesh, or Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. For all other aftermarket models, we recommend Dexron III ATF

Odd. First time that I have seen the use of an ATF in a manual transmission gear box. I'm used to seeing heavy gear oils (i.e. 75W).

So in my case, since this is the original fluid, it can be either conventional or synthetic in the gearbox? Not knowing which one it is, I would probably want to drain and re-fill instead of topping off 'blindly' with a certain type of fluid that might not be compatible with what is in there now.

Any idea as to what the recommended change interval is for this fluid? Also, how much fluid does the transmission take?

[jhv48]

A T-5 holds 2.8 quarts. Without knowing what was in there originally, I would drain it and refill with the fluid of your choice as recommended by Tremec.
But first, loosen the fill plug and see if it’s full to just below the threads. If full, then you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Usually, if your clutch is dragging, getting into reverse will always grind. So if reverse is ok, probably not the clutch.

[SBSerpent]

What about change intervals?

[jhv48]

Tremec says under normal driving you’ll never have to change it. You’ll probably sell it before you change it.
Others will change it every few years but I’m not one of them.

[olddog]

Originally Posted by SBSerpent

One thing that I should note is that just prior to this occurrence, I had adjusted the clevis on the master cylinder plunger rod to where it connects to the clutch pedal - bringing the pedal closer to the firewall. I will re-adjust it back to where it was before this issue popped up and see if that resolves the problem.

Have you corrected the pedal adjustment yet?

You have shortened the stroke of the pedal. Most likely you no longer have enough stroke to fully disengage the clutch.

It isn't rocket science. You changed the stroke of the clutch pedal and just after that the problem showed up out of the blue. What's the odds that some other random thing just happened to happen at the same time and caused your problem????

Don't take this wrong, but.... Hey it's your time and dime so go ahead and change as many other things as you wish. I suggest trying at least a dozen other things. That always makes the troubleshooting so much easier, when you goof up a couple more items and make the problem worse.... Sometimes when you look at it from an extreme position, it makes the point much clearer.

Good Luck

[SBSerpent]

Originally Posted by olddog

Have you corrected the pedal adjustment yet?

You have shortened the stroke of the pedal. Most likely you no longer have enough stroke to fully disengage the clutch.

It isn't rocket science. You changed the stroke of the clutch pedal and just after that the problem showed up out of the blue. What's the odds that some other random thing just happened to happen at the same time and caused your problem????

Don't take this wrong, but.... Hey it's your time and dime so go ahead and change as many other things as you wish. I suggest trying at least a dozen other things. That always makes the troubleshooting so much easier, when you goof up a couple more items and make the problem worse.... Sometimes when you look at it from an extreme position, it makes the point much clearer.

Good Luck

I agree with you wholeheartedly! I'm a 'process of elimination' person who picks the 'low hanging fruit' first. In this case, as you noted, it is pretty obvious as to what happened here.

Yes, I have re-adjusted the stroke on the pedal to where it was previously. In fact, what I also discovered was that when I did the initial adjustment, I forgot to re-tighten the locking nut such that the pushrod was able to spin freely while driving. I don't know for sure that it turned substantially to reduce the stroke even more, but when I looked at the position of the clutch pedal relative to the brake pedal, it did appear even closer to the firewall than I remember after doing my initial adjustment.

Like I said, readjusted it but have yet to take it out for a test drive.

I will be changing the tranny fluid since I feel its a good idea after 12 years of use....and it's more 'low hanging fruit' and good maintenance practice. I just ordered the Tremec HP-MTF.