Need Help Diagnosing Transmission Problems (MT-82)

[tdstuart]

2019 mt-82 mustang gt.

My friend's car. He got it a few months ago and recently we did a ported 18 mani, 350 tb, e85, and pmas intake along with a tune. Transmission decided the extra bump in power was too much...

I don't know much about manuals so I hope I can explain this correctly. Clutch doesn't fully disengage with the clutch pedal pushed all the way in (Clutch in, give revs in 1st gear, car starts to creep). Transmission hates the 3rd to 4th shift and grinds if you are about ~5k rpm or higher no matter the throttle.

Before the mods the transmission didn't like going into reverse (had to put your full weight into it sometimes to get it in), and if you were stopped and started rowing through gears the car would pretend like it was a 5 speed and not even seem like it had a 6th gear. Once you started driving though 6th gear would re-appear and would let you shift into it fine. The transmission also didn't like going into first (had to push then push again to get it fully in gear) but not anywhere near as hard as reverse.

As far as I know the problems he had before the mods have existed since he bought the car. Idk why he didn't question it more when he was buying... Also signs the car was previously modified (I have the warranty repair information and one of the techs wrote something about it being tuned).

Hopefully, someone can point me in the right direction. Thank you!

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[WildHorse]

MT-82 is a garbage transmission.. like, what was FORD thinking ?
Anyways, I'd start with the clutch. If it checks out, synchro's.

 

[J17GT]

If the clutch is dragging the shifting characteristics will be complete garbage. Especially difficult getting into gear when not moving (1st and reverse). Could be the hydraulic slave going bad and not getting full travel to fully release the clutch. Does the clutch pedal ever lose pressure or get stuck near the floor? Or could be an issue with the clutch itself. Clutch drag is a quick way to kill a transmission, very hard on synchro’s etc.

 

[tdstuart]

Does the clutch pedal ever lose pressure or get stuck near the floor?

He said he hasn’t noticed anything like that and neither did I. Could a bad clutch cause clutch drag?

 

[bnightstar]

Hard clutch pedal is usually air in the brake fluid which is shared and used for clutch hydralics. A good brake/clutch fluid flush (there are extra steps for bleeding the clutch) will go a long way. Also might be that the oil in trans is old so a new oil fill with Motul DCTF will give the parts a much needed lubrication. However if the car has a lot of miles ether a new clutch/flywheel and TOB is needed or if driven long like that maybe some shift fork or synchro is broken and the trans needs to be ether fixed (Ben Calimer) or replaced. Considering how annoying this trans are I wouldn't sweat it and start with fluids as they are relatively cheap and easy to do.

 

[tdstuart]

Hard clutch pedal is usually air in the brake fluid which is shared and used for clutch hydralics. A good brake/clutch fluid flush (there are extra steps for bleeding the clutch) will go a long way. Also might be that the oil in trans is old so a new oil fill with Motul DCTF will give the parts a much needed lubrication. However if the car has a lot of miles ether a new clutch/flywheel and TOB is needed or if driven long like that maybe some shift fork or synchro is broken and the trans needs to be ether fixed (Ben Calimer) or replaced. Considering how annoying this trans are I wouldn't sweat it and start with fluids as they are relatively cheap and easy to do.

Clutch pedal isn’t hard, getting into gear is hard (pushing the shifter into the gear). And I don’t know if clutch drag and gear grinding will be fixed with a fluid change but I appreciate the advice when we do change it

 

[bnightstar]

Clutch pedal isn’t hard, getting into gear is hard (pushing the shifter into the gear). And I don’t know if clutch drag and gear grinding will be fixed with a fluid change but I appreciate the advice when we do change it

My car is doing the hard 1st when there is air in the clutch fluid. You press the pedal all the way in but the first refuse to get in mostly doing it when cold. This is fixed with a new flush.

 

[tdstuart]

My car is doing the hard 1st when there is air in the clutch fluid. You press the pedal all the way in but the first refuse to get in mostly doing it when cold. This is fixed with a new flush.

Ah okay. Good to know. Might try this before we touch anything else then to see if it eliminates any problems. Thank you

 

[bnightstar]

Ah okay. Good to know. Might try this before we touch anything else then to see if it eliminates any problems. Thank you

That was my point. I know when there is air by the way how the trans / clutch is. The TOB is a PoS in this cars so it often fails prematurely leading to all sorts of drivability problems. My car had only 15000 or so miles when I needed to drop the trans for new TOB / Clutch because of air often trapped in TOB and the clutch pedal started dropping to the floor because air was getting in from the TOB. This was making engaging 1st and 2nd in stop and go traffic a PITA. Now before a track day my 1st is engaging buttery smooth but not so much after a track day.

 

[ralph7]

What is a TOB?

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

Throw out bearing

 

[J17GT]

He said he hasn’t noticed anything like that and neither did I. Could a bad clutch cause clutch drag?

Usually when a clutch goes bad, they slip, not drag. There have been some early MT82 cars where the stock clutch friction material delaminates form the clutch disc itself. That makes the car undriveable, not your issue here.

The clutch drag is an issue...fluid change in the trans won't solve that. Really need to pull the trans to inspect what is going on.

 

[1MeanZ]

A failed pilot bearing can also drag on the input shaft and cause similar condition. if someone has put a clutch in the car before and they were rough putting the trans in, the pilot bearing could be wasted and dragging the input shaft.

 

[tdstuart]

A failed pilot bearing can also drag on the input shaft and cause similar condition. if someone has put a clutch in the car before and they were rough putting the trans in, the pilot bearing could be wasted and dragging the input shaft.

Ya I wish I knew what was possibly done to the car before or if the clutch was dragging at all before the mods.

Pretty sure it only started dragging after the mods and it definitely only started grinding after the mods.

 

[robvas]

None of those mods or the small bump in power should have affected the transmission or clutch at all
I'd have the clutch replaced with an aftermarket. You can do the clutch line shifter etc while you're in there. The longer it's driven like this, the worse it will get, and end up needing a trans rebuild as well.

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