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Clunk right before engaging 1st gear on MT-82. Is it normal?

Elp_jc

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Hey gang, noticed that on my new Bullitt since I test drove it for the first time. It already had 66 miles on the clock, and probably not easy miles. Even with the clutch fully depressed, I can hear and feel the clunk right when I'm pushing the shift lever to the left, right before going into 1st gear. Doesn't sound like a problem, but just curious if other manual GTs make it as well, and what it is. Never had that issue on any of my multiple past manual cars before. By the way, thought it could be the 'hill assist', but this happens even fully level. Thank you.
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Shifting_Gears

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Yes, it’s normal. It should sound like a very dull thud. The internals of the trans spin at different speeds, so when you engage a gear there’s the physical meshing of the gear engagement, the throwout bearing, clutch and flywheel all engaging or disengaging.
 

Zrussian13

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Yup. Freaked me out early on and I thought something was wrong. 32k hard miles later its still there but I don't even notice it now.
 

abmobil

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Yes normal. If you push the clutch in a wait just a bit longer before engaging 1st it won’t do it. My 17 has done it since new. Never a problem and car runs great.
 

geep81

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My '19 GT and my '20 GT both did/do it, doesn't worry me a bit.
 

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Tacswa

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My Bullitt does it. If I remember to shift into 2nd before going into 1st (ie; at a stop light) it doesn't do it. Shifting into 2nd stops the flywheel movement, etc so it won't "thud" going into 1st.
 

Zooks527

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Shifting into 2nd stops the flywheel movement
Um, the only thing that stops flywheel movement is stopping the engine.
 
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Elp_jc

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Good to hear gang. But never heard of a dry-clutch tranny doing that. It happens all the time on motorcycles, since they have a (multi-plate) wet clutch, where plates are so close to each other than the viscosity of the oil keeps the tranny rotating, hence the cringe-inducing thud when engaging 1st gear. But makes sense, and maybe it's the new dual-disc clutch (did that happen before that?). At any rate, Ford probably saved a few pennies on rubber isolators, just like on drive shafts on trucks (hence a drive-line clunk when first firing the engine, sometimes), but not a big deal; just wanted to know if it was normal, and it is, so all is well:sunglasses:.

Finally, in order for the synchros to work effectively every time, the tranny needs to be moving at least a little before engaging a gear, or you might not be able to get it into gear immediately, if the gears happen to be aligned the wrong way. Switching to 2nd seems to be the best solution, since that stops the tranny without a clunk, AND gears are aligned properly :D. Thank you very much for all the reassuring comments :). Be safe.
 

ice445

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Normal, I think it's actually movement of the trans/rear end that's causing it.
 

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XS

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Good to hear gang. But never heard of a dry-clutch tranny doing that. It happens all the time on motorcycles, since they have a (multi-plate) wet clutch, where plates are so close to each other than the viscosity of the oil keeps the tranny rotating, hence the cringe-inducing thud when engaging 1st gear. But makes sense, and maybe it's the new dual-disc clutch (did that happen before that?). At any rate, Ford probably saved a few pennies on rubber isolators, just like on drive shafts on trucks (hence a drive-line clunk when first firing the engine, sometimes), but not a big deal; just wanted to know if it was normal, and it is, so all is well:sunglasses:.

Finally, in order for the synchros to work effectively every time, the tranny needs to be moving at least a little before engaging a gear, or you might not be able to get it into gear immediately, if the gears happen to be aligned the wrong way. Switching to 2nd seems to be the best solution, since that stops the tranny without a clunk, AND gears are aligned properly :D. Thank you very much for all the reassuring comments :). Be safe.
Blip the throttle in neutral with the clutch out (double clutch) and when the rpms come back down to idle you should be able to slide right into first. Better than starting off in second if you can't get a clean 1st gear engagement at rest.
 

Monopoly

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Another joy of our noisy MT82. I thought the exact same thing when I first got mine brand new.

After 13k miles I'm used to it. Other than the noise I really do like the transmission now. Even with all its quirks.
 
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Elp_jc

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Normal, I think it's actually movement of the trans/rear end that's causing it.
Hey, that actually sounds more logical, but could be either one, I guess. What do you think might be making the noise? The tranny is rubber isolated, at least if you're not using some of the braces offered out there to fill the holes (either the outer 2, or all 3) left for that purpose. I don't think it's the Torsen, since it's not moving when the clunk happens, and the shaft doesn't have any torque with the clutch depressed.

Better than starting off in second if you can't get a clean 1st gear engagement at rest.
Hey, we're talking about shifting to 2nd then 1st with the clutch depressed; no 2nd gear starting at all :). But if you leave the clutch depressed too long, and can't get into 1st due to gears aligned the wrong way, your solution is the correct approach indeed. I personally never use the clutch except for shifting, so never have engagement issues, since I shift as soon as clutch goes in. I don't think I'll do the 2-1 thing, to be honest. The clunk is subtle enough that doesn't bother me enough to do that, but it's odd that we have it.

And yes, I'm also liking the tranny better than I thought after reading so many negative comments. Not going to touch it. Just hope the slight notchiness it has now (especially the 1-2 and 2-3) goes away after breaking in (does it?). But even as it is, it's not bad at all; I really like the mechanical feel to it, so don't plan to change anything. It's obviously notchier when cold, but that's normal. I don't think changing fluids would be a good idea, since it's reportedly fully synthetic already, so maybe just check that level is correct one of these days.
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