Manual Transmission issue - hard to get into gear, clicking/ratcheting noise at idle after launch

[bullitt0919]

Appreciate any help on diagnosing this issue. I had been noticing a very pronounced vibration in the cockpit at 4500 RPM for a long time now, with no other symptoms. Last night, I did a launch from around 3-4K rpm, and suddenly my transmission/shifter felt a pop noise- I heard lots of chattering and I couldn’t get it into gear unless RPMs were near idle and I applied lots of load. Shifter feels fine with the car off, but as soon as it starts there’s constant clicking/clattering noise even in neutral and the shifter is immediately very resistant to going into any gear. I thought it could be a loose transmission bracket since I installed the Steeda mount bracket bushing and thought maybe I didn’t torque the bolts enough, but they don’t seem loose. I took some photos under the car of the two things I noticed out of the ordinary but I don’t have a reference to see if it’s normal or not.

This is the passenger side where the transmission meets the engine. It looks like there is a crack through it but I can’t tell how deep. Here is the drivers side:

I also noticed this vibration dampener is very loose but again, I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like:

All the driveshaft bolts and trans mount bracket bolts are there and solid. Any idea what the problem could be? Thanks in advance.

Sponsored

 

[bullitt0919]

A couple additional points that may be relevant: the car can still move at low speeds under its own power, it just takes an enormous amount of effort to get it into gear. Obviously, I have tried not to move it very much since it happened. There were also no fluid leaks or any broken parts on the ground that I could find.

 

[MiamiGT350]

Chatter and a cracked transmission arent good signs. The transmission needs to be dropped and inspected fir proper diagnosis.

I wouldn't keep driving it and making things worse.

 

[MuddyPaws]

Attached is Technical Service Bulletin 22-2302. Sounds like this might be your issue.

 

[bullitt0919]

Attached is Technical Service Bulletin 22-2302. Sounds like this might be your issue.

Thanks for the input. I’ll pass that along to the transmission shop.

 

[bullitt0919]

Update: big thanks to MuddyPaws, that was the exact issue. The clutch and flywheel will need to be replaced per the TSB. The block cracks do not go all the way through the block and it seems to be a fairly common issue. MMR has some braces that prevent further cracking and I’m going to install those as well.

 

[bullitt0919]

Photos for anyone who’s interested:

Scoring on the inside walls of the transmission casing

Failed Flywheel rivet (fig. 2 in TSB)

Sponsored