1-2 Shift Grinding

[TheLion]

I realize this has somewhat been gone through with some searching on the forum, but I did not find anything conclusive. I don't recall this issue on my ecoboost mustang ever occurring.

1-2 shifts when cold, it will sometimes feel like it's into gear but wont and just end up grinding. Happened today again, twice. I've been warming up my car almost every time before driving it lately and it has not been an issue, so it is highly temp sensitive.

Outside temp is 26F, so not exactly warm. Has anyone had any luck with alleviating this issue with a higher grade of gearbox fluid like AMSOIL in MT-82? Sure, I could take it into the dealer, but at this point don't believe there's any meaningful damage to the gears and I have a hard time believing it's realated to any wear as the car has only 8,000 miles on it. Thankfully I also have a 100k power-train warranty.

I have not yet tried to force it into second when it does that as I don't want to chip a tooth, I just pull it back into neutral, pump the clutch and it will go into 2nd then. Apparently this is a common MT-82 problem on GT's and to a lesser extent EB's but in all my searching there was never anything conclusive as a reasonable solution. Seems to be highly related to temperature as well as many don't report these issues occurring once the car is warmed up. I'm wondering what the temp spec is on the Motor-craft OE gear oil? There's definitely a high resistance and notchiness when cold, which every manual I've owned has had to some small degree, but the MT-82 is by far the worst in my experience (both the EB variant and the GT variant).

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[Grinder67]

Switching to the BG gear oil helps a lot when warm and somewhat when cold. It doesn’t take it all away but it’s better than the oem lube

 

[Gurjit]

wait until the rpm pauses during the upshift to pull the shifter out of 1rst to go into second.
the oem fluid just sucks

 

[TheLion]

I'll do both then. Just ordered the BG fluid kit. Strange thing is I only recall this issue happening maybe once or twice in the year and a half I had my Ecoboost. But the PP GT seems to hold rpm's much longer when cold than the EB did.

I wonder if the viscosity of the OE fluid is just too high for the MT-82's syncro's at low temps and there is too much resistance for them to mesh the gears at higher RPM. MY EB dropped RPM much faster when cold than the GT does, the GT seems very slow to change RPM until it's warmed up, not sure if it's tuned that way for emissions or what.

Issue never really happens when it's warm, always cold, at least so far on my car. It's a shame Ford didn't use a better OE fluid for the MT-82, but then I'd wager the majority of Mustang owners are in warmer parts of the US. I think us 4 season guys are probably a minority so they don't see it as a common enough issue or worth the time and cost to change to a higher spec fluid. That sounds exactly like corporate thinking to me.

Warming up the car when it's cold is a 100% fix so far, but there are times, like my lunch break, when it's not terribly practical to warm it up before I head out. Summer shouldn't be an issue, especially on 70-90F days. But it has happened twice to me just today (outside temp was 26F) driving a mile down the street to a local sub-way by my work at lunch. But never happened once on the way back as everything was up to temp by then. And yes it does get very notchy and feels quite hard to get into gear at times when cold.

I guess I must have by happen stance been avoiding the issue for the most part up til now as I've been pretty diligent about warming up the car about 5-7 minutes before work every day due to the cold weather. I also get that chatter from 1-2 some times even when it's warm. Hoping the fluid will help that as well, but the BG Syncromesh II seems to be the best suited fluid for MT-82 woes without tearing into the gearbox and swapping out syncros.

 

[Grinder67]

I think you’ll like the difference the BG fluid makes. It’s still notchy in the really cold temps but better. Pausing a second between 1-2 and 2-3 helps as was suggested. The BG really shines when the trans warms up, much better shifts.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

I'm in Florida, and mine does the same thing. My BG trans and rear gear fluid change kit just arrived from Optimum Performance. I'm hoping to get the fluid changed out this weekend, but who knows if I'll have time...

JR

 

[TheLion]

I'm in Florida, and mine does the same thing. My BG trans and rear gear fluid change kit just arrived from Optimum Performance. I'm hoping to get the fluid changed out this weekend, but who knows if I'll have time...

JR

Please do report back since your in a warmer environment than I am (at least til we hit summer temps). Does your have that issue when warm after the car has been driven 10 minutes or more?

i had it happen again on my way home from work. Engin coolant just reached full temp but oil was may 50% up to temp. i expect the manual trans oil to take 2x to 3x as long to reach full operating temp as the engine oil given its viscosity and the fact that there's little thermal load during normal driving and its relatively isolated from heat transfer from the engine / exhaust.

Put it in second while going down hill over a bridge (was stopped at the top in traffic), maybe 20 mph and let out the clutch. Took me about 2-3 seconds to relaize it wasn't fully in gear and was just chattering the whole way down the hill lol. The Corsa is daily loud with the window down so didn't easily hear it at first. Some dude waiting to pull into traffic was just staring at me probably thinking what's this idiot doing....must not know how to drive a stick.

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