Tremec shifter into 5th not smooth?

[AZ_Ryan]

Hey guys. I need some feedback from the 6- speed owners.

I absolutely love the Temec. But after having my M1 for about 1k miles now (4500 total on the car), I've noticed that sometimes the shift into 5th gear doesn't always transition smoothly like the other gears. It doesn't bite the gear, rather it just feels to me like maybe something in the linkage is just slightly off. I can only discribe it as a feeling in the shifter like you are going around a rough corner or a notch as it goes into 5th on the up shift. It never happens on the downshift from 6th to 5th. It's seems to happen about 50% of the time and doesnt seem to matter if the car is hot or cold. If you go slow and "guide" it over and up it doesn't happen. The rest of the gear shifts are butter smooth.

I realize this probably sounds extra picky lol. I'm just curious if this happens to anyone else, or if its maybe part of the normal break in process, or if it's something I should consider getting looked at under warranty.

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[murick]

Might be related, might be not, but after switching to MGW Shifter, I noticed that shifting into the 5th gear (in particular when coming from the 4th one) feels like the control rod is grinding. More I push to the right (in an attempt to not miss the gear), more friction I feel. I do not feel it when shifting to the sixth.

My hypothesis is that there is a barrier somewhere which limits the angle for which one can push the stick (and consequently the transmission control rod) to the right, and when shifting to the 5th, I hit that barrier because I am instinctively pushing the stick to right.

It does not happen in the sixth because this shift is pretty much parallel to the (hypothetical) barrier and it does not happen in the 1st or 2nd gears, because those have yet another degree of freedom for the reverse.

But I definitely feel something is not the same for the fifth gear.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Might be related, might be not, but after switching to MGW Shifter, I noticed that shifting into the 5th gear (in particular when coming from the 4th one) feels like the control rod is grinding. More I push to the right (in an attempt to not miss the gear), more friction I feel. I do not feel it when shifting to the sixth.

My hypothesis is that there is a barrier somewhere which limits the angle for which one can push the stick (and consequently the transmission control rod) to the right, and when shifting to the 5th, I hit that barrier because I am instinctively pushing the stick to right.

It does not happen in the sixth because this shift is pretty much parallel to the (hypothetical) barrier and it does not happen in the 1st or 2nd gears, because those have yet another degree of freedom for the reverse.

But I definitely feel something is not the same for the fifth gear.

Interesting. I have wondered if it's an unconscious habit of pushing the stick either not far enough, or too far to the right. But I've never have that problem in any other gear.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

sidenote: I absolutely hate 4-5 then subsequently 5-6. shit feels foreign every time. Maybe Ive gotten used to the extra effort. Not sure if its related.

 

[Skye]

No issues here. Immediately at pick-up and the first several hundred miles, the Tremec was notchy, occasionally a diva when cold, but has since smoothed out. Nothing unusual or unexpected. Up or downshift, any gear action is what I consider to be normal.

 

[Coastal-Mach]

No issues here with mine either, now that being said 5&6 are rarely used, unless on the interstate. Turning R's in 3&4 is fun and it sounds good too.

 

[Skye]

Turning R's in 3&4 is fun and it sounds good too.

I've come to enjoy Sport+, third gear, slowly approaching and climbing past 4K RPM. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh........ Especially in a slow-opening curve (Edit: like the Parabolica at Monza).

 

[Coastal-Mach]

I've come to enjoy Sport+, third gear, slowly approaching and climbing past 4K RPM. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh........ Especially in a slow curve.

Side road in S+ with a quick 3-2 shift and foot through the front bumper is fun as well. Getting off topic, no issues with 5th....

 

[IPOGT]

5th gear has been a little gritty feeling going in at times and still has a little residual grit to it but has been getting better every drive.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

5th gear has been a little gritty feeling going in at times and still has a little residual grit to it but has been getting better every drive.

How many miles?

 

[IPOGT]

3700 ish.

 

[First Stang]

I do a lot of shifting up and down 4-5-6 while coasting in the highway or in a straightaway. I dont notice any issues but maybe Ive worn it in by this time. 6200 miles.

 

[GP-2022 Mach 1]

No problem here. 9400 miles, but I bought it used with 4400.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I know what you're talking about- I have the dreaded 3rd gear nibble. It's not so much a grind, but it's like you can feel the teeth of the syncros grabbing.

My 5th gear will once in a blue moon have a nibble, but 3rd gear usually always has it. The odd part is when it's about 60 degrees outside, 3rd gear doesn't nibble. Then after the transmission warms up, it will slightly come back.

Anyway, I have a MGW shifter and replaced my transmission fluid with Redline D4. I'm gonna go back to the Motul transmission fluid that fits the Ford spec (the D4 is a little thicker) and see if that helps; I read on the internet a thinner fluid is better for the syncros and allows them to spin better (for Tremecs and other newer transmissions at least).

Actually, I don't think it's a synchro at all. The gears never bite or grind. It feels like something in the shift linkage to me, but i could be wrong. IPOGT's description of "gritty" seems accurate.

 

[Mach1Kid96]

Actually, I don't think it's a synchro at all. The gears never bite or grind. It feels like something in the shift linkage to me, but i could be wrong. IPOGT's description of "gritty" seems accurate.

Let me redo my original comment while responding to yours (I typed it in a hurry on my phone and wasn't very clear):

My 2022 Mach 1 has a 3rd gear nibble at 16k miles. It's had it for as long as I can remember since the day the car was delivered. 5th gear will sometimes have a bite to it, but it won't just "snick" into gear like my Dad's 2012 Boss 302 with a Gen 1 MGW shifter (granted, his car has 110k miles on it and it's a MT-82, but still a reference point nonetheless - my car still shifts better lol).

The MGW shifter, I believe, makes it feel more obvious since it's a more direct mount to the transmission. There's less vibrational loss in the shift linkage since this is a much more robust shift assembly and mount. If I shift with the heel of my palm, it's not as noticeable. If I take the shifter and grab the ball and not slam it into gear, but firmly direct it, it isn't as harshly felt. This is with the transmission cold or warm, but only on the 2 -> 3 shift. 4 -> 3 is perfectly fine and has never had a nibble before.

I have changed my transmission fluid from the OEM Mercon LV spec to Redline D4, which is above the Mercon LV spec. It's just a little bit thicker than OEM, but not by a truckload. This helped the shift quality for a few hundred miles, but then came back. I will be swapping out that fluid for some Motul ATF that fits the Mercon LV spec as I read somewhere that these newer Tremec synchros like a thinner fluid so they can spin faster and easier - the thicker fluid causes too much drag on them. Either way, I'll update on my results when I do that.

Finally, to speak to your comment: I'm not Ben Calimer so I am not in a position to say if you're right or wrong. While it very well could be the shift linkage, I feel it in my MGW. If we're talking about the same thing, it almost feels like the shifter is going up a very small rough step (best way I can describe it). I want to say that a grind isn't occurring because the synchro isn't massively out of timing with the rest of the gear set. I think it's dragging behind ever so slightly due to some sort of friction issue (potentially transmission fluid).

EDIT: All of this is to say, I think it's just how the transmission is. I haven't had any other problems (knock on wood). In these 16k miles, I've done a good bit of hard runs using every single gear, including 3rd and 5th (and 6th to see how far it can go), and nothing has ever gotten worse - it just stayed the same.

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