Unable to Shift Gears - Need Advice

[cryinglightning7]

2023 Mach 1
18k miles

Had to tow the ol’ girl yesterday to Ford. I was at a red light and couldn’t get into gear, like the car was fighting me to go into 1st or 2nd. With the engine on, sometimes it was hard to press down on the clutch pedal. Rowed through the gears just fine with the engine off. I could hear some kind of spinning noise when it did get into 1st and I tried finding the bite point.

This is my third manual mustang and I’ve never had issues with screwing up the clutch, etc. lol Car has been driving perfectly recently up until this random incident, but I feel like the clutch is burnt - I’ve just never had that happen to me to know what that’s like.

Never track this car, just spirited driving every now and then since it’s my daily. After a ridiculous night, got it towed to Ford and waiting for them to look into it. Just wanted to see if y’all had similar issues or possible solutions? Car definitely still under warranty but I just know they won’t pay for a worn clutch, which i think is crazy with only 18k miles on the dash! From what I'm reading, this could also be from a faulty master or slave cylinder?

Interesting enough, when I bought the car I noticed on carfax the transmission was replaced during the first year of ownership from whomever bought it new. Any ideas?

Thanks for reading.

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[SheepDog]

Usually, not being able to get it into gear is a hydraulic issue (Fluid leak, fluid low, air in the system) or that the throwout bearing came apart.

When the Clutch is burnt/worn, you would still be able to go into gear, but it would slip once engaged.

It is odd that the transmission was replaced so early on, and they probably re-used the original clutch and hydraulics. The throwout bearing and slave cylinder are one unit.

Any fluid leaks on the ground that you could see?

 

[cryinglightning7]

Usually, not being able to get it into gear is a hydraulic issue (Fluid leak, fluid low, air in the system) or that the throwout bearing came apart.

When the Clutch is burnt/worn, you would still be able to go into gear, but it would slip once engaged.

It is odd that the transmission was replaced so early on, and they probably re-used the original clutch and hydraulics. The throwout bearing and slave cylinder are one unit.

Any fluid leaks on the ground that you could see?

Thanks, SheepDog.

We couldn’t see any fluid leaks when the car got on the tow truck and unfortunately it was night time by the time I dropped it off at Ford after hours to see if it was wet underneath.

Yeah, carfax just reads “transmission rebuilt” at 11k mi but no one could provide reason behind it. I saw it as a new transmission - woo - but now, not so much lol.

 

[SheepDog]

“transmission rebuilt”

Hopefully not actually rebuilt, but rather replaced. I wouldn't personally trust any general mechanic (be it at a dealership or independent) to rebuild that TREMEC.

If they find something obvious with the clutch - great.

If not, ask them to drain the fluid and check the condition - look for indication of significant/abnormal wear.

The 3160 is a great transmission (one of the primary reasons I bought mine with the manual) I only have about 11,000 miles on mine, but 10k of those has been with 800+ hp running through it. I don't beat on it, but drive with intent and it never skips a beat. Stock clutch too (obviously on borrowed time, but so far it hasn't shown any signs of giving up)

 

[skinnyb]

I would definitely say its a throw out bearing travel issue. Probably the slave cylinder is giving up for whatever reason. Or a fluid leak as mentioned. Or, it could be the clutch material has come apart and fragments have gotten lodged between the flywheel and the clutch disk. You would probably smell that burning though. It is under warranty, hopefully they can find something "warrantable".

 

[Skye]

I can't remember anyone else having a transmission failure or loss of a related component.

When the Mach 1 first arrived, we did have some in EUR identify noises associated with certain gears. IIRC the sounds were related to the alignment of the shifter. But failures of components or entire transmission rebuilds, I don't recall any.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/second-gear-hiss-on-a-mach-1-with-tremec.178755/

That the transmission was rebuilt early on and the problem now makes me think of two things:

1) the root cause was not repaired.

or

2) affected consumables were not replaced at the time of rebuild.

Given the nature of the issue, if it is as simple as the throwout bearing, it might be wise to ask them to remove and inspect the clutch assembly. With the trans out and the car's history, I'd like a few photos taken as a reference.

Edit,

Stitching a few ideas together...

The original owner, not knowing any better, has a case of the gears making noise or grinding sounds. The model is new. The car is new to him. They continue to drive it, shifter and/or gear assemblies out of alignment, until the transmission fails.

Another scenario involves the noises, the owner wanting the issue repaired. From whatever t-shooting was accomplished, the dealer decided rebuilding the transmission was the best course of action to remove those sounds. From the teardown and re-assembly, the shifter was aligned enough to quiet the situation.

Just some thoughts.

 

[robvas]

If you can't shift when the car is running but can when it's turned off, the clutch isn't releasing properly. The clutch itself could have failed (or the hydraulics or the throwout bearing), very likely related to when they messed with the transmission a while back.

 

[Rael]

If they say you need a new clutch and that the problem is not related to the prior work, then tell them the clutch was obviously defective because otherwise you would have gotten a lot more than 18,000 miles out of it.

 

[Optimum Performance]

What happened if you put it in gear while off and started it?

 

[cryinglightning7]

Thanks everyone, calms the nerves to know it could be a “warrantable” part I can try to argue with considering how much I know they’re going to want to get out of it. Will definitely keep pointing to the prior tranny work done by Ford. They told me they’ll look at it Monday so I’ll definitely update here once I hear back.

@Optimum Performance I threw it in first, clutch still in when starting it but when I started to pull back for the bite point I just heard spinning noises like it wasn’t catching so I turned it off.

 

[Keeffa]

2023 Mach 1
18k miles

Had to tow the ol’ girl yesterday to Ford. I was at a red light and couldn’t get into gear, like the car was fighting me to go into 1st or 2nd. With the engine on, sometimes it was hard to press down on the clutch pedal. Rowed through the gears just fine with the engine off. I could hear some kind of spinning noise when it did get into 1st and I tried finding the bite point.

This is my third manual mustang and I’ve never had issues with screwing up the clutch, etc. lol Car has been driving perfectly recently up until this random incident, but I feel like the clutch is burnt - I’ve just never had that happen to me to know what that’s like.

Never track this car, just spirited driving every now and then since it’s my daily. After a ridiculous night, got it towed to Ford and waiting for them to look into it. Just wanted to see if y’all had similar issues or possible solutions? Car definitely still under warranty but I just know they won’t pay for a worn clutch, which i think is crazy with only 18k miles on the dash! From what I'm reading, this could also be from a faulty master or slave cylinder?

Interesting enough, when I bought the car I noticed on carfax the transmission was replaced during the first year of ownership from whomever bought it new. Any ideas?

Thanks for reading.

Sound like it could be the pressure plate problem.

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