Popping out of gear?

**INeedLS1** · 02-15-2007, 04:08 PM

Once in a while my car decides it wants to pop out of third gear. It feels like it isn't going into gear all the way. I don't have any problems in any other gear and no grinds; the car only has 40k on it. When I do seem to get it into gear all the way, it will not pop out no matter what I do. It seems like the syncros are fine but sometimes it just doesn't want to properly engage. Are there any adjustments in the shifter? I have the factory Hurst. Thanks.

**rajiv1998** · 02-15-2007, 04:44 PM

its gotta be the snychros

**INeedLS1** · 02-15-2007, 05:55 PM

Once I get it into gear it doesn't pop out. I can jerk the car around with the throttle and it stays right on in there. But sometimes I stick it in third and it spits it right back out, like it didn't go in all the way. If the synchros were bad, wouldn't it grind and not stay in gear all the time?

**30thbird** · 02-16-2007, 09:34 AM

A little more research would have revealed that this is a well documented problem. The aluminum shift fork wears and will not allow full gear engagement sometimes. The fix is an iron fork. Prob is it takes a full teardown to get at the fork.

**Wesman** · 02-16-2007, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by INeedLS1

Once I get it into gear it doesn't pop out. I can jerk the car around with the throttle and it stays right on in there. But sometimes I stick it in third and it spits it right back out, like it didn't go in all the way. If the synchros were bad, wouldn't it grind and not stay in gear all the time?

Yes, usually it will grind if the synchros are bad.

Being that is goes into gear fine, the synchros are probably not the culprit. Sounds to me like a bent or worn shift fork. If your shifter has stop bolts, check to make sure those are adjusted properly first. If they are out of adjustment, they can prevent the shifter from engaging the gear all the way.

If the stop bolts are adjusted properly (or you don't have any) then its most likely the shift fork. The only solution is to tear the trans down and have it rebuilt by a professional. And if you're going to go that far, its best to just have them replace all the wear components - synchros, bearings, blocker rings, shift fork pads, ect. They can use upgraded/higher quality components, so that the issue will not happen in the future.

**INeedLS1** · 02-16-2007, 10:37 AM

If there was a issue with my shift fork wouldn't it cause problems in other gears? Why is the issue exclusive to third?

**30thbird** · 02-16-2007, 10:42 AM

Its the 3/4 shift fork and yours is worn biased to third. It can also affect 4th if it goes on further.

**INeedLS1** · 02-16-2007, 01:33 PM

Is it really that common for the shift forks to go bad at only 40k miles under normaly driving conditions?

**shady milkman** · 02-16-2007, 01:53 PM

yup. we have shitty forks...thats why alot of people upgrade to the viper's t-56 internals...but its not really that common with only 40k

**Wesman** · 02-16-2007, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by INeedLS1

Is it really that common for the shift forks to go bad at only 40k miles under normaly driving conditions?

No, its definitely not normal.

Have you owned the car since new??

The most common cause of bent shift forks is driver error. Meaning either missing gears, trying to force the transmission into gear, or slamming the forks against their internal stops from shifting very hard.

A good aftermarket shifter with bump stops will prevent the last condition, since you won't be hitting the internal stops in the first place.

**INeedLS1** · 02-16-2007, 04:09 PM

If the fork is bent will it stay in gear at all?

**shady milkman** · 02-17-2007, 05:38 AM

Originally Posted by INeedLS1

If the fork is bent will it stay in gear at all?

depends on the degree of bend in the fork

**INeedLS1** · 02-17-2007, 05:45 AM

My 3rd gear takes less of a throw to get into gear and there is a fine line between being in and out of gear. I can control whether or not it sits in the spot that would make it pop out. All my other gears take far more travel to get into gear. To me it almost feels like that if I could push the shifter into third another inch or so (comparable to the travel of the other gears) it wouldn't pop out.

I'm not trying to say that it isn't a bent fork, I'm just trying to better understand my transmission and whats going on inside of it.

**30thbird** · 02-17-2007, 05:59 AM

I have seen these forks wear in less that 3k miles. It is a known problem with a known fix . If it didn't happen sooner it can happen llater. You want the iron fork.As for shifters with stops:
This wear can happen from high energy shifts or missing a shift. It is more common with missed shifts. The kick-back energy of the synchro sleeve does the wear to the rail/ fork joint.The stops on any shifter will do nothing to prevent this as the shifter is not even involved in the clash energy other than receiving it. Even on a high energy shift the fork gets the load and wear long before the stops ever make contact. If the stops do make contact they are mis adjusted.Most shifters with stops also offer a shorter throw/ reduced ratio. Some like the addedfeel which is really a higher shift effort. The shorter throw would be the only reason to buy an aftermarket shifter.