Bad shift, what's wrong?

**bconway** · 03-02-2006, 11:05 PM

Hey all, need some guidence...
I was on the highway, getting ready to go at it with a rustang at about 55mph. Dropped to 3rd, and came down hard in 4th so I think....and the car acted like the ABS came on when braking hard. I pushed in clutch, back to
6th and all felt good. I really don't think I hit 2nd, but may have. Now the ABS, and Brake light stay on, the TCS light is on and does not do anything when the button is pressed. Pulled over, turned the car off and then started. The lights did not come back on. The tranny did make a slight bzzing sound under partial throttle before, and is a little more louder now. We went at it again, and took him, but did I break somthing? Oh yea, I now have a 01 M6

**dhillyard** · 03-29-2006, 08:07 PM

hey man, same here, when i slam into 4th before redline, at about 5000-5500 rpm, the car skips and bounces around like the abs comes on. If i redline in 3rd all seems well, but that is real lame that it does that. Anyone have a clue?

**bconway** · 03-30-2006, 04:06 PM

I doubt it, the thread has been up for almost a month and you are the first to shed any light on the subject. Does it happen every time you go in to 4th? It has not done it since, so I was thinking I screwed up somehow and hit 2nd.....?

**dhillyard** · 03-30-2006, 04:46 PM

no, about 3 or 4 times total, shifting early out of 3rd when running through the gears only

**heath** · 03-31-2006, 01:21 AM

Well i can also use some help while ya'll r talking shifting..... Well lately my gears r acting weird... It's like they r locking up r something, sometimes i have to force it so dam hard to get it into gear i feel i'm going to break the dam thing... And i have been putting it off cause i have never had to get my car worked on before, and I hate peaple touching it.. But it seems to be getting worse, so what the hell is going on? oh yea, 01 WS6 6M, and only 21,000 miles, So i'm kind of freaking here.. thanks

**snake_skinner00** · 03-31-2006, 03:47 AM

my '00 was VERY rough going into 2nd and into reverse then i changed out the fluid and refilled with synthetic...i couldnt believe it...i can now shift gears with my pinky finger if i really tried...sooo smooth. but your car only has 21k miles so unless the fluid is low i dont think it would be that. wouldnt hurt to try changing it to see though. synchronizers would be my next guess for you

**TransAm45** · 03-31-2006, 05:28 AM

I was driving the 99 formula and it did the same thing. I dropped it into 3rd on the highway and then slammed it into 4th.. and when I went to take it out of 4th it would not go. I almost had to drop kick the thing to get it into nuetral. Then everytime I shifted to 3rd it grinded no matter how slow i shifted or how fast I was going. We tore the tranny apart and there are 3 little keys on the syncronizers that guide them into place. They were all missing on the 1-2 and 3-4 syncronizers. We are replacing both syncros.. which will set us back almost $800 self installed. We could just replace the keys.. but while the tranny is out.. why not? Plus one syncro is missing about 4 teeth.... Be nice to your trannies!

**heath** · 03-31-2006, 06:57 AM

Oh well, Well i guess thats what's fu*ked in my car, oh well... But i'm still hopeing it's low on fluid, but i don't think so... But i've had it for 5 years now and it's not once been to the shop, so it's not all that bad... But with that said it ONLY has 21,000 miles on it

**Vertiviper** · 03-31-2006, 07:15 AM

I'm just curious, did you guys get rid of your C.A.G.S with a skip shift eliminator, because I have a feeling if your CAGS isn't bypassed the comp is getting confused during the downshift and is locking the sylenoid....maybe?

**CAMAROSS69** · 03-31-2006, 04:38 PM

Same Here

**bconway** · 03-31-2006, 05:07 PM

I guess my car already had it when I got it, because i can go through the gears. Where is it located on the car?

**Vertiviper** · 04-02-2006, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by bconway

I guess my car already had it when I got it, because i can go through the gears. Where is it located on the car?

Its a bypass plug that goes into the tranny sylenoid plug under the tranny. You know you have it if, when your goin through 1st gear a ta low speed, low rpm , low throttle a light comes on that says "Skip Shift" and when that light is on your forced to go into 4th gear.....98s and up have that "wonderfull" feature...........which is why we all get the skip-shift elminator..

**third_shift|studios** · 04-03-2006, 12:37 PM

jesus, i'm petrified by this thread! Ok, for those of you with 98-00 models, you have shitty sychros and bad master/slave cylinders. Changing the lube won't do much, you have to BE NICE to your tranny. The guy with the 01....sounds like you have the same issue my 00 has, resistance from shifting=syncrhos are going bad and you are gonna have to replace them eventually, sorry dude-somebody's gotta touch yer car. Please read on, though:

EVERYONE LISTEN when you drop into lower gears at high Speeds you are doing damage to your tranny. There is a way to ease the pain and extend the life of even damaged sychros. rev matching or "RPM Matching" is something that NASCAR drivers do. It's very simple. The next time you're at a high speed, depress the clutch, press the gas pedal and kick the rpm's up to about 4500+ and begin to shift into your lower gear, once in gear and the RPMs are still up high, release the clutch. Nice and smooth shift, maybe a little jump forward or backward.

Here's the science: You're going 75mph in 6th @ 1700 rpm's. Your rear axle is spinning way more then your engine and they won't mate softly when you down shift. BUT! if you increase the engine RPM's during your downshift [thus, RPM matching] they will equalize.

**Pushead** · 04-03-2006, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by dipherentdesign

EVERYONE LISTEN when you drop into lower gears at high Speeds you are doing damage to your tranny. There is a way to ease the pain and extend the life of even damaged sychros. rev matching or "RPM Matching"

When my old man told me about that when I was learning to drive he called it "Double Clutching". I dunno if that means the same thing, but that's always how I've called it.

I've had a similar problem in my 99 v6, but it was after turning the traction control back on. I live at the bottom of a fairly steep hill, and with a little snow on the hill, the TCS won't let the car go up!! (stupid TCS). I have to turn it off, spin the tires going up the hill, and turn it back on at the top. Once in a while after I turn it on, all of the lights will go on (ABS, TCS, Brakes...) and I have to turn the car off and back on to get it to reset. I have no idea why.

**third_shift|studios** · 04-03-2006, 05:49 PM

double clutching is similar, only in an up-shift situation. check it:

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/4101

**Vertiviper** · 04-04-2006, 09:14 AM

NOT to say that anyone here can't or is not able to properly drive a manual tranny, but I think if your not matching rpms during any shift and if the car is jerking u around then u need a little more practice and should read up about how to drive your car.

The 1st car i ever drove (and still own) was a 94 honda civic 5spd. I was raised by a long line of unlces who grew up during the muscle car era and they taught me that you dont even need a clutch to shift...and its true..as long as your matching rpm's and feeling where the tranny and engine want to put the shifter.

A good example is go 30mph on a flat surface and make sure your in 5th gear at a low rpm (~1000)..remove your foot from the gas and gently pull the shifter back into neutral without using the clutch...so long as there is no rpm increase or decrease your "matching" the shift neutrally....and you will actually feel the tranny push the gear out back into neutral smoothly....try it out one day, but DO NOT i repeat DO NOT force it, if you have to force it then the rpms are not being "Stable" or in other words arn't being maintained at ~1000.