Manual Transmission T56 | T5 | MN12 | Clutches | Hydraulics | Shifters

Shifting problem persists; unable to shift quickly.. HELP!!

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Old 10-27-2008, 09:00 AM
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Exclamation Shifting problem persists; unable to shift quickly.. HELP!!

Problem: Shifting quickly is IMPOSSIBLE in my car. If you press the clutch in and try to shift into any gear you either get a "block" for about a split second before it goes into gear. If you don't get the "block" you hear a high pitch/clunk sound coming from underneath the shifter or somewhere there. They both let you engage the gears, but its not smooth or safe sounding.

Here is the catch though, it only happens during the first time you shift into gear with the clutch down... to put it easier:

1) press clutch
2) Engage into gear quickly and get the block
3) DO NOT RELEASE CLUTCH
4) Go into any other gear and its completely smooth, no matter how many times you shift. It will be like a knife slicing through butter going into gears.
5) release clutch
6) press clutch down again and process repeats

If you shift slowly and let the gear "suck" the shifter in and just ease it into gear (2-3 seconds), the gear will engage with no apparent sound, but the block is still there, but after a bit the shifter will just slide into the gear.

Attempts to fix problem:
1) New transmission fluid
2) New GM master
3) Drill mod
4) New Hydraulic fluid

Edit: I have also done the clutch slipping tests.

Revving to 5-6k at a stop with clutch down does not move my car at all.
Hitting the throttle at around 20mph in 4th has a steady increase of rpm/mph, not a wide variation between them.

Last edited by Aetos; 10-27-2008 at 10:08 AM.
Old 10-27-2008, 04:33 PM
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19 views and no idea?
Is everyone as stumped as I am on this? lol
Old 10-27-2008, 07:21 PM
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Mines done that since I got it, figured it was normal.
Old 10-27-2008, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Vicinity
Mines done that since I got it, figured it was normal.
Can that really be normal? I can't shift quick enough to make my tires chirp or squeal with the current problem. I can try, but I never have because of the grinding noise upon quick shifting. I'm worried that I'm damaging something very expensive and hard to change.
Old 10-27-2008, 08:22 PM
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Do you have enough fluid in there? I know when mines low I cannot chirp, but I can normally.
Old 10-27-2008, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Vicinity
Do you have enough fluid in there? I know when mines low I cannot chirp, but I can normally.
Yes, It has the 4 quarts, it was still happening before the tranny fluid change also, so I'm pretty sure its not the fluid.
Old 10-27-2008, 08:48 PM
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It could be just the shifter, the stock ones are known to not be very smooth. My last camaro had that issue but never figured out what it was. My camaro now shifts nice, but still has a grab feeling.
Old 10-27-2008, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by camarosam22
It could be just the shifter, the stock ones are known to not be very smooth. My last camaro had that issue but never figured out what it was. My camaro now shifts nice, but still has a grab feeling.
Forgot to mention it, I have a pro 5.0, but how could a shifter cause GRINDING problems?
Old 10-27-2008, 09:26 PM
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Sounds like hydraulics, if there is the smallest amount of air stuck in the system, it will act like that on the quick shift, but if delayed will eventually allow normal shifting like butter.

Invest in a mityvac and see how it is after using that on the system. Other symptoms (which you may be afraid to encounter) would also be clutch sticking at high rpm, or a quick shift at WOT will act like a wall is there.
Old 10-27-2008, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by SladeX
Sounds like hydraulics, if there is the smallest amount of air stuck in the system, it will act like that on the quick shift, but if delayed will eventually allow normal shifting like butter.

Invest in a mityvac and see how it is after using that on the system. Other symptoms (which you may be afraid to encounter) would also be clutch sticking at high rpm, or a quick shift at WOT will act like a wall is there.
Don't think there is any air in the systems; just installed a brand new master and bleeded the **** out of it after the install, so I highly doubt theres any air.
Old 10-28-2008, 10:03 AM
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Clutch fluid heating up too much? Is it usually durring high RPM's?
Old 10-28-2008, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by 06black6spd
Clutch fluid heating up too much? Is it usually durring high RPM's?
As stated in the original post it always happens, even while sitting still without driving at all.
Old 10-28-2008, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by 06black6spd
Clutch fluid heating up too much? Is it usually durring high RPM's?
It occurs even during idle, without having driven the car beforehand.
Old 10-28-2008, 10:47 AM
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Once air got introduced into my slave due to an accidental pump while bleeding. I bled the **** out of it after that and supposedly all was fine. Fast forward a few months and during a WOT run in 3rd I found it sticking. I rebled, got clean fluid out, but the "air" was still trapped. I found this out while doing 4th gear pulls on a dyno when tuning my car.

Bled again, it was still sticking. Got fed up, bought a mityvac and pulled a lot of "trapped" air within the system. Significant amount. Took it for a long drive, then did a few WOT pulls to the top of 5th. Shifted like butter at redline.

I've bench bled the master and left it hanging in the garage overnight, sure enough thanks to the angle I left the system at, air worked its way up the system back into the reservoir. Once air gets in, it is a PAIN to get out. On top of that, it will disperse itself into the fluid and lower the boiling point further creating and trapping gasses from the degraded fluid at each WOT run.

I'm saying if you've exhausted all avenues with hardware, bleeding for air etc, then last point of failure is the clutch itself.

From what it sounds like either a) hole in system, air is getting in, or b) line is touching header and boiling fluid.
Old 10-28-2008, 05:13 PM
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Update: Took the car to a mechanic I know so he can drive it around a bit and try to tell me the problem. He came to the conclusion thats its probably one of three things; air in the slave(yay SladeX!!), the slave itself may be going bad, or the pressure plate may be bad. He said the sound that emits during shifting is the clutch.

I just ordered a mity vac to try and bleed it out. If that doesn't work, I have a brand new slave sitting in my hatch(reluctant to drop the tranny). If that doesn't work either, I guess Im gonna be ordering the LS7 clutch.
Old 10-29-2008, 08:07 PM
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sounds to me like you either have worn sencros or dameged key ways or even blocker rings . i dont think you have air in your system. only because i had almost the same problem and i bled my for hours and the same problem continued. i took mine apart and replaced the blocker rings , sencros, key ways. and had know more problems. note it is good practice if you take the tranny apart and rebuild it to give it new hydraulics....
Old 10-29-2008, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by davidz28man
sounds to me like you either have worn sencros or dameged key ways or even blocker rings . i dont think you have air in your system. only because i had almost the same problem and i bled my for hours and the same problem continued. i took mine apart and replaced the blocker rings , sencros, key ways. and had know more problems. note it is good practice if you take the tranny apart and rebuild it to give it new hydraulics....



I have 47k miles and it happens in all gears, at all speeds, even at idle... how would this be something internal unless I got like the most messed up tranny in an fbody. The mechanic himself told me its either the slave or a clutch.
Old 10-29-2008, 09:46 PM
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usually , 1 gear = specific internal problem, 2 gears (related), ie 1-2 or 3-4 or 5-6 still a specific problem, but all gears usually point to clutch issues, in particular the hydraulics
Old 10-30-2008, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by SladeX
usually , 1 gear = specific internal problem, 2 gears (related), ie 1-2 or 3-4 or 5-6 still a specific problem, but all gears usually point to clutch issues, in particular the hydraulics
That's what I believed so I rationalized around that belief, you just made that belief stronger now, thanks!
Old 10-30-2008, 09:11 AM
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Intiresting, Ive been following this thread, would love to know the end all issue


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