NowhereFast

Just bought myself a 99 Trans Am with what I thought was a bulletproof transmission. The car shifts fine when I'm beating it, but just cruising at low rpm around it seems to have a slight grind going into all gears, especially second. Nothing that you can hear, but you feel it. I don't know if it's because I'm not used to the tranny or what, but my 95 LT1 parts car with 200k on it seems to have a much smoother shift. The 99 has an MGW and the 95 has a worn out stocker, so I'm not sure if the short shifter affects the quality of the shift, but the 95 is like butter compared to my 99.

I just changed the fluid in it, and put in Isuzu equivalent Dexron III, but the fluid that came wasn't red. I don't know if it was synthetic or not, but I've heard of that wearing out the blocker rings. However I'm not sure what symptoms that would cause.

The car only has 68k on it and seems to have been well kept. What does this sound like? Do I need a rebuild already? Is it hydraulic related? Did the possible synthetic fluid damage it somehow?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I spent a lot of my hard earned money on this car, and transmission issues scare me.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

usually a gear grind will show itself at high rpm fast shifting first. the mgw and other short shifters are much harsher going into gear than the stock one is. the stock one has a long stick and a large rubber bushing which dumbs down the shifts so its most likely that. now with that said make sure the clutch is disengaging, jack the rear wheels up and put the shifter in 1st and rev the motor to 4k with the clutch in. if the tires move you have a clucth issue

sierravmax

iTrader: (1)

Also I have heard after a fresh rebuild the T56 can be a little notchy.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

excellent advice as per usual, Redbird. My first thought on this was incomplete clutch disengagement

NowhereFast

Getting the wheels off the ground and revving it to 4k with the clutch in, tranny in first, the wheels spin. I guess this is not the norm. I just put in a tick MC, LS7 clutch, and new gm slave. Adjusting the pedal up slightly should cure this no? Or is it just drag on the input shaft turning the wheels?

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

I would try raising the pedal half turn at a time on the turnbuckle. If the pedal gets stupid high, then something else is going on

NowhereFast

I'm not sure about the wheels turning at this point as I haven't had it in the air since I've done this, but I've moved the turn-buckle up on the master a full turn. It has changed the engagement of the clutch drastically, from a long engagement window right off the floor, to a narrow one about half-way up. Car still grinds slightly if I let the revs drop by taking my foot off the gas. Slight throttle in between shifts improves the feel of the shifts dramatically, no grind at all, very smooth. This is unlike any other car I've driven, generally throttle input between shifts has no effect on the feel of the shift.

I refuse to believe this is still a clutch issue despite the wheels spinning at 4k, as this has persisted through two different clutches with entirely different hydraulics throughout. Never mind the fact the pedal is almost half way off the floor before the clutch grabs. If it was a synchro issue, I can't imagine it being present in every single gear, although second grinds the worst. Is it possible the tranny was rebuilt and something wasn't set/adjusted properly?

This is my biggest gripe about this freaking car, it kills the driving experience and I haven't the slightest clue what is causing this.

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

jack it up again and repeat the test. if the tires move the clutch is dragging, its about as black and white as it gets. its very rare for a trans to grind in every gear when it goes out. in a t56 there really isnt anything to adjust besides preload and endplay but that wont make it grind

fullrearview

Can a faulty slave cause it to drag all the time?

NowhereFast

Welp, looks like I'm an idiot. Thought something mighta been a little fishy with how I bled it originally. Ran like 3 bottles of brake fluid through it the first time, apparently that doesn't mean ****.

Bought a mityvac, walked outside onto my driveway, hooked it up to the speedbleeder, gave it a few pumps and out came the air. Shifts 10x better than before, it's a joy to drive now.

That bleeder is a lifesaver though, what took me five minutes probably would have taken the better part of an hour without it.

Thanks for all the help guys. If the problem was on somebody elses car, I woulda figured this out weeks ago. Always a pleasure to work on my own junk.