NRG

Hi everyone. New to the site. Thinking about buying a 2006 GTO 6 speed with about 7,500 miles on it. I keep reading about issues with shifter issues, ie shifting hard, not being able to shift sometimes, grinding of gears because it is hard to shift. Other issue are water pump replacement, wiring harness behind glove box has issues. In fact, I found 6 1/2 pages of TSB's on this car!!!!!!! I can always post the link if anybody wants it. My main concern is the shifter. Seems like a design defect to me, which means going aftermarket. Obviously, an OEM shifter will not solve the problem. So, how common is the shifter issue and what are the recommendations? I looked at other threads on here, but not really finding good answers. BTW, I have a '04 Mazda Miata Mazdaspeed with 9,530 miles on it. I compared the number of TSB's to each other. 11 for the Miata and 68 for the GTO. That's pathetic for the GTO.

Pulse Red

I must say, I'm blown away by that. I have the car that this is based on, 04 Holden Monaro. I purchased it brand new and issues with the actual car is limited to a new radiator and replacement of some suspension bushings, both recently.

The only other issues with my car have been lifter/cam related but the engine has been modified with aftermarket parts, so tough call on the factory there.

It's been the most reliable car I've owned and I've had multiple Lexus, Nissan and various euro cars during the same time I've owned the Monaro. Don't get me started on the euro cars and issues...

I did replace the shifter with an aftermarket one early on though. Purely because when really up it, it's easy to miss 3rd. Not an issue with normal driving of course, it was racing stuff. I used a GM ripshifter but this was back in the mid 2000s.

Rich-L79

The stock shifter itself is usually not the problem on a low mile car. The problems with the shifter (other than it being kind of numb) is after lots of miles or harsh abuse. The REAL problem is the slave cylinder and more generally the clutch hydraulic system. If abused and/or not well maintained it doesn't work well at times during enthusiastic use. The problem is often that no one has maintained the system and flushed the fluid regularly (which is a PITA to do on stock set up) which leads to poor clutch performance and thus a premature clutch failure. Also, the clutch itself isn't really up to the task of a lot of abuse in these heavy cars. My car was not abused, but driven enthusiastically and by 30k the clutch was shot. No idea of what kind of abuse it may have received for the first 26k miles the previous owners may have dished out, but the car was so clean and completely stock so I think they didn't really beat on it.

First things first, when you get the car, flush the entire clutch hydraulic system and get fresh fluid in the entire system. This is a bit of work and kind of messy but entirely worth the effort. THEN and only then can you assess the condition of the system, the clutch and the shifter. There are plenty of aftermarket shifters available if you so choose to upgrade but unless you are going to modify the car and/or drive the car hard, the stock shifter will likely be just fine if you like how it works. Changing the transmission fluid TO THE CORRECT FLUID and filling it with the proper amount would probably not be a bad idea since with such low miles it probably has never been changed. People who have these low mile cars think it is better to keep the fluids original since they have so few miles on them, but time also wears out such fluids.

Wouldn't hurt to have the brake system bled a bit to get fresh fluid in that system as well. Not, flushed, bled. Be careful not to get air into the ABS system as it can be a real PITA to bleed the ABS pump and lines if you get air into them.

Rich-L79

I've never heard of water pump issues. The issues I've heard about water pumps is that it can be hard to get the correct one for the GTO LS2 application.

The wiring harness behind the glovebox is a well known issue and all that is needed is to inspect the harness for damage and to then wrap a short section of the harness with a protective sleeve such as a piece of split heater hose and call it good. If the wires are damaged, they need to be repaired.

Suspension bushings and engine mounts are often too soft and prone to failure and are common sense things to replace. Especially the motor mounts, the front radius rod bushings and the front strut top bushings and bearings. Again, age is more your enemy here than is wear and tear.

These are fantastic cars and well worth the effort to upgrade a few parts. If you are intimidated by these cars, don't buy one. It also helps greatly if you can do the work yourself.

dreadpirateroberts

iTrader: (1)

sounds like OP is a troll.

NRG

Thanks for the responses. Helps out a lot. I actually sent a response with a link to the 68 TSB's a few days ago, but for some reason, the moderator still has not approved that. I hope to buy the car in another week or two. Trying to sell my other car first. 2004 Miata Mazadspeed with 9,530 miles. Showroom condition. Anyways, I am sure I will have more questions about the GTO in the near future.

Kfxguy

iTrader: (1)

I'd skip the manual trans car and get an automatic. Unless you like replacing clutches, shifter, slave cylinder, drive shaft, cv axles and axle stubs. Yea yea, the manual may be a little more "fun" but other than that, it becomes a pain in the ***.

NRG

Have you personally experienced manual transmission issues with the GTO?

MuhThugga

TSBs amount to a hill of beans on a 16 year old car.

For the shifter, you have a few choices: GMM, MGW-P, Hinson, or Sikky. I have both the MGW-P and the GMM, and they are both great shifters. The Sikky is apparently good, too, but it is a little rich. I have no experience with the Hinson shifter. GTOG8TA offers a GMM knock-off, but I would steer clear of it. They just buy the shifter off Ali Express for $50 and mark it up to $200, and there are quality issues.

Those parts are much easier to service than 3-4 clutch packs, and depending on the intentions of the car, may not even really become an issue.

NRG

MuhThugga, thanks for the info. I was leaning towards the GMM, but it cost $450 plus. I will look at the other ones. Hopefully, they are less expensive. I plan on beefing the car up somewhat, but I'm probably won't be tracking it. Just want some extra horsepower to do some high spirited driving from time to time, and hopefully not get any tickets. Good info to have.

Kfxguy

iTrader: (1)

3-4 clutch pack does not need to be serviced. I build these transmissions very often. The trans has a bad wrap because of several reasons. 1) is poor builder knowledge. Not setting up the 3-4 clutch clearances properly, using poor quality frictions, reusing warped steels, and leaving out the 3-4 boost springs. I see many of these mistakes in freshly built units. 2) deleting torque management. These trans (not any other late model car trans) can cope with the abuse without the tq management.

Most “builders” don’t know how to properly build these things. They swap parts. I go much much further when I’m building one.

gametech

iTrader: (1)

As for the OP's shifter question, the stock shifter is perfectly fine as long as you replace the rubber mounted handle. I have driven an untold number of manual transmissions, and my stock GTO shifter with a Lou's short stick handle shifts at least as good as any of them, and far better than most. As for the 4l65, it can be built to handle light cars up to a point, but once weight and available traction exceed a certain limit, the best built ones in the world will still rip out the tailshaft. I have seen this on 3 separate occasions. I must agree that the auto is much gentler on the rest of the driveline components.

NRG

Gametech: The auto probably is, but I can't find a low mileage automatic. I have only found two low mileage manuals with the interior I was looking for. I will keep the Lou's short stick handle in mind. Much cheaper than buying a whole new shifter.

Kfxguy

iTrader: (1)

You are 100% correct on that. I broke the output shaft at the track, it happened on pass number 2 after experimenting with turning the tq management OFF. learned a lesson from that. DO NOT turn the tq management off. If you have a tuner that does this, find another tuner or do it yourself. In reference to All the late model cars, it is a known fact that you must leave tq management on with those transmissions, and they are built stronger than the 4l60....so if you delete it with a 4l60....it’s gonna live a short life. I put the sonnax billet shafts in mine so I should be fine. It’s been holding for two years with my heavy foot. On 22psi.

gametech

iTrader: (1)

I have no idea if the short stick is still available, but is an excellent modification. It eliminates the rubber isolation of the factory shift handle while shortening the shift throw just a little. I have driven t56 cars with a handle that was too short, and that brings whole new problems. The Lou's setup is the perfect length for me. It is also threaded, so you can put whatever shift **** you want on it. Mine is a #4 pool ball to almost match the Cosmos purple paint.

NRG

I did see two versions of the Lou's setup and will use the one that allows me to keep the same OEM GTO handle. However, if it eliminates the rubber isolation, I am wondering about vibration and noise. The rubber isolation is obviously there for a reason.

Rich-L79

When I had a Lou's SS on my stock shifter it would buzz like mad when the RPMs got up. Never could fix that problem. My Pro Billet, which is also a solid mount, does not buzz. Also, the stock shifter fell apart around 35k, about 8k of that with the Lou's SS. I had the Lou's that slightly angled the **** toward the driver, I really liked that feature. But the buzzing and the ultimate failure of the stock shifter caused me to go in a different direction which led to the Pro Billet and that was a huge improvement.

NRG

I kind of thought there would be noise coming from using the Lou's shifter since the rubber isolation would have to be removed. I will have to look at the Pro Billet. Thanks for the info.

Rich-L79

Pro Billet are no longer available new. They've always been scarce so a good used one would be your only hope and like I said they are scare. But, in my opinion the absolute best of the bunch.

GotToGo

Mine's an 8 ball to match the PBM.