Bought another FD in January and I've not really driven it much yet. I've probably driven it about 5 times since then. It's a work in progress.

One of the issues I'm looking to get squared away is the transmission. When the car is cold, it's a pain to get it in just about any gear before setting off. Doesn't grind EVER. Doesn't even have the 5th gear grind I know so well. Then today, I went to pull out of a parking spot (car was warm at that point) and could NOT get it in reverse. Rowed all the gears fine but reverse simply was a hard no. Had to push the car out of the parking spot...good times. Drove it home and then tested reverse and it went in just fine. W...T...F?

1. What causes this?
2. Anything I can try to improve the tranny?
3. I'm having Rotary Performance do a rebuild on the car soon so the engine will be out. Should I look into having the transmission rebuilt at the same time? How much does that typically cost? I've done a few engine rebuilds but never had to mess with the transmission.

Picture of aforementioned bitch.

 

Have you ever replaced your shifter bushings?

 

I have not. Does that aid in the transmission accepting certain gears? I thought that would have just changed the feel of the shifter.

 

I would also change the gear oil in the transmission. Bad gear oil will do a lot of weird stuff, and the wrong weight will be even weirder.

75w90 is the correct weight. Always use a synthetic. Idemitsu has a good gear oil if you can track it down.

Dale

 

Roger that gents. It's worth trying those two things (since they're cheap) first before I do anything else.

 

Shifter bushings and boots should be done and it will make a world of difference.

Another option would be to go with a quality short throw shifter kit, it will come with new bushings and the top sealing boot- you’ll still need to purchase the bolt on body boot kit.

@FourtyOunce had a variety of short throws available a little while back, he may still have one left.

 

Maybe the Shift Select Spindle. If it is a 93, believe there was a recall

 

Is it only hard to put into gear while the engine is running? I had a similar situation going on last summer, when I removed the transmission the pilot bearing was completely gone. I didn't get that particular transmission rebuilt so I don't know how the insides looked. The rebuild cost on my other transmission with a crunchy 5th gear synchro was a little over 800.

 

Hmmm, two birds one stone. Not a bad idea actually.

It's a 1995 R2.

 

How is your shifter now? Is it relatively tight, or is there slop (wiggles all over when in gear)? That's one area to look into.

Next, fluid change. I was reading somewhere that many guys have had really great results using Ford Motorcraft Full Synthetic Transmission Fluid.

Regarding your question about transmission rebuild ... it can run 900-2000 for a rebuild, depending on what is replaced and who is doing the work.

 

I also had issues cold shifting in mine (155k miles original trans). I think I had some valvoline or mobil 1 stuff in there from Autozone or the like. My theory was that the viscosity of the lube was affecting synchro function. Otherwise the trans is flawless.

I replaced mine with CRC Sta-Lube 85w-90 API/GL4 Hypoid gear oil. Specifically states it is yellow metal safe on the container. Readily available at NAPA stores. The car shifts beautifully year round with this in the trans.

My opinion is a lot of gear oils at parts stores are meant for rear ends, not manual transmissions so I stayed away from those. I've also read some have formulations that are not friendly to yellow metals/synchros found in manual transmissions. Based on discussions I read on BITOG regarding high sulfur lube use in older manuals I decided to stick with a GL4 only gear lube specifically stating it is yellow metal safe.

 

it was a bulletin, not a recall.

 

I have changed a lot of transmissions and tried a lot of different fluids but I liked Neo Transmission fluid the best for shifting smoothness. If you can't get that, I'd likely try something specifically for manual transmissions, not just a 75w-90 gear oil.

 

5th/reverse syncro rings are pretty fragile, they'll normally stay in place, short of shattering, but you might end up with the symptom you describe on occasion when the hub jams.

Doing the other things surely won't hurt - and less stinky and dirty on the plus side!