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xnevergiveinx · 09-13-2005, 04:47 AM

ok, before you overlook this one, this is not one of those "teach me how to start off correctly" threads.

i have been having a problem with the first gear on my 05 tC. it currently has about 7300 miles on it. this is my first stick shift car, but i drove stick for about 6 months before i bought my tC, which was in feb. I just didn't drive the previous car full time, so i consider my tC my first stick shift car. i've been told that i shift properly by my brother in law, who has driven stick for years and shifts smoother than an automatic.
other than stereo/audio, i have no mods to my vehicle.

anyways, i have a problem with my first gear. when i start off in first, like normal, i rev it to about 3500 rpm because first is a very short gear. i depress the clutch to the floor and proceed to move the shifter into second gear. it shifts just fine. however, sometimes, *sometimes, the following will happen. i will rev it to 3500 or so, depress the clutch to the floor, put my hand on the shifter and proceed to move it into second gear. when i apply light pressure to the shifter to put it into second gear, sometimes, it will pop into my hand. sometimes it's a light pop, sometimes it pops with some force. it pops back towards second gear, if i let go of the clutch, it would have popped the shifter into the neutral shifter position. i have not been able to figure out what the variable is that causes this to happen. i have tried different speeds to shift at, but it seems to happen when i rev over 3000 rpm. i've tried taking off slower than normal, i've tried taking off faster than normal. i have noticed that it seems to happen always on the first shift of the day and more often in stop and go traffic. also it seems to happen when i take off normally and faster than normal, but it does not happen when i take off slower than normal.

it started this behavior a week after i recieved my car. it only did it maybe once every week and a half or so. i thought nothing of it, i thought it might be the clutch breaking in or something like that. recently, the frequency of occurance has gone from once every week and half to several times a day. however, there are days that i can go without it happening at all.

this is my dilema. if i bring it into the dealership when i get my next oil change, which is anytime now...i'm going to have a tough time proving what is happening, because it does not happen all the time and i don't know what might be triggering it.

before you tell me that i don't know how to shift, i know how. i've only grinded 2nd gear twice and that was after this started happening. i rev match properly on all my downshifts. i've never forced it into any gear. i always wait to come down to at least 10 mph before attempting to put it into first gear. i have always double clutched before i placed it into reverse. i don't ride the clutch and i don't burn the clutch either. i've treated it with respect.

please let me know your opinions on what i should do about this and also what you think the problem might be. thanks -kyle

The_Instigator · 09-13-2005, 04:54 AM

Ive had the same thing happen to me a few times, but it hasnt happend for a month or so. Id accelerate hard in 1st and push in the clutch and it pops right out of first. Not sure why it happens, but I know exactly what youre talking about.

xnevergiveinx · 09-13-2005, 05:09 AM

i'm glad someone knows what i'm talking about. i just can't understand why it happens...

idriveatC · 09-13-2005, 05:25 AM

Power shifting... Most cars... (correct me if im wrong) would be able to do this... You can shift without using the clutch... Try driving in first gear and rev it up on a straight road slowly and lightly try to pull it out of first after it hits the certain point it will pop out of first. Then keep reving slowly and you would be able to pull it into second without the clutch... same goes for the other gears. Should be around 3.2k rpms for first and second. Used to do it in my old accord. Also a method used in racing but was proven to actually be slower than shifting with clutch...

slipknot490 · 09-13-2005, 05:39 AM

Not flaming here but....My matrix XRS did this from time to time. I found that I wasn't engaging the clutch al the way when pulling the shifter from first. And sometimes it wouldn't go into second or third due to me releasing the clutch (SLIGHTLY) too soon. This would only happen when I was really on the gas such as merging.
The only things I could associate it to was my own errors. I am not saying you can't drive but make sure the pedal is all the way to the floor.
Also, on my mustang, I noticed that the carpet would slide up and it would prevent me from fully pushing the pedal to the floor. Keep trying...And have your brother in law drive it to try to duplicate it! Hope this helps.

xnevergiveinx · 09-13-2005, 05:39 AM

i'm too scared to try power shifting. i never pull it out of gear without pressing in the clutch first. after grinding 2 times, the thought of shifting without using a clutch scares me.

slipknot490 · 09-13-2005, 05:50 AM

On a side note...I know this is off topic to the current thread. With my mustang, I was having major problems with the clutch cable system on the car.
PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS!!!
I would get to a red light, shut the car off. Light would turn green and I would start it in gear and shift through the gears without the clutch(city and highway driving)! The t-5 5-speed is an incredible tranny. It would not grind at all...if the RPM wasn't right, it simply wouldn't go into gear! It would grind however when decelerating such as coming to a red light...but only in second and first, so I would just pop it into neutral and coast to the light. Then pop it into first after shutting the car off. I drove it for a week like this. True story!

xnevergiveinx · 09-13-2005, 05:58 AM

i once drove a ford aspire that wouldn't let me put it in any gear unless i pressed in the clutch.

i'll try to notice if i shift without pressing the clutch all the way down first. thanks for the lookout

chizzzle · 09-13-2005, 04:19 PM

what does "ride the clutch" mean?

xnevergiveinx · 09-13-2005, 05:14 PM

"ride the clutch" means keeping your foot on the clutch pedal. this will wear out the clutch disk prematurely

chizzzle · 09-13-2005, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnevergiveinx

"ride the clutch" means keeping your foot on the clutch pedal. this will wear out the clutch disk prematurely

hmmm i'm not sure if i do this or not, i just started driving stick, but when i'm trying to just creep forward in first i feel like i have to have my foot still on the clutch a little

xnevergiveinx · 09-14-2005, 01:47 AM

no, i mean leaving your foot on the clutch pedal while your driving. don't do it!

*** update! ***
thanks to slipknot490, i made sure today to press the clutch all the way in before i pulled it out of gear. what i posted earlier was wrong now that i think about it. i was pressing in the clutch while pulling it out of gear, which is why it would pop into my hand.
i got through a whole days worth of driving without one pop. and it's all because i wasn't pressing the clutch to the floor before moving the shifter. awesome!

b&m short shifter here i come!

slipknot490 · 09-14-2005, 01:56 AM

Good to hear that! Glad I could help a little bit.

senseiturtle · 09-14-2005, 04:17 AM

1- Had the same problem, but it was in starting the tC. I bought a thick rubber floormat to protect the carpeting, and it prevented the clutch from being 100% on the floor.

2- Clutches are expendable items. They are designed to wear away, in the protection of the final drive gears and motion gears. USE IT TO SHIFT. I dont care how "cool" powershifting is, but 2 facts are certain.

a) Instead of wearing your clutch, you are chipping away at the actual teeth of the gear. Eventually, you're going to have even worse problems as the teeth get ground away, and the gear will need to be replaced.
b)Metal chippings from the teeth grinding will cause you to need tranny flushes much eariler. You'll notice this as the fluid starts to gum up, making shifting more difficult and sloshy.

Not to mention, if you don't rev-match appropriatley, the valvetrain ends up taking the beating. If you're lucky, and powershift down into second after cruising along in 3rd, you'll skip timing and open up THAT pandora's box.

The point is, just don't do it.