5th gear issue

[HYBRED]

I'm starting to wonder if I pulled a lemon

This car consistently will not go into 5th gear at high RPM. I have no issues with ANY other gear but this one. This happened every lap at Texas World Speedway on the front straight; I go for 5th because I'm at 110-120 mph with half the straight to go, and it just refuses to go. I'm not talking rev limiter power shifts; even lazy shifting at 6k wouldn't work. I'd have to let it rev down below 6 to get it into gear. Reading in the 5.0 GT forum I see they recommend the Boss clutch to fix high RPM shifting, but uh...I already have one. Is this a transmission issue or am I just going to have to dump a bunch of money into fluid, lines, maybe a clutch, just to make my stock car work like its supposed to?

Car has an MGW, CAI and TracKey.

 

[maniak87]

take it in for warranty. the trans is one of the issues with these new 5.0's. sounds like a trans problem to me. did it do it before you put the shifter on?

 

[Devious_Snake]

i would def. let ford take a look at it, if that doesnt work im sure there has to be a aftermarket remedy (i hope)

 

[HYBRED]

take it in for warranty. the trans is one of the issues with these new 5.0's. sounds like a trans problem to me. did it do it before you put the shifter on?

I bought it with the shifter installed. It had 3k miles on it. It was done by the dealership I bought it from (previous owner was the General Mgr IIRC).

I wouldn't hesitate to take it in for service...but I didn't have much luck last time. I took it in a couple of months ago because the trans has sounded like the cog-driven Magnacharger on our Camaro since the day I bought it. They told me it was normal / they heard nothing / it's my CAI. While I really love the sound of a roots blower, it's not a sound I want my trans making.

 

[DAVESVT2000]

What car # is yours, is it an early build ?

 

[maniak87]

I bought it with the shifter installed. It had 3k miles on it. It was done by the dealership I bought it from (previous owner was the General Mgr IIRC).

I wouldn't hesitate to take it in for service...but I didn't have much luck last time. I took it in a couple of months ago because the trans has sounded like the cog-driven Magnacharger on our Camaro since the day I bought it. They told me it was normal / they heard nothing / it's my CAI. While I really love the sound of a roots blower, it's not a sound I want my trans making.

i would agree with you. try another dealership?

 

[HYBRED]

what car # is yours, is it an early build ?

735

 

[not Jake]

Take it in until it is fixed. That is not your problem and you shouldn't have to worry about it. Call Ford and complain. I would have my panties in a wad until it is resolved!

 

[AZBOSS]

Do you have the LS scoop installed?

 

[HYBRED]

Do you have the LS scoop installed?

I don't know what that is so I'm going to say no.

 

[not Jake]

I'm gonna guess the Leguna Seca Trans Cooling Scoop. Heat could be playing a factor.

 

[cloud9]

This is starting to show up a lot. A couple of other track guys over at Boss Mustangs Online reported the problem and one sold his Boss already. I didn't have much trouble at BIR last year, but only ran 8 days there. I went into 5th down the front straight and between 9 and 10 generally without an issue, although I did get locked out a couple times. The other track I ran quite a bit only gets into the top end of 4th so never saw 5th there. I also got into 5th at MAM without trouble but ony had a couple days there due to the flooding. I'm heading down there a week from Friday for the opener and will still be on the stock shifter. I have an MGW on order but I don't think it will be here in time, or know whether it would make a difference. I'm hoping I don't have a lot of trouble down there. You get into 5th on the main front straight and again between 4 and 5. This is starting to look like an issue.......

 

[LostPony]

I'm putting mine on the track in a few days, but I'm not sure if there is enough room on our track to hit 5th gear. I have noticed mine feels "clunky" going into first once in a while. Even with the clutch fully depressed I can feel and hear a clunk when I push it into gear. Very early on I had issues with it popping out of reverse, but not since I got over 600 miles on it. I'll be interested to hear if this is more common issue with aftermarket shifters or stock shifters.

 

[HYBRED]

Took it in to the dealer today.

Yesterday I was stuck in some mild traffic, stop-and-go for about 20-25 minutes. By the time I got clear it was extremely difficult to engage gears and the interior of the car was uncomfortably hot, with the heat coming from the footwell/trans tunnel area. It felt like shifting through cold molasses, where normally I can engage any gear with a finger. The dealer was unable to replicate the issue, but going by my account, the inability to engage gears at high RPM, and the occasional clutch pedal sticking to the floor they *think* it's a clutch issue, likely hydraulics. They think the clutch isn't being disengaged fully at times, which is what caused it to overheat and what may be causing the occasional gear grind and missed shifts. It sounds plausible :shrug:

They're tearing into it tomorrow to take a look, since that's really all they can do at this point. Unfortunately I rolled over 12k miles last week, which is when the clutch warranty expires, so if it is the clutch that's bad it's no longer covered and I could be out ~$1300 for the diagnostic and clutch replacement :fm: I will fight this tooth and nail, since I took the car in to a different dealer at around 9k miles and because they couldn't duplicate the problem, they told me there wasn't one and gave the car back. Dealer also wouldn't give a loaner, so I'm out my $45,000 DD probably until next week, given the holiday weekend. Score 1 for GM on that front; when we broke the driveshaft in our Camaro we were given an equivalent value Silverado for 2 weeks while they waited on parts; no extended warranty or dealer purchase necessary.:bored:

 

[PLASMAN]

there a ford customer service rep for shelby's and boss's (I know they are different transmissions) cars that is very aware of multiple transmission issues. If you email her your issues she will contact you and the dealer and can authorize ford coverage above your 12k mileage. Her name is Dyeisha (spelling is off a little maybe). Go over to GT500.COM forum and search by her name or look in dealer problems threads for the 1-2 shift grind and you will find her info in there somewhere. If you don't I'll find it later today and send it to you. Good luck.

 

[Blue Blitz]

Found it:
Ford Mustang Forums - View Profile: FordCustSrvc

That's Deysha with customer service at ford. Not sure what she can do for us, but might be worth asking...

 

[HYBRED]

They said the hydraulics look fine, but the clutch and flywheel show a lot of wear and hot spots ("kinda like your rear tires..."). They are kindly replacing it with factory parts and honoring the warranty, since it's so close. Flywheel should be here in 3 days, and I should get it back next Mon-Tues. I guess when I get it back I'll change out the fluid to DOT5 and see if that helps?

 

[Boss3o2]

They said the hydraulics look fine, but the clutch and flywheel show a lot of wear and hot spots ("kinda like your rear tires..."). They are kindly replacing it with factory parts and honoring the warranty, since it's so close. Flywheel should be here in 3 days, and I should get it back next Mon-Tues. I guess when I get it back I'll change out the fluid to DOT5 and see if that helps?

Glad to hear, Ford is covering it under warranty. My Father had a similar issue with his 2009 GT500. He rides the clutch a little, so I thought it was from doing that, but I guess they had a recall on the clutches.

So far I haven't had any issues with my 12 LS. ..::crosses fingers::...

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

They said the hydraulics look fine, but the clutch and flywheel show a lot of wear and hot spots ("kinda like your rear tires..."). They are kindly replacing it with factory parts and honoring the warranty, since it's so close. Flywheel should be here in 3 days, and I should get it back next Mon-Tues. I guess when I get it back I'll change out the fluid to DOT5 and see if that helps?

Dot 5?

That's synthetic/silicone I think??, may I suggest an aftermarket high temp dot 4 instead.
Wilwood 570
Motul 600

the DOT 5s are more of a show car/classic car type of fluid. I read it gets squishy when it gets hot

 

[Boss3o2]

Dot 5?
the DOT 5s are more of a show car/classic car type of fluid. I read it gets squishy when it gets hot

This is the same info. I have been told about DOT 5.