Rattle in 4th gear

[nathan67stang]

Hey guys, so when I'm accelerating in 4th gear at 3k RPM and above my transmission rattles like crazy. It's loud enough that I can't hear the wind noise or exhaust. I have a tri-ax on a 3550. I adjusted the stop bolts so that I can slip a business card in while applying pressure to the shifter. I also removed the retainer ring that sits on the handle below the inner boot. Neither of those had any affect on the noise. I can wiggle the handle around some with no change in the noise. If I release the throttle and the engine is coasting at 3k or higher then the noise is either gone or heavily muted. Does anyone know what this could be?

 

[nathan67stang]

No one?

 

[BeanCrusher]

Are you sure the noise is coming from the transmission? Or could it be coming from the rear end?

 

[nathan67stang]

No I'm 100% sure it's the transmission. And it's not speed dependent. If it's making the noise in 4th above 3k, I can shift to 3rd or 5th and the noise will stop.

 

[BeanCrusher]

Hmmm...I'm not much help here then...I have no knowledge of the internals of a 3550.

 

[GRUSE]

The 3550 only came stock in the 95 Cobra R,most of us run T 45's or T 56's,so not many here have experience with the the 3550.It sounds like the syncros are on their way to failing.

Found this hope it helps you some.

http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/drivetrain/1311-tremec-3550-five-speed-transmission-rebuild/

 

[nathan67stang]

Bump

 

[thetvirus]

My t-45 does the same, rattles at high rpm in 3rd and at 3k-4k in 4th. Been doing this for 30k miles, shifts fine which is weird because lots of guys complain about grinding on the t-45 and this thing never grinds.

 

[nathan67stang]

My t-45 does the same, rattles at high rpm in 3rd and at 3k-4k in 4th. Been doing this for 30k miles, shifts fine which is weird because lots of guys complain about grinding on the t-45 and this thing never grinds.

Cool! Yep, exactly what mine does. Glad to hear that you haven't had any problems.

 

[Whit Clark]

i get a vibration above that rpm and no noise but it almost is related. mine is going out all over the gears except 3rd 4th 5th. 1st to 2nd is choppy and going from 2nd to third is choppy as well. 3rd to 4th above 3k will have slight vibration. i just figure its going out. no need to worry. itll blow up after a while. id just start looking for a t56 and go from there. no sense in rebuilding and doing all that stuff lol.

 

[frank5o]

More then likely its from the sold after market shifter, put the factory one on with the rubber and rattles will most likely be gone, in fact thats why the factory shifters have rubber between the handle.
I have had the weird noises and vibration with two different after market shifters on two different mustangs , both cases I immediately reinstalled the factory shifter

 

[nathan67stang]

i get a vibration above that rpm and no noise but it almost is related. mine is going out all over the gears except 3rd 4th 5th. 1st to 2nd is choppy and going from 2nd to third is choppy as well. 3rd to 4th above 3k will have slight vibration. i just figure its going out. no need to worry. itll blow up after a while. id just start looking for a t56 and go from there. no sense in rebuilding and doing all that stuff lol.

Well I don't have any issues shifting between gears so I'm hopeful that it's not a major problem. But yeah maybe one day I can afford a TKO or something lol.

 

[nathan67stang]

More then likely its from the sold after market shifter, put the factory one on with the rubber and rattles will most likely be gone, in fact thats why the factory shifters have rubber between the handle.
I have had the weird noises and vibration with two different after market shifters on two different mustangs , both cases I immediately reinstalled the factory shifter

With my tri-ax I have the stock rubber isolator between the bottom and top shifter arms. But it could be something within the shifter. I didn't take it off because I didn't want to break the seal. Although, if that were the case, I would think the noise would stop if I put pressure on the shifter.

 

[LoneWolfSN95]

I have a 3550 and it does the same thing. Rattles in 4th and 5th sometimes its fairly loud. I have had a stock shifter on it a Pro 5.0 and now a Steeda and its def not the shifter. Ive driven it really hard and its never falied after 8 years. Just annoying and shitty sounding in the car. I think Im going to open mine up and see if there is something lose on 4th and 5th. Ill reply again if I find the issue.

 

[nathan67stang]

I have a 3550 and it does the same thing. Rattles in 4th and 5th sometimes its fairly loud. I have had a stock shifter on it a Pro 5.0 and now a Steeda and its def not the shifter. Ive driven it really hard and its never falied after 8 years. Just annoying and shitty sounding in the car. I think Im going to open mine up and see if there is something lose on 4th and 5th. Ill reply again if I find the issue.

Yeah, I am going to open up mine soon. I'm pretty sure it's missing the bushing that the shifter handle goes into. I ordered a replacement bushing. I'll update if that's the case.