Stock shifter (not clutch) problem

[sn8k]

OK - today I get in the car and it's like someone swapped out some POS shifter for my stock one. It's way notchy now, and feels like it's metal to metal contact on each shift (no where even close to being fairly smooth like it used to be). All shifts feel labored, like the syncros are having a hard time - but there's no grinding what-so-ever and although I'm not having any problems getting it into gear, it takes more finese to hit the shift.

Is there some kind of rubber isolator that could have come loose or did this shifter just finally give up the ghost after 2500 miles? I haven't taken the boot off yet to scope it out - but I probably will this weekend. Just asking if someone here knows what it possibly could be.

Oh yeah - I can already hear the dealer - "It's normal" :dw:

Thanks in advance! :-D

 

[2003 Cobra]

I also have the stock shifter and know exactly what you are talking about. In order to get a smooth shift it requires a precise technique. This transmission, shifter, and clutch combination is very unforgiving. I noticed that shifting from first to second requires me to keep my foot on the gas and only to lift up very little on the gas when the clutch pedal is down to get a clean shift. Going from second to third requires the same type of precision but that I push the shifter slower to allow more time for the transmission to slow down before I complete the shift. The shifting on this car is very sensative.

 

[Intense]

i know what you guys are saying. the first time i drove this car i felt like i didn't know what the hell i was doing. a little better now but still not good. i have had mustangs all my life and never had this much trouble adj. to a new car.

 

[randy]

it definately takes some getting used to...you aren't alone..i have heard that synthetic fluid makes a big diff...

 

[IDAREU]

'

 

[Zed]

This may sound totally stupid but check out your floor mat and make sure it is not hiked up behind your pedals. This actually happened to me right after I got my car washed at a local car wash this weekend. The bastards did not put my floor matin the right place and it was not being held by ehat little hook on the floor.

It took pretty much an act of god to put my car in first, second, or reverse gear. And I finally fixed the position of the mat and that fixed it.

 

[sn8k]

Oh - I hear what you guys are saying... when it came off the lot it was a big change from the 01. We had to get used to it, and to be honest - I liked it better then the 01 after awhile.

But today the shifter was far from what it used to be. Not even close to what it was when I picked it up at the dealer, or how it fealt last week, or yesterday for that matter. Something obviously came loose in there - it's not the same shifter at all.

Edit: No, the clutch is not a problem. That was the first thing I checked. Disengages & engages just fine without a problem at all. Floor mats are flat too. It's the shifter all right... and it's pretty perplexing that it did this all of a sudden. So much so that a trip to the dealer may very well be in order.

 

[Matt03]

I am having the same problem but I have the Pro 5.0. I think my problem may be the clutch or synchos.