Please help narrow this down!! Issue!
03-25-2012, 12:16 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida / Texas
Posts: 33
Please help narrow this down!! Issue!
So I need help trying to figure this out before I walk into the service center tomorrow morning. This is what happened...
On my way to Florida from Texas, about 3hrs into the drive on the interstate, the cruise control suddenly shuts off and the car begins to slow down rapidly. I was doing about 77MPH on cruise control. Sometime between hitting the bridge [not literally] on a slight incline, it sounded/felt like something either fell from the engine or came loose, but I didn't physically see anything, and I didn't realize what happened until the next part.
Once the cruise control shut off I hit the gas to climb up the hill, but the engine revved, and continued to slow down. Then I put the clutch in to downshift and it wouldn't budge [the shifter, not the clutch - the clutch can be pushed all the way down, but you can't shift gears]. As I was pulling to the side of the road, it was clear to hear something in the engine rattling - though I'm not sure what. It sounded like it was something underneath me.
The car has NEVER had any issues before. As fate holds, my warranty just expired, though I have some 7yr owners protection plan that I paid under the car. The car will turn on just fine, but you absolutely cannot move the shifter at all. It's stuck in five gear. Now I have an immobile stang and I'm stuck in some hotel with no idea how these ford mechanics are. It's a small ford dealership with a service center and no stangs to be seen in the lot. Not a problem, though, right?
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Any guesses? I'm no mechanic so I'll just guess in say that it's the gearbox; that somehow the engine is failing to switch gears in the transmission. But why did the cruise control shut off? And how did the gear suddenly get stuck? I'm wondering if there was something in the road I didn't see and something is stuck in between the gears?
Also, there's been no problems with the clutch or the engine, or anything since I've had the car. Just a rear control arm leakage every now and then.
Help! I have 18 hrs to try and figure this out
On my way to Florida from Texas, about 3hrs into the drive on the interstate, the cruise control suddenly shuts off and the car begins to slow down rapidly. I was doing about 77MPH on cruise control. Sometime between hitting the bridge [not literally] on a slight incline, it sounded/felt like something either fell from the engine or came loose, but I didn't physically see anything, and I didn't realize what happened until the next part.
Once the cruise control shut off I hit the gas to climb up the hill, but the engine revved, and continued to slow down. Then I put the clutch in to downshift and it wouldn't budge [the shifter, not the clutch - the clutch can be pushed all the way down, but you can't shift gears]. As I was pulling to the side of the road, it was clear to hear something in the engine rattling - though I'm not sure what. It sounded like it was something underneath me.
The car has NEVER had any issues before. As fate holds, my warranty just expired, though I have some 7yr owners protection plan that I paid under the car. The car will turn on just fine, but you absolutely cannot move the shifter at all. It's stuck in five gear. Now I have an immobile stang and I'm stuck in some hotel with no idea how these ford mechanics are. It's a small ford dealership with a service center and no stangs to be seen in the lot. Not a problem, though, right?
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Any guesses? I'm no mechanic so I'll just guess in say that it's the gearbox; that somehow the engine is failing to switch gears in the transmission. But why did the cruise control shut off? And how did the gear suddenly get stuck? I'm wondering if there was something in the road I didn't see and something is stuck in between the gears?
Also, there's been no problems with the clutch or the engine, or anything since I've had the car. Just a rear control arm leakage every now and then.
Help! I have 18 hrs to try and figure this out
03-25-2012, 01:47 PM
#2
6th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Nicely done
Posts: 11,881
i agree it sounds transmission related. you don't have many options
being you are on the road, so i think the nearest dealership may be
the best place to get it diagnosed. good luck and i hope it all turns out
ok.
being you are on the road, so i think the nearest dealership may be
the best place to get it diagnosed. good luck and i hope it all turns out
ok.
04-02-2012, 05:02 PM
#6
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida / Texas
Posts: 33
Sorry, I should've posted something once the car went in, because now I don't remember the exact words the mechanic's told me except "it's a fluke".
The next morning when the shop opened I got in the car myself, started it up, and attempted to take it out of fifth gear. Still wouldn't budge. When I took my foot off the clutch just a little, a horrible grinding/screeching sound came from the car. I mean, it could make your ears bleed just hearing it.
So the mechanic comes out and I watch him as he tries to do everything I was doing. As I'm watching him from a distance, I see the car jerking forward and then rolling back, and you can hear him revving the engine really loudly, desperate to get it moving. A few more seconds and then suddenly you hear the horrible sound again, followed by him grinding the gears. He did this for about twenty or thirty seconds before he managed to pop it into first gear - no joke, he literally spun out of the parking space. Then the car jerked some more before he sped off behind the building - all you could hear was the car being revved.
So a couple of minutes later he comes back in and I ask him the verdict and he tells me that second and fourth gear are missing and that he won't know exactly until he pulls apart the transmission - he's sure though that it'll take a few days to repair, and I was on my way out of the state.
So that day later on they call me after pulling everything apart and tell me that there was a small piece in fifth gear that cracked and broke, and that's what kept it stuck in fifth gear, and because that piece broke it affected every gear below it. They told me that it's not a problem to fix, doesn't require a new transmission, and that things like this normally never happen.
The car only has 21,101 miles on it - every single multi-point inspection, oil change, everything has been met. I have never had to replace anything on the car except for the rear control arm [which had to be replaced twice]. The car is kept in near perfect condition [I just don't have a garage for it]. They told me that everything on the car checked out fine - it's just one of those things that tends to happen. The car is under warranty and they assured me that everything should be good once the parts come in.
So if this happens to anyone when you're just simply driving on the road, it's probably just "a fluke". Thanks for the input!
The next morning when the shop opened I got in the car myself, started it up, and attempted to take it out of fifth gear. Still wouldn't budge. When I took my foot off the clutch just a little, a horrible grinding/screeching sound came from the car. I mean, it could make your ears bleed just hearing it.
So the mechanic comes out and I watch him as he tries to do everything I was doing. As I'm watching him from a distance, I see the car jerking forward and then rolling back, and you can hear him revving the engine really loudly, desperate to get it moving. A few more seconds and then suddenly you hear the horrible sound again, followed by him grinding the gears. He did this for about twenty or thirty seconds before he managed to pop it into first gear - no joke, he literally spun out of the parking space. Then the car jerked some more before he sped off behind the building - all you could hear was the car being revved.
So a couple of minutes later he comes back in and I ask him the verdict and he tells me that second and fourth gear are missing and that he won't know exactly until he pulls apart the transmission - he's sure though that it'll take a few days to repair, and I was on my way out of the state.
So that day later on they call me after pulling everything apart and tell me that there was a small piece in fifth gear that cracked and broke, and that's what kept it stuck in fifth gear, and because that piece broke it affected every gear below it. They told me that it's not a problem to fix, doesn't require a new transmission, and that things like this normally never happen.
The car only has 21,101 miles on it - every single multi-point inspection, oil change, everything has been met. I have never had to replace anything on the car except for the rear control arm [which had to be replaced twice]. The car is kept in near perfect condition [I just don't have a garage for it]. They told me that everything on the car checked out fine - it's just one of those things that tends to happen. The car is under warranty and they assured me that everything should be good once the parts come in.
So if this happens to anyone when you're just simply driving on the road, it's probably just "a fluke". Thanks for the input!
)
04-02-2012, 09:05 PM
#9
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: ga
Posts: 478
something similar happened to me, it got stuck in reverse and wouldnt come out, although i could move the shifter anywhere i wanted, it just stayed in reverse. it was the thrid time i had it in the shop for my transmission, thank god it was still under warrenty, the first time it was my syncros, they replaced them and the secound time, it was back in for the same syncros going out in under 500 miles again. this time i told them i wanted a new trans not for them to rebuild it, when they toook it apart, the syncros and the shift rails were bad, so they installed a brand new tranny. this one had a differant part number and it drives like a new car. another problem i had with them is they took the battery off and reset my tune. so they had to reflash my comp back to stock and then i was able to add my own tune back in. even though they could rebuild a tranny to save there life, they did eventually make it right and put a new one in. it sounds to me like almost the same problem. check and see if there is a recall on the transmision. i was told by THIS dealership that my transmision is knowen to have problems, and this is why they cant even order the same transmission
04-09-2012, 01:13 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida / Texas
Posts: 33
the car is in a ford shop right now under the warrenty - the thing with this was that the shifter can't move at all. you can engage the clutch but that's it, and it didn't make much of a difference.
so now to add to things, they said that everything was fixed and put back together, but now there's an issue with my clutch. i think that they broke the clutch or something honestly because when they forced it into first gear they kept grinding the gears. they told me that it was an issue every time you let the car sit over night and then trying to get it started and moving the next day. don't know exactly what the probably is but they're ordering some cap thing for the clutch and now i'm just waiting to hear the word.
so now to add to things, they said that everything was fixed and put back together, but now there's an issue with my clutch. i think that they broke the clutch or something honestly because when they forced it into first gear they kept grinding the gears. they told me that it was an issue every time you let the car sit over night and then trying to get it started and moving the next day. don't know exactly what the probably is but they're ordering some cap thing for the clutch and now i'm just waiting to hear the word.
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