Quick Transmission Question
 

My car is at the dealership suppose to be getting its transmission fixed. It has a really bad problem with going into 3rd and 5th. Anyway they are trying to says its my clutch. Could my clutch be doing this? Everyone that has driven my car has had an issue with those two gears, but has no problem with other gears. Advice please.

Possibly sounds like bad synchro(s) to me but I'm no expert

That's what I kept being told. I'm sure that my clutch could stand to be replaced, but I'm almost positive that something else is wrong with the transmission. For 5th gear if you hold in the clutch for a few seconds between 4th and 5th it won't grind, but if you don't it will grind almost every time. I have never dealt with this kind of stuff, so I'm not sure how to make the dealer check it again.

Yeah if I had to put my money on something it would be a bad 3rd & 5th gear synchro. Don't clutches slip when they start to go bad? Doesn't sound like that to me

Don't you have a warranty through the dealer? Otherwise I'd stay far far away

I have 2 warranties, one from when the previous owner bought the car through Ford. That one runs out at the end of June, so that's why I took it in now. Then when I bought the car I bought a warranty through 98k miles.

I know this is a stupid question, but what exactly does it mean when the clutch "slips"?
When I push the clutch sometimes it reeves a little bit, but I don't know. It just pisses me off that they don't know more about Ford cars. Many V6 Mustang owners have had issues with the T5 and I think the dealer should know about that and not try to pawn it off on the clutch (something that isn't covered by the warranty.)

The clutch is not that different in principle from your brakes. It will wear out and after that it will not hold. Clutch friction material works just like stuff on brake pads... When its worn, it will slip, meaning that it will not transfer the power from the engine to the transmission - e. g. when you press gas the engine will rev up but the clutch will slip, so the power will not go to the transmission and wheels, but instead will heat up and burn the friction disk inside the clutch, and you will smell it too:-) However, it will not affect how your transmission shifts. But there is another clutch malfunction that WILL affect the way transmission shifts. If the clutch is not adjusted properly ( not worn ) or have some air in the lines between the pedal and the mechanism it will not disengage, kind of luck a stuck parking brake. When this happens, your transmission will be in trouble. Transmission can only shift smoothly when its disconnected from the engine, and thats the purpose of the clutch. When the clutch keeps engaged the synchros will not be able to provide smooth shifts... Don't have time to elaborate on this but you can read on-line on Wikipedia how all of this works...

Tanner like I told you before I believe its the synchros since 3rd and 5th are on the same shaft!

My $.02

If double-clutching before engaging third or fifth gives you smooth action, go with Redfire's recommendation....synchros

Thank you guys, I just needed to know some basics before I talked to the people at the dealership. I think they are going to look at it again. It kind of pissed me off because they were talking to me about where my clutch releases and how if I don't have it all the way to the floor the gears will grind... no **** sherlock. So I gave them a little chewing out so hopefully they will fix it.

And thanks Eddie, your point about 3rd and 5th really helped.

Great hopefully they get it fixed under warranty, I think they are too lazy to pull the transmission from what you told me on FB and inspect it. But synchros are a PITA to replace, I believe a synchro kit only runs about $100-$200. But also I will have my T5 swapped out June 2nd so maybe we can work something out. The slipping clutch saves this tranny from harm lol.