MT 5-Speed shifting horribly
 

I have this 07 V6 with 83K miles. I do not know the history of the car since I bought it used. Anyway, the MT is a big bummer. I expected smooth, easy shifting, at least not worse than my '92 F-150. I expected that Ford would gradually improve the reliability and perfomance of their products, not reverse to the PINTO days.
Right from the start I need to use force to get into 1st and 2nd gear. It only gets worse when the tranny gets hot. Feels like the shifting linkeage is the problem, because there is no grinding while shifting through the gears. In addition to above, I have the impression like there is a play/clank between the engine and transmission with clutch disengaged.
What can I do, short of complete rebuilding, to improve shifting? I read that some bolts can be removed to improve shifting. I would like to do it myself, since the stealership will charge thousands $ with uncertain results.

So you buy a 10-11 year old used car and even state that you don't know the history of it but blame ford for the terrible shifting...?

Perhaps the previous owners lack of care/maintenance is what led them to sell it off in the first place? Things started breaking. Did you not test drive it before you bought it?

If the car is from Arizona, I can guarantee the transmission fluid is toast. The brutal summers require more frequent fluid flushes. Start with replacing the fluid. Take note of how it looks coming out. If it's all black/burnt and looks like hell, that's part of the problem.

Heat also kills rubber bushings and on an 07, guaranteed linkage bushings under the shifter are probably cracked/toasted as well.

Inspect the clutch disc and plate too. Most likely has the original clutch in it.

What Der00 said. Also, removing bolts never improved anything. It just makes it fall apart faster.

There are hundreds of postings where the transmission failed with less than 2000k miles or during Warranty period. There was a TBS too. Yes, I blame Ford for it, but thanks for the suggestions.

"2000K" miles? Christ, that's 2 MILLION! Whaddaya got to complain about??

Here's guide for what to expect. They've been spot on for most if not all of it.
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-...-ford-mustang/

The synchros are really about it on the manual tranny but, look at the easy stuff I mentioned before you go tearing into the tranny. Chewed synchro gears will leave metal flakes that will make your fluid look very glittery.

I can attest personally to its accuracy with the Auto trans, I spun/shattered by input shaft and took out the TC and trans pump on a pretty stock vehicle (Tune and trans shift kit).

P.S. if you are so dis enamored with the tranny, and are aware of all this, why buy the car in the first place? You still didn't answer my question about the test drive.

Could not find any info on the V6 4.0L Mustang and T5 tranny there.
Why? Because from a 82k miles 2007 Mustang, I expected at least the same shifting experience than my 300k miles '92 F-150, NOT worse. No, I wasn't aware. Would that knowledge prevent me to buy the car? Probably not. What I asked in the first post is how to fix it.
Yes, I did a test drive, but didn't drive for 4-6 hrs, when the shiftng gets worse.

MT 5-Speed shifting horribly
 

hidesert07, I hope this helps explain your problem and maybe a solution.
2005-2010 4.0L Mustang T-5. This T-5 underwent many changes to fit into a S-197 body. The shifter was no longer attached to the tailshaft housing. It was mounted to the body and connected by rods. Many refer to this as a remote shifter. Another change came in the way the clutch was released. The clutch cable was replaced by an internal hydraulic bearing also known as a CSC. (Concentric Slave Cylinder). Also gone was the standard slip yoke. It was replaced by a counter balanced flange that the drive shaft bolts to. The gear ratio of this S-197 spec T-5 is 3.75:1 first with a .73 overdrive. While this is great in getting the 4.0L Mustang rolling down the road it doesn’t have a lot of strength or performance. Many owners of the 4.0L Mustang upgrade the clutch, only to find the T-5 with broken gears or wishing for a closer ratio gear set. The answer to this problem is to install a 2.95:1 first gear set with either a .73:1 or a .80:1 overdrive. This will allow the owner of a 4.0L Mustang to add twice the power without the fear of breaking the gears. Torque rating after the 2.95:1 gear set is installed is 350ft/lbs or about 450hp. This type of T-5 works very well in Shelby’s Terlingua Mustangs.

I had the same problem with mine, it started doing that at 120k. just buy a salvage yard trans for about 800 and have it put in problem solved! that's cheaper than a rebuild

Thank you guys for your input. For now, I'll change the fluid (Dexvon/Mercon) and install the linkeage (Perf Polyurethane) bushing kit. Hopefully this will fix the shifting isuue. Otherwise, I am happy with the car. It seems that I get the rated 28 mi/gal fuel economy.