Well I have been reading around here with people going to the track, or just driving their manual car hard on the street and the problems with getting into 3rd gear. I also have that "problem" if indeed it is a problem arising with the transmission. I have figured out that I can rev up to around 5-5500 rpm 1-2 shift and can do it fairly fast (not powershifting) but if I go that high and as fast on the 2-3, it is like I hit a wall with the shifter and it will not slide into gear. After a total of maybe 10 runs and playing with it, I have realized that it will get into 3rd, but I need to be more deliberate and a lot slower on the 2-3 shift...maybe 5k rpm max.

I'm debating on whether it is that I am trying to shift too fast and by the time I am trying to get into 3rd from neutral spot, my foot is already up releasing the clutch. In which case the slower, more deliberate shifts does the deed.

As far as time, I would be in second, clutch down and wait roughly 2 seconds shift into 3rd then off the clutch on the gas.


I guess I'm leaving this open to opinions/experiances. Maybe I do have something going on with my trans and my 2-3 should be able to go quick and easy...

 

i have found out that when i try to go from 2nd to 3rd really fast i push the shifter to the side slightly so it doesnt go in,u could be doing the same thing

 

You need a shifter...i have a tri-ax(the loosest of all the aftermarket shifters) and i can powershift my car 2-4th and my tranny has seen much much much better days. So if you dont already have an aftermarket shifter, you need to get one...ASAP!!!

 

TJ....I gots one of dem MGW's thingy's

mustang51js....all I do is push forward. I don't even fully wrap my fingers around the shifter. I put my hand like you would to show someone to "stop" and just puch the shifter forward and let the centering springs do ther thing.

 

I am just now able to nail the 2-3 shift, at the track this weekend for the first time I was shifting at 5,800 and chirping the tires into 3rd. I agree with what you said in that you may be releasing the clutch too soon, as the 2-3 shift is relatively slower than 1-2, and 3-4. I have botched the 2-3 so many times on the street it is ridiculous, but was able to pull it off on both runs I made on Friday night.


Knock on wood for next weekend....

 

gotcha smitty. i need to get me one of dem MGW thingys too. Felt one on a t3650 for the first time over the weekend in tdcalhoun's car and I LOVE EET!!! i want one. but yea, you might want to look into a clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster and those alone might help you adjust the clutch to where you want it to engage and disengage so you can hit it quick and not have to worry about it as much. but i know i can no-lift shift it into 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with no problem. idk why but you should be able to do it, its probably all in the foot timing and the adjuster and quadrant will help with that. I will suggest either Fiore or MM for both.

 

ive had the same problem, and if you check one of the threads i started about it, i got some good advice there, but the problem still exists. for starters, you need to swap out the tranny oil with 3.2 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF Synthetic. if that doesn't fix your problem, you need to get the rebuild kit, which is outlined in some TSB. since i switched to the 3.2 qts of mobil 1, the problem is not as bad nor as consistent as it was before, but its still there, and the only solution is the rebuild kit... or a t56

 

The 2-3 shift requires a lot more force to go into gear when revving up high and especially when power shifting. It can be done. The first time I took the car to the track I had a problem with the 2-3 also until I realized that I was just not giving it enough force.

I was holding the shifter like I would normally drive and my hand would almost come off the shifter ball when trying to get it into 3rd.

Practice on the street, you don't even need to rev very high to get a good idea of what you need to do at the track. Next time you drive the car, just practice shifting as fast as possible during normal driving. You will find the 2-3 shift requires more force when shifted quickly. I also do basically what smitty does. Just push the shifter forward with the heel/palm of my hand and push forward with a very slight angle to the right. A good shifter such as the pro5.0, MGW, or Steeda Triax will do a good job of centering the shifter and helping you into the next gear.

 

Wrong, you wanna run i think its called synchromesh or something like that. its the tranny fluid that GM uses and thats what helps a lot of cobra owners shifting (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12345349). second item is also kinda wrong. The T56 doesnt shift as smooth as most 5 speeds out there. Its a nice upgrade but the shifting isnt improved.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling this problem. I feel i give it enough "umph" to get into 3rd....or maybe I'm not giving enough. Like I said, I can get it to go, but I can hear some of the other cars at the track (modern camarosstangs etc) and can hear the 2-3 and sounds faster than mine.

Ive already done the tranny fluid change. So if I can't get a hang of it I'll look into the firewall adjuster/quadrant TJ...thanks for the input.

tbird...sometimes I will try to rev it that high in 2nd getting on the highway to try and re-create the track and it seems I never have a problem. Then again maybe I think I'm reving as high as the track but in reality I don't since I then look for cars so I can get on...I have gotten better.

First outing at the track, 5 runs...best of 15.2 at 98mph stock tune
Second outing, 6 runs...best of 14.4 at 99 mph "dia-BLOW" 93 canned tune (came with the car)

stock gears, lowered 1.25", catless x, magnaflow CB, 75mm TB/Plenum, staggered 17 FR500 10.5 Summitomo's out back, MGW