5.0L General Discussion This section is for non-tech specific information pertaining to 5.0L Mustangs.

cant down shift

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Old Dec 23, 2011 | 06:39 PM
  #11  
Five0hFox's Avatar
Five0hFox
3rd Gear Member
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 766
From: Kansas
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It's obvious you have an adjustment issue and/or a worn clutch l now. Have you taken care of the cable/adjustment yet?
Old Dec 23, 2011 | 09:59 PM
  #12  
Project 5.GO!'s Avatar
Project 5.GO!
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 478
From: Florida
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That sounds like you have the clutch cable too tight. If it's adjusted too tightly, the clutch never disengages fully when you let off the pedal, so as you give it power, the clutch slips.

Like Bob said, it shoult start to engage 1 1/2 inches off the floor. So, with the car in first and the clutch pressed to the floor, slowly let the pedal up, and when you feel the clutch starting to grab, the pedal should be no more than 1 1/2 inches off the floor. If it's more than that, the clutch never fully grips the flywheel, and will produce the problem you describe.

As far as the downshifting is concerned, if you are driving in 4th gear at 55 (~200 RPM), and you try to just downshift into second (~3800 RPM), it will be difficult. It will take a couple of seconds for it to go in, and it will wear your syncros as they work to match the RPMs for you. What I do is this:

From 4th gear,
1- Press in clutch
2- Shift to neutral
3- release clutch briefly
4- Blip gas to raise RPM of the motor to a little above where it would normally be in second gear
5- Press in clutch
6- Shift to second
7- Release clutch
8- Burn that Honda, like a boss.

When you rev the engine in step 4, keep in mind you need to get the tranny into second gear while the RPMs are still high, or it won't work right, so complete steps 5 and 6 quickly. If you do it right, you will feel the gear slide in with no trouble at all. Practice this when you are downshifting in your normal driving, and pretty soon you will be able to nail it without thinking about it. Match the revs in step 4 for the gear you are shifting into. Done right, it can help reduce the wear on your synchros when you need to downshift. It is possible on most setups to eliminate steps 3 and 5, but I don't. Resist the temptation to use this as a braking method, that's what your brakes are for, and they cost less to replace than anything involving the clutch and tranny.


For further reading:
http://www.drivingfast.net/car-contr...#axzz1hOK3xnY5
And:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UePQ7...eature=related
This kid is really proud of his Subaru. "I mean, my exhaust, it's just so loud, so, so its easy to tell." @4:00. LOL! I can't rag on him too much though, because he's doing it pretty well, for a kid.
Old Dec 24, 2011 | 09:39 AM
  #13  
nitrous_bob's Avatar
nitrous_bob
6th Gear Member
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,028
From: st clair shores MI
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one common problem is putting the throwout bearing in backwards.

is the clutch engaging/disengaging like it i said ? 1-1 1/2 inches off the floor ?

if yes, i would consider pulling the trans and checking the disc,flywheel and bearing.

use a steel bearing retainer while its out if you dont have one, did you resurface the flywheel while it was out ? did you get it greasy/oily while it was out...cuz you'll glaze it and never hook good

there are a lot of possibilities, but the only real fact is that its slipping for some reason. and you knw better than we do why. start to narrow it down, and if it's all good, its gonna be that the disc is bad, the flywheel is glazed, or the TO bearing is in backwards

i really cant think of anything else.

you dont still have the plastic quad in it do you ???
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