JEHunter

Not sure if this goes in Tech. My 99 FRC has a short shifter, not sure of brand (1-2 owners back installed it). All gears are smooth, easy to find and easy to engage. All but SECOND GEAR. My second gear feels like it has a notchy two position pull until its all the way in gear. In another words, if you 'soft' pull in into second you quickly find that you've hit that gap and you grind. You don't have to 'slam it' in second but you have to make a quick and very solid/firm pull. I'm going to flush and fill the tranny this weekend to see if that helps. I guess my big questions is do you think its the short shifter or maybe a fork or linkage in the tranny causing the issue? Thanks John

Pounder

usually if it's the shifter I find that if second is not right nor will be 4th and 6th ?????? (wore syncro)

~Josh

I agree with syncro hub wearing. Might need a new 2nd gear too. Won’t know til it’s apart and you look at the dog teeth on the gear.

Tokuzumi

I concur. This sounds transmission related, rather than shifter related. If you had a spare shifter lying around, you could always swap it out and see if there is any difference in shifting.

JEHunter

After searching around on the site, I found a lot of talk about getting your shifter box 'aligned' correctly. A couple of millimeters of play in the box can make a big difference in how smooth the gear selection is. So in my case, I may be able to move the box forward and fix my second gear issue but it may cause 1st to become the problem. Sounds like some trial and error alignment is needed. Sounds easy to do and it's no cost to do so I'll tackle that along with the fluid change first... John

~Josh

Let us know how that works out. :

'Shifter

http://corvettemechanic.com/board/in...ST&f=3&t=3496&

lane_viper

2nd gear grinding is what prompted my Transmission refresh. The syncro for 2nd was completely shot. The gear looked great. I ended up replacing all syncros and bearings in mine.

Wasn't too bad, and was good practice for when 5th and 6th went out on the Viper and it needed a rebuild. Was 6th gear thrust washer in that case.

turabo87

My 99 FRC's 2nd gear is tricky too and I've experienced same exact symptoms since I had my car. In the beginning of my ownership I would sometimes grind 2nd because of this "false" engagement, until I got to know the transmission and shifter and I knew when it was truly in 2nd all the way. I got around this and it never became a big issue for me as I got used to it, and the transmission always has performed well for me even on the dragstrip and with quick, high RPM shifts I've always got into 2nd, so for me it didn't warrant a transmission refresh (at least yet, knock on wood). I however did my transmission fluid flush 2 weeks ago for the first time and since then, I notice a big improvement on all gear engagements including 2nd gear too. Smoother shifts, less notchy, and I don't recall having encountered this "false engagement" recently since I did my trans fluid change. Should've done this flush a year ago. I highly recommend to do a transmission fluid flush and report back after that.

PS: I have a C5 shifter, but I "customized it" with a machine shop, basically shortening it to my liking and I changed the shifter ****. I also have my shifter box bushings refreshed with polyurethane ones.

frc319

What fluid do you use?

turabo87

RP Synchromax. No issues. Still love it. At 100k miles currently. The refresh was totally worth it, regardless the fluid you end up choosing.

Vetteman Jack

Moved over to C5 Tech.