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Transmission Problem -- No 3rd Gear

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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 04:54 AM
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Default Transmission Problem -- No 3rd Gear

I think I know the answer to this, but I wonder what every thinks. Third gear has been acting up for a while now. It has started vibrating bad when I shift into the third (MN6). Now, tonight, when I put it in 3rd, there is no gear there. It is just like it is still in neutral. I believe I must have broke something in the transmission. It shifts fully into gear, but it is like there is simply no gear there.

I'm guessing the transmission now needs some major work, but I'm hopin there is an easier solution. I have a Hurst shifter, and I know there have been similar problems, but it usually effects 3 gears at once. Does anyone have any ideas on this one? Thanks.
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 04:26 PM
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Any thoughts?
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 05:08 PM
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3rd gear went out on my transmission and the dealer said that is the most common gear to go out. On mine 3rd was destroyed and 4th was pretty bad too.

If you have to replace it heres an idea of cost. I paid 2650 for a brand new GM tranny, with the 3 year/100k mile warrenty from Phelps Chevy in Greenville, NC the service managers name is Justin and he went above and beyond to take care of us including extremly fast shipping of a new unit
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by newgene
Any thoughts?
I strap them onto a pallet and call www.rpmtransmissions.com

give Todd a call Tuesday, I'm sure they have the answer
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted by B-rent
3rd gear went out on my transmission and the dealer said that is the most common gear to go out. On mine 3rd was destroyed and 4th was pretty bad too.

If you have to replace it heres an idea of cost. I paid 2650 for a brand new GM tranny, with the 3 year/100k mile warrenty from Phelps Chevy in Greenville, NC the service managers name is Justin and he went above and beyond to take care of us including extremly fast shipping of a new unit
When you're saying the gear went out, did it do the same thing mine did? Sometimes it can be where the shifter will not go in that gear. On mine, it will go into gear, but there is nothing there. I'm sure that's what you meant, but I'm just checking.
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve@CTCorvette
I strap them onto a pallet and call www.rpmtransmissions.com

give Todd a call Tuesday, I'm sure they have the answer
That was on my list of first things to do tomorrow.
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Old Jan 1, 2007 | 06:31 PM
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Opps sorry I just noticed you said you had the MN6, those were problems with my A4


But like Steve said I have heard a ton of good things about RPM
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 08:45 AM
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I lost second and then fourth and sixth at the same time... and the car had always disliked going into second since I'd bought it. I thought about it a while and decided to pull the console off... sure enough, it turned out it was only the shift linkage was out way of adjustment; the 'bowl' where the shifter mechanism is contained was actually LOOSE. I adjusted everything properly and torqued it back down and all is well. I'd say it's worth looking into.
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by nitrojunky
I lost second and then fourth and sixth at the same time... and the car had always disliked going into second since I'd bought it. I thought about it a while and decided to pull the console off... sure enough, it turned out it was only the shift linkage was out way of adjustment; the 'bowl' where the shifter mechanism is contained was actually LOOSE. I adjusted everything properly and torqued it back down and all is well. I'd say it's worth looking into.
Yeah, that's pretty much what I've heard is actually good news and pretty much what I was talking about in my original post. Since I don't have all 3 odd or even gears out, I'm guessing I have a serious issue. I'm thinking I may be taking it apart here shortly.
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 10:03 AM
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I just spoke with Todd, and I feel really good about swapping out the transmission. I also asked him if he or Rodney thought it was possible that the Hurst shifter may have had something fall off or misalign, but they really don't think so. I plan to pull the console and look into the area, but I'm not sure if anything will jump out at me. I guess I will just see if everything is moving correctly from above.

As far as getting the remanufactured transmission, I would actually look forward to it. I asked if I could swap the MN6 for an MN12, and they said that would be possible, too. Since I have the 3.42 rear end, I could basically increase the ratio to an effective 3.82. I guess there is a bright side.
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 01:03 PM
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M6 has a better ratio spread, I would stick with it, honestly. If you want a higher ratio, get a higher ratio rear

Dope
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 04:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Dope
M6 has a better ratio spread, I would stick with it, honestly. If you want a higher ratio, get a higher ratio rear

Dope
I am looking at the ratios now, and I may have to agree with you. They are (M6/M12):

1 -- 2.66/2.97
2 -- 1.78/2.07
3 -- 1.30/1.43
4 -- 1.0/1.0
5 -- 0.74/0.84
6 -- 0.50/0.56

I wonder why 4th is so inconsistant with the rest of the gearset? It should have been around 1.11, but they used a gear that yields 1.0. That's pretty crazy. With that said, I guess it doesn't make sense to change them. I'm still holding onto hope that I can figure out something is wrong with it that I can fix. I just doubt it. It just baffles me that I could have a problem with just third gear when I didn't hear or feel a failure, and it went out instantly.
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 04:50 PM
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I could never figure out why they didn't change 4th too. 3rd to 4th is such a big jump compared to an M6

I find it interesting that you've lost 3rd totally too. Keep us updated. I had an issue with my 3rd gear synchros which kept me from shifting quickly. It would just grind and/or pop out. But I could still put it in slowly and have it work. Having a dead space is interesting, I wonder if it's actually trying to shift at all or if you're hitting some kind of dead spot.

Regardless, unless you've got the tools and the know-how, it's gonna have to be rebuilt, so you might as well start saving the $$

I think Rodney from RPM charges ~1250 for their standard HD buildup. That's what I have now

Dope
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Dope
I could never figure out why they didn't change 4th too. 3rd to 4th is such a big jump compared to an M6

I find it interesting that you've lost 3rd totally too. Keep us updated. I had an issue with my 3rd gear synchros which kept me from shifting quickly. It would just grind and/or pop out. But I could still put it in slowly and have it work. Having a dead space is interesting, I wonder if it's actually trying to shift at all or if you're hitting some kind of dead spot.

Regardless, unless you've got the tools and the know-how, it's gonna have to be rebuilt, so you might as well start saving the $$

I think Rodney from RPM charges ~1250 for their standard HD buildup. That's what I have now

Dope
Dope, that sounds like an awesome price from RPM. I spoke with Todd, who was talking to Rodney, and the price was not really even close to that. On their website, they have the standard setup at $1495, but I would want to add least $150 for the bronze fork pads, so I would be starting at a minimum of $1650 plus shipping, if the website price holds. I still think they have a great price, though.

As for what's going on with the shifting, it seems to have most people baffled as well. One easy fix is just to jerk it out and ship it off to have it rebuilt. From there, it is a possibility to find out what it was, but I may never know. I've spoken few different people on this, and it's just baffling. I'd love to at least find one person who has had this problem before. Thanks
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 05:49 PM
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Well, one thing I failed to note was that I bought this tranny ~3 years ago, so maybe the price has gone up Or maybe Rodney gave me the CF discount or something :P

Dope
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Dope
Well, one thing I failed to note was that I bought this tranny ~3 years ago, so maybe the price has gone up Or maybe Rodney gave me the CF discount or something :P

Dope
Dope your price was indeed the pre-employee price. I was in a parternership for 9 years and left the general transmission repair business in search of the high performance market. When I built your unit I was in a transition period when I didn't have employees and a TON of overhead. I could not keep up with the demand myself and now three years later we have 6 employees and a 6k sq ft facility and well you can guess the rest..... the website price is correct and as bad as I hate to say it we did have a slight price increase today (after 2 years) This increase was only to cover the increase in price from our parts suppliers over the last year. We are going through growing pains.
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 06:50 PM
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Gotcha. Better to be growing than shrinking eh? Sorry for posting a misinformed price

Dope
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Old Jan 2, 2007 | 11:58 PM
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Like I said, I still think it is a great price. I can't complain with any of the pricing I discussed with Todd. I'm thinking I may pass on the M12, but I would still feel like I had an upgrade from the stock tranny.

However, I'm still holding out a slim glimmer of hope that I won't have to have the tranny rebuilt.
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Old Jan 3, 2007 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by rodney@rpmtransmissions
Dope your price was indeed the pre-employee price. I was in a parternership for 9 years and left the general transmission repair business in search of the high performance market. When I built your unit I was in a transition period when I didn't have employees and a TON of overhead. I could not keep up with the demand myself and now three years later we have 6 employees and a 6k sq ft facility and well you can guess the rest..... the website price is correct and as bad as I hate to say it we did have a slight price increase today (after 2 years) This increase was only to cover the increase in price from our parts suppliers over the last year. We are going through growing pains.
and well worth the price and the trip
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