It seems lately that when ever i try to shift into 5th gear, it goes into reverse. I always get it into reverse but get it out before letting go of the clutch. Is there something i can do to fix this. Usually 2nd or 3rd try get it into 5th instead of reverse and 6th gear sometimes do not get there....

 

somethings not right, there is a reverse lockout that shouldnt allow you to go into reverse like that...ill let others with a lot more experience than me chime in but i would say you have a bad reverse lockout module/switch...

jack

 

HUH ???? You say "I always get it into reverse but get it out before letting go of the clutch" ......

If the car is moving forward fast enough to be in 3rd gear, you aren't getting the car in REVERSE. If you were actually trying to engage REVERSE, the gearbox lets out one ungodly scream of gears grinding against each other. It is well nigh physically impossible to get a car moving forward to engage the REVERSE gear.

I don't know what gear you are selecting, but try a couple of things ....

1) hold the gearshift lever GENTLY, and move it SLOWLY into the gear selection of your choice. Manhandling the gearshift like a gorilla and slamming it around means you'll make bad selections, and ultimately you can damage shift forks in the gearbox, requiring a tranny rebuild/replacement.

2) Spend some time in your garage or driveway practicing shift "technique" ... this should be done with the engine OFF

1 to 2 shift - your hand should hold the gearshift with a "pistol" grip, that is, the palm of your hand on the right side of the ****.

2 to 3 shift - the palm of your hand should be on top of the ****. Your arm will have a natural "angle" that will tend to move the lever in the correct position

3 to 4 shift - hand in the same position, but arm away from your body (slightly) drawing the lever straight toward the rear of the car.

4 to 5 shift - your palm should now be further to the left side of the ****, putting a natural pressure on the leveer to move it to the right

5 to 6 shift - like the 3 to 4, but with your palm still on the left side of the ****, move your arm out from your body and deliberately pull the lever toward the rear of the car. Your palm on the left side of the top of the **** will keep it from moving back into the 3-4 gate area.

 

Will the OP get college credit for taking "Shifting 101" ?

 

Nah ... this was the "Shifting for Dummies" course ... at the end of my 101 course you can shift with your teeth !!!!

 

Could not have said it better myself , this technique was taught to me when I had a BMW M3 (E36), as these cars were very prone to 'money shifting', and shifting this way almost makes it fool proof to avoid a $5000 mis-shift!

 

no no no, i can drive and shift. Being driving stick for over 17yrs... Anyway the problem is when shifting into 5th gear, it sometimes goes into reverse. I have never let go of the clutch once i notice it goes into reverse because i don't want it to grind.

 

What do you mean by "sometimes goes into reverse" ??

As mentioned above the transmission IS NOT GOING INTO REVERSE GEAR period. It may feel like the shifter is going into the reverse location.

 

while attempting to shift into 5th, it goes INTO reverse. If i let go of the clutch only God knows what will happen and i am not willing to try and see. Trust me when i say it goes into the reverse slot.

 

You may have been driving a stick for 17 years ... but you clearly don't understand how a gearbox works .....

You CANNOT get the gearbox into REVERSE when the car is moving forward. If you try .... you will hear the gears grinding BEFORE you "let go" of the clutch as you TRY to get it into REVERSE ..... if, by some strange miracle you did get it into reverse, when you release the clutch pedal, you won't hear a grinding sound .... you will hear a VERY LARGE BANG as the drivetrain rips itself to pieces.

If you want to hear what it will sound like when you are really trying to select REVERSE while moving forward ...... pull fuse 19 from the Underhood fuse block. Drive car at .... oh ... say ... 5 to 10 MPH forward, and now try and select reverse .... I dare ya ....

I suspect you may have a sloppy gear shift that is causing you to think you have selected the "wrong" gear. You might see if there is someone in your area that also has a C5 with a manual tranny and compare the feel of their shifter to yours.

It sounds like you have a problem with the shifter or tranny, but the problem is not that you are selecting reverse .... again, it makes one HELL of a noise if you even try to get it into reverse with the car moving forward.

 

I hit reverse by accident 2 times while attempting to shift from 6th to 5th... yea that noise sucks. You will know if you hit reverse while moving thats for sure. Clutch in, planets aligned with the moon and right after you ran over 13 black cats.... the noise WILL happen if your moving forward any faster then 5 mph

If your not hearing that noise and the shifter is IN what you think is reverse.. I bet 1/2 the farm its really in 5th

 

I propose an experiment. Next time you are shifting, and think you shifted in reverse instead of 5th...allow the car to coast to a stop with the clutch in, and then let it out in the gear you think is reverse. Let us know what happens.

 

Excellent idea!

Something is going on, you could try to alligne your shifter or it's possible your reverse lock-out solenoid has bit it if it really is slipping into the reverse "gate".

 

I'm with everyone else.. NO FREAKIN' WAY it's going into reverse while you are driving forward at any speed over 2 miles per hour. Regardless if your lock-out switch was working or not, it would GRIND LIKE CRAZY AND YOU WOULD KNOW IT INSTANTLY!!

I like the idea of the above poster and coasting to a stop, then see what gear it's in.

I too agree that you shifter has come loose from the mount and needs to be retighted so that you get rid of this issue. Too much slop and or loose bolts is making it feel funky and giving you false sens eof what gear you're in... Maybe you broke your plastic ball, etc? Take it apart and check it out... Get back to us!!

 

Ive grind it a couple times going from 4th to 5th and rubbed against reverse, but it never felt like it would go into reverse. When I whiched to the 07Z06 shifter, I do it alot less. It's more technique related than transmission related

 

Good idea and i will give it a try and report back.

 

Hmmm, is there any how do DIY for this... I don't mind taking it apart and looking to see if anything is loose. I will hate to have anyone drive my car at this time.....

 

Here's a write-up for installing a Hurst shifter ....

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/pat...rInstall.shtml

It shows you how to get the console/dash apart to remove the shifter. When you remove the shifter, check the plastic "bushing" at the bottom of the shifter. In particular, check the shifter in its base, it should feel as if it is rotating around a fixed point inside the base. If it feels sloppy in its base, that's probably your problem. If it is the OEM shifter, you could consider putting in a "short-throw" shifter such as the Hurst or B&M. Look inside the console and make sure there is no debris or obvious problems with the shaft that transmits your shifter position back to the tranny.

Let us know what you find.

 

Thanks. I printed out those instructions and will give this a go first thing tomorrow. BTW, what is the best shifter out there. I know you mentioned short-throw. What about the breathless/hurst ???
BTW, i also have Cags installed about 2yrs ago and was thinking about removing it to see if that helps.

 

CAGS defeat won't make any difference to the mechanical shifting of the gearbox. The defeat you installed is simply a resistor so that the PCM "thinks" the 1 to 4 solenoid engaged, when it didn't. Turning the CAGS back on will simply mean that on occasion you will be forced by the solenoid to do a 1 to 4 upshift, which isn't gonna help or change your problem.

I personally like the Hurst short throw, but shifter's are like beer ... everyone has an opinion on which is "best". The upside to the short throws is that they give you a more "precise" feeling to the shift, but they also increase effort as you have less "leverage" with the shorter throw. Some people don't like the added effort, others don't mind it.

As I posted before, your "technique" in using the shifter (assuming there isn't something mechanically wrong with yours) can make a BIG difference. Try what I posted before ... go SLOW and GENTLE (you might be surprised to discover that you'll often end up with a faster shift ... ) and try the hand positions I listed, I suspect you'll be surprised at what a difference hand position can make for selecting the gear you want.