C5 Corvette T56 Shifting issue
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 118
Likes: 2
C5 Corvette T56 Shifting issue
Hey guys, I have this issue with my C5 and was wondering what it could be or if anyone has had this happen to them before.
I have a '00 FRC with the t56 manual and only 51k miles on it. Last month while I was leaving work and just cruising back home, it was really hard to get out of third gear and It didn't let me go into any other gear. I could only use third and neutral so I drove it home in third gear. Even with the car turned off and regardless if the clutch is pressed or not, it will only let me go into third gear and I have to really force it into fourth but it'll go into fourth. I did discover last night however that once it's in fourth, it will let me go into 1st/2nd/5th/6th/reverse but it's still real hard to get into those gears. Once it goes back into third, it's once again extremely hard to get back into fourth and it also won't let me go side to side into first/5th etc. I would have to force it into 4th then it'll let me go into those gears. when the issue happened it didn't make any noise, it just happened. Has anyone ever had this issue before or have any idea what it could be? thank you
I have a '00 FRC with the t56 manual and only 51k miles on it. Last month while I was leaving work and just cruising back home, it was really hard to get out of third gear and It didn't let me go into any other gear. I could only use third and neutral so I drove it home in third gear. Even with the car turned off and regardless if the clutch is pressed or not, it will only let me go into third gear and I have to really force it into fourth but it'll go into fourth. I did discover last night however that once it's in fourth, it will let me go into 1st/2nd/5th/6th/reverse but it's still real hard to get into those gears. Once it goes back into third, it's once again extremely hard to get back into fourth and it also won't let me go side to side into first/5th etc. I would have to force it into 4th then it'll let me go into those gears. when the issue happened it didn't make any noise, it just happened. Has anyone ever had this issue before or have any idea what it could be? thank you
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 118
Likes: 2
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,647
Likes: 1,381
From: Orange County, CA
The 3rd/4th shift fork in the typical T56 is cast aluminum and is notoriously weak (though in reality this is a non-issue for the vast majority of T56 transmissions). The Viper's T56 got a steel 3/4 shift fork. Recently when I rebuilt my transmission I dropped in a steel one (it's plug-and-play).
I don't have much experience with the symptoms of a failed 3/4 shift fork, but it may be worth looking into.
I don't have much experience with the symptoms of a failed 3/4 shift fork, but it may be worth looking into.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,647
Likes: 1,381
From: Orange County, CA
Gotta say it... I CALLED IT. lol.
Last edited by MetalMan2; Sep 10, 2021 at 03:52 PM.