2002 Z06

With only 4,000 miles on my '02 Z06 I am experiencing a "grinding" noise when upshifting or downshifting into 3rd gear. Similar as if you are trying to place the shifter into any gear without engaging the clutch. It only happens trying to get into 3rd gear. I am certainly not a rookie with manual tranny's.
It won't happen if I SLOWLY engage the clutch all the way, shift into 3rd then disengage the clutch. Any aggressive driving with fast shifts it happens. And I have been drag racing for 10+ years so I don't think it is my technique.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Chris


[Modified by 2002 Z06, 4:31 PM 8/7/2003]

TRR

You're not going to like my suggestion, but take it back to the Dealer. He might or might not be able to help you. It sounds like something is wrong for sure.

TRR

David Lundy

YOU PROBABLY HAVE A SYNCRONIZER GOING BAD. IT IS COMMON IN THOSE TRANNYS IN THIRD AND FIFTH GEARS!!!

CAPN17

The shift forks on thse things are serious junk and bend/break with a little hard use. There are upgraded replacments available, do a search, have them installed. It is a trip to the dealer for waranty work for you, too expensive otherwose.

dubya

I tried to do a search Capn,

What would the topic be? Can these syncronizers be replaced without pulling the tranny?

Thanks

ezdallas

I can't downshift from 5th or 6th into 3rd anymore because my syncros are bad. I have to shift into 4th and then into 3rd now. Those syncros line up easier. I am going to wait until the tranny is FUBAR before I bring it in and get it rebuilt under warranty.

Slvrz06

With about 9500 miles on my 01 my 3rd gear syncros gave out. I took it to the dealer. They replaced the syncros, cones, gear and forks. The trans shifts fine although I have not yet banged any gears. This is a common problem and GM knows it. No hassle they just repaired it. So far so good.

JS

C54CSTER

My '01 tranny grinds like crazy when i try to shift hard and fast from 3rd to 4th. It's even locked up the rear tires completely on two occasions -- not fun at 100-plus mph! I took it to the dealer and they said they couldn't duplicate the problem.

Question: How did you guys who got your trannys repaired get the dealer to do it? Did they have to road test your car first? Were yours so bad that they exhibited the problem even under light acceleration?

BlazeSkywalker7

mine grinds sometimes in 3rd gear under hard acceleration, unless I really throw it into gear. I guess my synchro is going???
yours does it every time???

C54CSTER

It only grinds under when shifting from 3rd gear to fourth gear under full throttle acceleration. I think it will do it every time under those circumstances.

C54CSTER

BTW, my '01 has only 6500 miles and i am the original owner.

QUIKSLVR02

Same problem here. It only grinds when shifting from 2nd to 3rd at 5k or higher rpms. Haven't had any problems downshifting though. It goes into the dealer tomorrow. I'll see what they have to say. I suspect it's a syncro.

Slvrz06

From what I understand GM knows about the problem. When I talked to the service manager they knew what to do. They even had a guy that had done several of the repairs. After 9500 miles I couldn't go into 3rd without feathering it. No regular shifts without major grinding. Everything is fine now.

JS

Cool Ryd

:steering: BAD SYNCHROS!! :U

C54CSTER

Well, either they've never seen the problem/done the repair before at my local dealership, or they are just playing dumb hoping I'll go away and leave them alone. It is very frustrating to have to take such a new car into the shop for a serious problem like this, but to have to take it in twice is not right. I'll have to get it back in there and take the service manager for a test drive. I'm not really sure what that will prove except that I'm not a liar. The service manager, after all, is not the tech that will have to find and fix the problem...

JSF-F22

I just got mine back for the dealer last week for simular problems. It would not up shift into 4 and down shift into 3 without grinding also I would have to doubble clutch to enguage Reverse. The dealer found wear on and replaced syn 1,2,3,4 and reverse synchronizers, 5th gear, and a couple of fork assy's. I have got a couple 100 miles on the trany since the work and every thing seems ok so far.

2002 Z06

Been gone for a few days. I have an appointment to bring my car in to evaluate the problem. I am always hesitant to bring the car back to the dealer because they always try to beat around the bush but I feel better since I can go their now with some knowledge about what the problem could be. Thanks for the info guys. I'll let everyone know what happens.

Roofless

We just switched out the orignial fluid from a friends 06 this morning and when we drained it, we only got about a quart out and replaced it with 4 quarts. It would appear that it was VERY low from the factory (approximatly 12K miles on it) no evidence of a leak anywhere so maybe you should have your level checked.

Steve Row

I have an 02 Z06, too. The trans has already been rebuilt once. Check out this page for some food for thought and pic's of the steel shift fork.

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/steve_row/index5.shtml

I think the clutch and the hydraulic linkage is really the weak link. As it gets hot, the clutch does not disengage completely. This puts a real strain on the syncro's. If you are running it hard thru the gears, the heat really builds. 2nd gear has two syncro's and the heat has not built up, yet. 3rd and 4th have one syncro, each, and the heat is really building. Power shifting 3rd and 4th makes it worse. Don't know why, maybe centrifugal force.

After about 5000 miles, something is seriously wrong with my trans. Still shifting fine, but it is screaming like a siren in all gears with even the slightest accelerator pedal pressure. Quiet on deceleration.

Z06's make a little too much power (nah, it can't be that!) for this transmission. It would be nice to use the Viper version, but only a few parts are interchangeable. The 3rd/4th shift fork is one. Corvette version is aluminum. Viper version is steel.

The steel shift fork can be purchased from D & D Performance for about $50.00.

http://www.ddperformance.com/index2.htm

You gotta pay to play. But sometimes its painfull.

2002 Z06

Steve, P..L..E..A..S..E..... tell me the DEALER does not have to take apart my Z06 as shown in your pics. If so, I'm scared as hell to even bring it.