I bought a 13 GS manual and now have aprox. 28,000 miles on it. Take very good care of it but drive it often. Since it was new I've had a problem catching 3rd gear when on it aggressively. All other gears are ok. Under normal driving there is no problem at all. When shifting (fast) into 3rd its like hitting a brick wall with the shifter. Back in the day I use to drag race every weekend so I'm sort of eliminating my shifting as the problem. Has anyone else had this same problem ? Seems like a linkage problem to me but I'm looking for more answers. I'm thinking about going to the MGW kit and hoping that will solve the problem. I don't race the car but still want it to be able to shift better.

 

I had the exact same problem. I installed a remote clutch bleeder, flushed the system regularly & still had the 3rd gear issue.
I replaced my OEM shifter to a Hinson short throw shifter (love it) & no more missing 3rd gear. I also replaced my clutch master to a tick & not once did the pedal stick to the floor (common problem).
You mentioned MGW shifter, I'm sure that will also cure your issue.
Good luck.

 

i know the issue you are talking about. for me its second gear. in my trans I flushed the fluids and have a mgw shifter in it already. didnt really help my issue. my local trans shop thinks its the syncros are getting worn. which would require a rebuild of my TR6060. i can live with it for now, but i will def get it rebuilt soon

 

Sorry to hear you've been having this problem. I've had the same issue intermittently at WOT and unfortunately an MGW shifter didn't resolve it. Although, the MGW is seriously sweet. I haven't researched the problem further because it's hard to be at WOT in third gear in these cars and not end up in jail. I only noticed it at the drag strip. Under any other situation, third acts perfectly fine.

 

i had the same problem when I first got my 2012... now though when going into third I just push the stick straight up out of second with the palm of my hand and it works everytime... just shove it straight up and see how goes.

 

I find this interesting, because I have the exact same issue with mine, except I have an 06' which has a T56?. Shifts like butter into 3rd unless its under WOT and above 5500 rpm. Shift at 5000-5500 no problem, 5500-6000 it either doesn't go, or goes to some magical place in the 3rd gear position where there is no 3rd gear, and the driveline freewheels. Let the rpms drop below 5G, pop back into neutral then back into 3rd and it's there like it never left... I have an MGW on order that I was hoping was going to help. I have a sneeky feeling this is s synchro issue. My car also only has 44000kms (27000 miles)

 

With the slop in the stock shifter, it easy to miss the gates. So if your going to stay with stock shifter, then check the shifter lower box to make sure it not worn out, the side bushings are not breaking apart, and lock the shifter into neutral with the front pin, and loose and re-tight the rear coupler to make sure that the shifter is indexed correctly.


On someone like a MGW that will come with it own lower box, and which you will need to index the shifter correctly, still may have problems speed/sling shot shifting the T-56/TR6060 trans, since by doing such, you can out run the synco's. Hence car/trans is set up for autocross/high speed road course work, where you are treating the trans and drive train like glass so they last, and not trying to wear the trans syncro's out by sling shot shifting instead.

So on that note, if you are looking to sling shot shifts, best advice is to upgrade to a sequential transmission that is designed for that rapid kind of shifting of the gears instead.

On the other hand, if you feel like the syncros are taking too long to speed match, then may be time to pull the trans apart since they may have been work out for the previous owner sling shot shifting instead.
Sling shot shifting= not allowing enough time for the syncros to speed match the gears so they will go into gear on their own (fast of count of one and two out of one gear into the next), and instead trying to shift so fast that you are jamming the not yet speed matched gears into engagement in less than a one count like a automatic trans can shift instead.

 

This problem is almost always due to slop in the lower shifter box. Even boxes with 10k miles on them have enough wear/slop to be annoying / give you problems. If you go to an aftermarket shifter make sure you do the box as well, if you like the stock shifter you can just do the box if you send me a pm.

 

☝️ Do this & you'll never miss 3rd gear again!

 

ET, I can't help but wonder if your shift to 2nd issue has anything to do with the 1-4 skip shift feature. Maybe the solenoid that blocks second is not functioning properly?

 

Originally Posted by Craig Kaplan View Post
i had the same problem when I first got my 2012... now though when going into third I just push the stick straight up out of second with the palm of my hand and it works everytime... just shove it straight up and see how goes.



ET, I can't help but wonder if your shift to 2nd issue has anything to do with the 1-4 skip shift feature. Maybe the solenoid that blocks second is not functioning properly?

 

Most of the comments here are directed at the shifter and shifting technique. I do not disagree with that. I just want to also add that transmission fluid can contribute to shifting problems as well. My advice is to use the fluid recommended by GM. Some synthetic fluids are so slippery that they prohibit the synchronizers from doing their job.

 

I used to have problems like this with my T56. After I flushed and bled my clutch line, I no longer had these issues.

 

I have always had trouble wid dat at WOT...... put in a MGW and it helped...but mostly it is due to the adrenalin I have when running the 1/2 mile race and I try to force the shifter into 3rd instead of just letting it take its own path with less aggressiveness..... the times I do hit 3rd is when I concentrate on letting it find it's own way without me manhandling the shifter......... and I always make sure the clutch is to the floor when I shift fast...... this is the year of no missed shifts......

 

Thanks for all the input, sounds like I'm not alone with this problem. I'll try to not to be so aggressive with the 2nd to 3rd gear shift and see if that works, if not I'll probably order the MGW shifter with the box. I've heard the OEM nylon bushings wear out eventually anyway so that will keep me ahead of the maintenance. Thanks again all

 

I'd still get an MGW short throw shifter. Love mine compared to the factory unit my car came with.

 

Interesting post.

My 06 with 35k does the same thing. After reading what seemed like hundreds of posts on shifters and such I read a post by Dano where he talked about the bushings and such. I bought and installed a TMOD lower box last summer and it did not resolve the issue.

I have the issue just cruising around, no 5000 - 6000 shifts... Any thoughts??

 

https://www.rangeracceleration.com/I..._Shifting.html

 

ya i honestly thought of that also. but i almost never shift under 2k RPM. i do have some issues with third also, but its infrequent as compared to second for me.