Hi guys,

I picked up a 2005 C6 a month or two ago. I love it every bit, except for the sloppy shifter! Two days ago, out of no where, first and second started grinding. I would have to completely stop to get it into first, and second was almost unusable. I thought it was an alignment issue with the shifter as synchro's don't generally go bad overnight. Then, the car became completely stuck in 2nd gear. I tried rolling it and dragging the clutch to see if it would budge, but no dice. It was towed home and placed in the garage. Still going off the alignment issue, I tore the inside down to the shifter, and now it has become unstuck, I can row through the gears with minimal issues, but it still seems wrong. I took some photos, it looks like all the bushings are completely done for.

Now, the grinding issue is what is scaring me. I had my dad check out the car, and he believes that if I solve the sloppy play, caused by either the alignment or the bushings being completely toast, the grinding will go away.

Would you guys agree with this assessment? I had plans to upgrade to the MGW shifter, which happens to come with those bushings, and if I could kill two birds with one stone I would be really happy.

On the flipside, if I throw $400 at a shifter, and it doesn't solve my grinding issue, or I get stuck in another gear again, I would be upset as that is $400 that should have went to a rebuilt transmission.

Your thoughts are appreciated!

 

yeah if you take the four bolts off, you'll likely see a bunch of black plastic laying around... mgw will fix this, as well as a new oem busing...

mgw will be significantly shorter throw, but one that i personally appreciate... didn't take long for my girl to pick up the feel either, and she had driven with oem shifter previously...

that box looks raggedy

 

Well, I disassembled it all, cleaned it all, and even made a makeshift bushing with a nylon roller.

Fixed a lot of the slop, but it still grinds in 1st and 2nd. Guess I'm looking at a rebuilt transmission

Anyone have any other things or ideas that I could check before dropping a pretty penny on a rebuilt transmission?

Thanks.

 

I have a 2005 and my shifting was terrible. Now it feels brand new and I just push the shifter and it just slides smoothly into gear with a slight notch feel (I assume it's the Syncro loading up). If I double-clutch up or down the shifter just easily slides into gear (bypasses the Syncro by doing rev-match for it.)

I did the following, over a three year period. BTW: I do my own work so throwing parts at the problem is not a big deal for me.

ITEM -WHY -RESULT

• MGW shifter - first attempt at a fix - No improvement in shifting but a much better feel
• C5 clutch pedal string - second attempt at a fix - easier to push the pedal.
• New pilot bearing - old one failed & grinding - slight improvement in shifting w/o grinding
• New Clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder - (because of the pilot bearing) notice slave was leaking - same slight improvement in shifting.
• Venom mod - just another attempt - not really much different.
• Switched to AMSOIL - just to fix shifting - noticeable improvement in shift, venom mod seemed to kick in.
• Pulled Torque tube (again) - repacked the transmission end bearing, carefully aligned the torque tube, oiled and greased the linkage U joint (under the rubber sleeve transmission end) was rusted somewhat tight.

I think the pilot bearing, AMSOIL, and torque tube (again) had the largest gains. I am completely satisfied with the shifting now. No grind in 2nd or 3rd at all and no feeling like a tooth or two skips. 90% of the notchy feel is gone too. I think the root of the problem in my case was clutch drag.

Hope my experience provides some help to you.

 

Unfortunately I think my grinding issue is much more severe than yours. I physically cannot get into 2nd gear it is that bad. Only when completely stopped I can.
If I do come across issues at a later time after I resolve my current major issue, I will definitely try out your list. So thank you for that.

Right now it's completely stuck in second gear. Which is not fun. I believe I am going to pull the transmission and send it out to a shop.

Unfortunate!

 

Two suggestions if I may.

I would pull the old shifter and try to move the rod linkage by hand. (make sure the shifter is not bound up.)
Also if you pull the trans to get it rebuilt. I'd also put in a new clutch and hydraulics with a remote bleeder. Just getting the trans out is a lot of labor cost.

Here's the linkage I'm talking about at the transmission end. The other end is the at the pinch bolt in your shifter picture.

 

Get a built rpm transmission and call it a day. Ran one in my c5 and never had issues. My car grinded 2nd on high rpm shifts. Thought it was the shifter, replaced it, same problem. Luckily blew up my diff and did the trans at the same time and problem solved.

 

i don't have a trans from rpm transmissions but got a tt rebuild kit and it was all correct parts and prompt service! would use them for a trans...

 

Almost there. I have the rear cradle and differential out. Quite easy for someone who has never done anything like this before. Really happy with the ease of maintenance with this car, that for sure.
I'll be getting to the transmission today, and will check that out. I think I'll be sending it out regardless, as it is 16 years old at this point and I'm sure there's a lot of damaged or nearing death components in it.

I think Jason at TDP is going to get my bid, his pricing for his stage 2 rebuild is just a touch better than RPM and I didn't really have three grand saved up for a rebuilt transmission unfortunately. I will keep RPM in mind when I need a seriously built transmission if I get around to building my C6 out.

Thanks everyone!

 

RPM is not the only company that knows how to build T56 and TR6060's. I always just recommend them because I know they can, and I've bought from them before. As long as you're comfortable with your choice I'm sure the trans will last.

 

Got the transmission back from from TDP. Jason is a real great guy. Would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone or send my transmission back to them again. My freight carrier was slacking though. Took quite a while to get it there and back.

Installed the transmission with a bud last night from 9pm-1am right before school today and was able to drive it to school without issue. Everyone loved it. I mean who doesn't like a fantastic looking American sports car with loud pipes on it?

Thanks for all your guy's help. I look forward to posting another thread here soon.

 

TMOD customs for a new lower box you won't be disappointed

 

I did actually end up buying a TMOD lower box and 20% shifter. Its phenomenal.
If or when I have to pull my transmission again, I will be getting his upgraded shifter linkage to finalize the rock solid feel with zero play that it gives.

 

It is very nice!

 

What did this cost you?

 

The shifter was like $200 or something.

Transmission rebuild after freight back and forth was around $2000.

 

OMG. That's insane.