1st & 2nd gear lock out issue

[Bad Influence GT350]

My 17 GT350 with 27k miles is giving me grief, most times 1st gear is difficult to select and at the lights I pop it out of gear as to not keep the clutch depressed all the time.
When the lights change more often than not I cannot select 1st or 2nd without forcing it in (no grinding but difficult to engage)
1st selects ok when barely moving but at a full stop is difficult but not 100% of the time.
Better when hot but still not great.

At this point I'm going to change the oil to XT11 QDC even though I don't think its an oil related issue (I've only just bought the car so have no idea what the history is)

 

[RES_22]

Stock/OE shifter? Linkage good?

Clutch take-up normal...any difference in clutch engagement hot vs cold?

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Yes, clutch takes up about 1/3-1/2 up from fully down. Clutch feels good and clutch is the same hot or cold.
Standard shifter as far as I can tell and linkage feels ok to me.

 

[RES_22]

Perhaps bleed the master cyl thoroughly....car sat for a long time before you got it and perhaps you have a bit of moisture/contamination...

And...how about that Supercars race from Eastern Creek in the wet? Fantastic racing....gotta love those guys and their skills! Mostert was impressive.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

That was my other planned thing to do.
Didn't actually see the race but yeah they have some decent battles.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

So yesterday I changed the oil in the gearbox to XT11 QDC, drained the oil cooler also to get as much of the ATF out as possible.
ATF that came out was crystal clear, anyway drove it again today and big improvement in shifting but 1st lockout remains as I suspected it would.

Are there any known common issues with this Tremec gearbox? I can't leave this, makes me not want to drive it.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Unfortunately it is a pretty solid box with few issues and I know when I was still at Woodhouse Ford we virtually had no Tremec issues -----now MT82s , that was a different matter.

 

[mwjscn]

Sounds like the reverse lockout plastic bit to me. MGW made the below video going over that issue with the TR3160 in the GT350 and there are reports of others getting dealer to fix these under TSB. It seems like the harder you try and shift it/force it, the worse it gets (especially if the plastic has been damaged, since it would allow the shifter to move more to the left than the actual first gate).

You can read more here:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171956-0001.pdf

You'll see it calls out 2018-2019 vehicles, but the MGW video was made first-thing 2017 and probably reflects what is in your car, provided you have the stock linkages.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Thanks for the response Bill, not sure where to from here.
I guess the shift linkage has no adjustment? Forgot to look at that while under it yeasterday.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Sounds like the reverse lockout plastic bit to me. MGW made the below video going over that issue with the TR3160 in the GT350 and there are reports of others getting dealer to fix these under TSB. It seems like the harder you try and shift it/force it, the worse it gets (especially if the plastic has been damaged, since it would allow the shifter to move more to the left than the actual first gate).

You can read more here:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10171956-0001.pdf

You'll see it calls out 2018-2019 vehicles, but the MGW video was made first-thing 2017 and probably reflects what is in your car, provided you have the stock linkages.

Yep that's me right there, same issue watching that not go in to gear. Sometimes it does but very rarely.
Looks like ill be taking that linkage off and apart.
And yes as far as I'm aware linkages are stock in mine, the reverse lock works fine and I cannot select reverse without lifting the collar.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Good info and you might drop George Ciamillo a note at MGW -- [email protected]

He sells the MGW short throw shift kits Worldwide and he is a long time, very close friend of mine, so just send in your note that the crazy old man from Nebraska, Bill Pemberton, suggested you contact him and let him know of your issue. Appreciate mwjscn posting about some concerns because honestly I had not heard of any and there are 3 Ford Dealerships within the Woodhouse Auto Family. Good thing about TMO , with so many members we often have someone who can come through with info --- thanks mwjscn!!

 

[mwjscn]

Yep that's me right there, same issue watching that not go in to gear. Sometimes it does but very rarely.
Looks like ill be taking that linkage off and apart.
And yes as far as I'm aware linkages are stock in mine, the reverse lock works fine and I cannot select reverse without lifting the collar.

Glad I could help. If you check out the first couple instructional pages in the TSB link, it seems rather easy to pop off the interior shift boot bezel and gets eyes on the reverse lockout collar to see if it's mangled. I don't know why they would put a plastic-on-metal interface point there, but it's clearly not designed to take any spirited aggression. If you have access to one, you may be able to get a Ford dealer to replace it under the TSB if it is messed up (and with some smooth talking) or you can jump right to the superior MGW as Bill mentioned. It looks like being gentle on the 1-2 gate seems to be key with the stock set-up.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Thanks mwjscn, my next port of call will be to take that thing apart and see. With 27k miles its entirely possible that's what the issue is.
I emailed George also as per Bill's suggestion.
No real chance of getting any Ford dealer in New Zealand to help but with TMO knowledge I'm sure this can be resolved.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Reverse lock out collar looks like new still, I should add that I only have this issue with the car running.
I'll have to check the rest of the linkage too.
Selects reverse just fine and shifting from reverse to 1st most times is good.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Couldn't leave it alone and disassembled the entire shift mechanism removing it from the car.
On the bench the bushing at the base of the shifter (Grey) felt fine however the knuckle further along with the 2 white bushings had some play. Not loads but definitely play.
Decided to machine new tighter fitting bushes from nylon, so tight in fact I had to tap the pins back in with a hammer.
Assembled everything back in the car but to be honest I wasn't expecting much to change, I was wrong.
Feels loads more direct and 1st gear selection is dramatically improved the couple of times I had to use it.
Only been on a short drive so far but let's see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

 

[TMSBOSS]

If the shifter/bushings are the problem. Consider moving up to the MGW shifter. George makes the best shifters, full stop. His dad before him made, and still makes fines tools and parts for firearms. They know design and precision. I was fairly happy with the stock shifter in my 350. After upgrading two S197 Mustangs with the MGW shifter and seeing HUGE improvements. He swapped out the stock shifter with the MGW in my 350. The feel, precision and utility and second to none.
You can swap out the shifter without removing the trans.
George has videos for the product and install on his site.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Thanks TMSboss, yes I've already emailed George about it. I was reluctant to commit to it not knowing if that would fix the issue however doing this seems to confirm that it's a shifter issue rather than gearbox.

 

[Bad Influence GT350]

Had a couple drives now and it's pretty good when cold, compared to before really good in fact.
Once it gets a bit of heat in it plays up again and becomes hit and miss.
Need to test my clutch next as i swear sometimes when selecting first on the flat with the foot brake off I can feel the car wanting to move.

 

[JDee]

Had a couple drives now and it's pretty good when cold, compared to before really good in fact.
Once it gets a bit of heat in it plays up again and becomes hit and miss.
Need to test my clutch next as i swear sometimes when selecting first on the flat with the foot brake off I can feel the car wanting to move.

Stock Ford clutches seem to do a lot of damage to transmissions with cars that are driven hard. Just not up to the job. Putting a racing clutch in my car made a world of difference.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Little quick History Lesson about MGW ( Maryland Gun Works ) that was started many years back by George Ciamillo's father. Originally the company did armaments for various manufacturers and the government and in fact George still makes some products for Glock sights and a couple of other companies. MGW also makes some sight tools and accessories, as this was how the company began, but a couple of decades ago George's love of fast and fun cars had the shop in Augusta making short throw shifters and accessories. Back then I was the Viper/SRT Sale Mgr for Woodhouse Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram in Blair, Nebraska and we were consistently one of the top if not the top Viper Dealers in America. We had a lot of Viper track rats and we pushed the MGW shifter and even worked with George on some of the upgrades and improvements. Needless to say our friendship even went to working booths together at various Viper Club of America National Conventions.

George branched out to other vehicles and his love of the Mustang meant he built the " Gold Standard " of short throw shifters for the brand --- you will almost always find one of his shifters in Ford Engineers personal Stangs. He even sponsored Kohr Racings GT4 and you know what shifter was in Dean Martin's cars. Enough said there, because I could write a small pamphlet of the folks and companies who use his shifter and part of the reason is.....................

George is nuts, nothing is ever perfect for him and he constantly works to improve his shifters. His focus is not just on quick and smooth shifts , it is to design the mechanism for intense strength and to make sure one has more positive shifts ( we worked together to work on a way to help missed shifts going to 3rd in Gen II Vipers with changes in a spring mechanism ) ---- no missed shifts is his Mantra.

Lastly , what one needs to know is that George does not just build a shifter for each model or upgrade of a Mustang, he buys the model , drives it and improves the car's shifter by taking it to the track and using it daily. Old school , not just built to new specs, they are determined by dismantling ,driving, testing and working towards perfection.

George is one of the most anal people I have ever known, and his shop mirrors Penske's Nascar shop --- you could eat off the floor!!
I just wanted folks to know that the work done at MGW is virtually all George's , his Dad still does personal stuff for himself , but the gun works, the car works, etc. are all built and run by the younger Ciamillo. His father built a highly successful business and George continued it, but his sickness for cars is akin to the majority of us on this site and best of all he is a Trackrat too.