Difficult to engage First geat Hot or Cold


yimn

GT Owner
Dec 12, 2005
13
I have a 06 GT. I realized the gear shifitng problem has been discussed extensively but I have no probelm shifting from 1st to 2nd cold or hot but having difficulty engaging first gear at full stop. Sometimes I have to shift into second first and slide the gear into first. It seems like the positioning of the lever is off by a little bit that the gear cannot slide into the first gear slot smoothly. Please advise.
 

EasyEric

GT Owner
Mar 6, 2006
355
Florida and Georgia USA
I have the same problem with my GT. It is a late 2005 built in August 2005. Several times I have though I was in 1st but was really in 3rd and stalled the car.

For the time being I have decided to work around it by DELIBERATELY going into second and then first. I also have to use two hands to get in to reverse.

Eric
 

barondw

GT Owner
Sep 8, 2005
1,109
Easy Eric has the answer. Most gearboxes are easier to put into first if go into second gear and then into first when at a stop.

Dave
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
Try putting it in neutral and releasing the clutch, then push the clutch in and go for 1st. This gets the gearset spinning so the the sychros can do their work.

The same trick works for reverse, but for reverse you should stop or slow the gearset by waiting a few seconds with the clutch in, or putting in the 1st or 2nd, then reverse or you might get some gear clash.

BlackICE
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
While on the subject of shifting. When I didn't know better, I wore out the 1st gear syncro on my Vette by downing shifting into slow corners without double clutching. If you want the tranny to last, whenever you downshift into 1st or 2nd gear when slowing down, it is best to double clutch and or blip the throttle. The synchros take a beating if you don't. My Vette only had single cone synchos and the tranny oil was fully of brass dust!. The GT has triple cone synchos so it should be better.

BlackICE
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Try this!

yimn said:
I have a 06 GT. I realized the gear shifitng problem has been discussed extensively but I have no probelm shifting from 1st to 2nd cold or hot but having difficulty engaging first gear at full stop. Sometimes I have to shift into second first and slide the gear into first. It seems like the positioning of the lever is off by a little bit that the gear cannot slide into the first gear slot smoothly. Please advise.
yimn,

Try shifting into 3rd and then into 1st. This may not work on the GT, however, it has worked on other cars that I have owned. My GT doesn't behave as yours, so I am unable to test or prove anything. As an alternative, try 5th, then 1st. There's a complex reason why this works on certain transmissions. Good luck. Please keep us informed! Jay
 

05redrich

GT Owner
Feb 20, 2006
136
MA
Jay,

My car has the same issue with being difficult to get into first at a dead stop. Going to 5th first seems to fix it (third did not). Care to share more details?

thanks,

rich
 

tmcphail

GT Owner/Vendor
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 24, 2006
4,102
St Augustine, Florida
Make sure the clutch reservoir is full. The system may need to be bled.
 

sharp33

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 19, 2006
346
Rochester, NY
Same problem here with my new Porsche. Double clutching is the easiest on the tranny and good practice for the track.
 

kosupply

GT Owner/Board of Directors
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 27, 2006
236
Houston
Blip the throttle and it slides in easily
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,855
NorCal
put some miles on it

My GT was harder to shift when new but now it's great. I have 12,000 miles on it but it slowly became easier. Hang in there & drive that car more!

Ed
 

06fordgt

GT
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Nov 8, 2006
1,908
Toronto Canada
I do not have this problem on my 06. However when the change over was done to the FRP short throw shifter, the mechanic who does most of the service in Ontaio told me that the there is no lubricant installed from the factory on the shifting rods under the center console. He lubed them up on the new install. This may not be the total answer but may help.
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
No lube on the rear either!
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,855
NorCal
Lets hear from Bony

What comment comes to your mind with this last post by Black Ice?

Ed
 

PL510*Jeff

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Nov 3, 2005
4,882
Renton, Washington
1st Engagement

The shift cables, there are two, were replaced in my GT recently.

It became more difficult to engage first, regardless of temperatures, so a call was placed to GT hotline.

Hot line said to "adjust" the clutch and maybe bleed clutch servo. I like the clutch just they was it is and said no to that hot line suggestion.

Placed a call to former GT team member and explained the problem and the above repair reccommendations. He had Glen Miller, who was in charge of shifter development, call my tech.

Said to replace shifter cables -- both of them.

The outer casing had melted , and (in my opinion) allowed the interior spiral wound cable sleeve to distort.. Took a gasket chisel to scrape them off the engine block. New cables arrive in one day. And were "smooth as butter". As a precaution we wrapped the cables in heat blanketing and very high temp tape.

The cables run through the block, in the valley below the supercharger. They are held in place by stand-offs. The valley has minimal air flow through, if any.
It is a pretty straight shot for the cables from the shifter, throught the e valley to the trans-axle. The cable end have push on ball sockets. We used high temp lube on them. Not sure if "The Book" says to do it that way.

We will bleed the clutch upon my return . Suggestion by Rich and Denny at the Rally was to put the original shift ball back on the see if the leverage might be slightly different than with the shortened ball I have used for the last year.

Jeff
 
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