Transmission is difficult to shift! Please help

[95BlackZ28]

Hey guys-

Long time lurker and infrequent poster, but LOVER of all things Viper. Except my little problem.
My car is a 2005 and is modded slightly.

The car is ridiculously difficult to shift when at WOT. Especially 2-3 and 3-4. It takes like a full second just
to get the car into gear if I'm heavy on the gas. I recently replaced the transmission mount with the solid
mount from John B. I also replaced the shift knob with the MGW round one. The car has the B&M aftermarket shifter,
and I recently replaced the clutch and flywheel (aluminum).
This problem is making the car increasingly difficult to hustle around the track. Also it makes me not want to shift!

My friend has a 2007 z06 with the same T56 tranny and it shifts like butter anytime. WOT or not. hot or cold. I understand
the viper is supposed to have a notchy shifter, but this is ridiculous. Any ideas? Should I replace with a 6060??

 

[Steve M]

Start with the easy stuff...bleed the clutch fluid first, change the transmission fluid next if that hasn't been done in a while.

One of the biggest culprits of hard WOT shifting is the clutch not fully disengaging...aftermarket clutches seem to have this problem more than OEM ones do. There's not much you can do about this unless you feel like swapping clutches and seeing if that helps, but that would be a PITA.

If none of that helps, then a transmission rebuild might be in order.

 

[Bobpantax]

You mention replacing the transmission mounts. Have you checked the engine mounts? At WOT, if the engine mounts are bad, the engine may be moving around a bit. That could cause the problem.

 

[95BlackZ28]

I recently swapped the transmission fluid and bled the clutch maybe a year ago? And I checked the engine mounts, they seem ok, but I'm no expert.
If in neutral and I rev the engine the shifter moves to the right...

 

[Steve M]

Transmission fluid is probably okay, clutch fluid is probably not. The clutch fluid needs changed often, especially if driving it hard.

 

[ROCKET62]

Did it shift different before/after you changed out the clutch and flywheel? How much travel in the clutch and where does it engage when releasing?

 

[Mopar Steve]

I recently swapped the transmission fluid and bled the clutch maybe a year ago? And I checked the engine mounts, they seem ok, but I'm no expert.
If in neutral and I rev the engine the shifter moves to the right...

Shifter shouldn't move. Think about this, if under acceleration the shifter moves to the right, that means the trans is not where it usually is and neither are the gears you are trying to find.

 

[Steve M]

Shifter shouldn't move. Think about this, if under acceleration the shifter moves to the right, that means the trans is not where it usually is and neither are the gears you are trying to find.

It should move some, unless solid motor and transmission mounts are used.

It should shift a fair amount with rubber mounts, and a bit less with poly (probably about half in my experience).

 

[VIPER R]

Was this sudden or can you trace it back to one of your Mods?

 

[95BlackZ28]

The shifting smoothed out a bit after the clutch/flywheel, but has progressively gotten worse.

It's been a gradual problem for sure. To be honest it's been absnormally difficult to shift since I bought it three years ago.
I swapped the clutch and flywheel and it got better, but it's back to being awful now.

Thinking maybe the best bet is to replace the engine mounts just in case? Anyway to know if these are shot?

 

[Bobpantax]

Inexpensive. Use the same type of mounts as you used for the tranny.

The shifting smoothed out a bit after the clutch/flywheel, but has progressively gotten worse.

It's been a gradual problem for sure. To be honest it's been absnormally difficult to shift since I bought it three years ago.
I swapped the clutch and flywheel and it got better, but it's back to being awful now.

Thinking maybe the best bet is to replace the engine mounts just in case? Anyway to know if these are shot?

 

[Boxer12]

If you have a bad mount, you should be able to tell by looking at it. Make sure the mounting bolts are all torqued properly. If you double clutch does it shift easier?

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

If you jack up the engine and it lifts easy you should be able to observe the engine mounts flex or maybe even torn. I always have suggested replacing the engine mounts with the trans mount and never the trans mount without the engine mounts for this very reason. The engine mounts will help, but if there is already damage you may not get rid of it all without further work. Was the trans mount truly a solid one or one of the Woodhouse mounts?

 

[95BlackZ28]

Yes, double clutching makes the shifting much easier. When the revs are matched.

 

[95BlackZ28]

If you jack up the engine and it lifts easy you should be able to observe the engine mounts flex or maybe even torn. I always have suggested replacing the engine mounts with the trans mount and never the trans mount without the engine mounts for this very reason. The engine mounts will help, but if there is already damage you may not get rid of it all without further work. Was the trans mount truly a solid one or one of the Woodhouse mounts?

Thanks for the suggestion. The trans mount is a polyurethane one from John B. I'll get under there and do a closer inspection of the engine mounts.

 

[95BlackZ28]

Also if I used polyurethane engine mounts will I notice more vibration inside the car?

 

[Boxer12]

Yes, you will notice more vibration with the poly mounts. You might just need to bleed the clutch. Change the fluid while you are at it. Who knows if the wrong fluid was used before? That's necessary routine maintenance anyway. Here is a DIY thread--

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...d-T-6060-transmissions)?p=3165344#post3165344

 

[95BlackZ28]

Yes, you will notice more vibration with the poly mounts. You might just need to bleed the clutch. Change the fluid while you are at it. Who knows if the wrong fluid was used before? That's necessary routine maintenance anyway. Here is a DIY thread--

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...d-T-6060-transmissions)?p=3165344#post3165344

Thanks for the help- I'm going to try this soon as report back-
hopefully this is all I need!!

 

[Voodoo Rob]

Could it be the slave cylinder is showing signs of wearing out?

 

[purplesnake]

Call Rodney at RPM Transmissions in Anderson Indiana. We are fortunate here to have one of the top transmission and rear-end shops in the country in our area. Their customer service is outstanding. I would be surprised if the could not answer your problem. Good luck!

 

[95BlackZ28]

Call Rodney at RPM Transmissions in Anderson Indiana. We are fortunate here to have one of the top transmission and rear-end shops in the country in our area. Their customer service is outstanding. I would be surprised if the could not answer your problem. Good luck!

Purplesnake: Thanks for the advice, I called and they were incredibly helpful. Apparently they are saying I have a clutch release issue... now to get someone who knows what they're doing in San Diego to work on it!!!

 

[Steve M]

Purplesnake: Thanks for the advice, I called and they were incredibly helpful. Apparently they are saying I have a clutch release issue... now to get someone who knows what they're doing in San Diego to work on it!!!

Good luck...I fought that issue on my 2002 Camaro for many years, and finally ended up with an adjustable master cylinder that seemed to help the most.

 

[IDM]

Could it be the slave cylinder is showing signs of wearing out?

doesn't this seem like a hydraulic issue? Could it also be the throw out bearing? Was that all replaced?
How hard is it to do the master/slave on this car? I'd think that if you had a trans problem it would be reasonably hard to shift all the time not just at high revs. Ive experienced problems with each thing I mentioned above, as well as engine torqueing making it hard to find a gear. For that we made and used an engine tq brace, was really helpful for crisp shifts when racing around turns