Well i swapped out the tranny & t-case last night and finished early this morning. All i can say is what a B1tch.... I used Redline like JON suggested for the transmission, and diaqueen for the t-case n' the rear diff. The tranny seems pretty notchy still. I did what he says to do: First startup with new fluids rev the engine right away to 3,500 RPM's or whatever to circulate the fluild. Dont let it idle for a long period of time. Stay under 60 MPH for the first 100 miles etc... And after the first 10 miles stop and let it sit. Let it cool off. Well it has exactly 11 miles on it from my shop to my house and it feels pretty notchy and its not what i imagined my $5090 to feel like... Now i did adjust the clutch pedal to engauge about 3" off the floor and the pedal feels pretty good. But its hard to shift... I also lubed the shifter bushings, and made sure the clutch fork and spline had a little lube on them..They did. Jon had it done already.

I just hope it gets better pretty soon.... If not im not going to be a happy camper.

Why am i experiencing this? Its pretty hard to shift, and doesnt seem as good as it should be.

 

Also it took me from 6:30 pm after we closed the shop to 3:00 am this morning...and the i went to work @ 7:30 after i got some sleep. and after work i finished it up... So i had about 11 hrs of total time to swap the tranny & t-case. Along with the clutch....

 

Well any input? Anyone else installed a new clutch and it be stiff/notchy until it broke in?

 

I never liked Redline in my old 5 speed. Always seemed notchy. BG I or Penzoil was the bomb for it.

 

Jon recomended me to use Penzoil but then again I have a stock tranny. Why dont you drop him a e-mail hes a really cool guy explain to him what its doing. Im sure it just needs to be broken in.

 

Yea i used BG on the old stock tranny. He says use BG if you want the smoothest shifting and Redline if you want longevity. i dont know how smoother shifting will wear it out faster but...Thats why he does this stuff and not i . As for shooting him a email it may be a few days before i hear back from him. I have been dealing with jon for over 4 years so yea i know he a great guy. But yea, he has dislocated his shoulder and im not sure if he has been able to work the last few days or not. Also i figured i would get a faster reply and more of a round about idea from the users on this forum.. Anyone else have similar experiences.

 

There should be a little notchiness initially as things break in depending on what you had done. However, if your tranny did not stab buttery smooth.... I mean like the drunk head cheerleader on prom night, chances are that you may have distorted the clutch disc. In which case the only fix is replacing it. I've driven other TRE transmissions, and as long as you don't screw up stabbing the tranny, they shift far better than a brand new Evo on the dealer lot. I know this, because I personally have screwed the pooch on my own Evo. It is a lesson you usually only need learn once. Generally, not paying attention to a sagging plastic clutch alignment tool is the reason for the misalignment.

 

Now i went on a drive around the town tonight and it has 48 miles on it now. Still keeping it under 60 M.P.H and not abusing it. No launches, and no hard pulls "obviously under 60"
But it seems to be getting better... It always goes in first gear like butter... Second is notchy... Third seems like first gear..... i havent really went in 4th or 5th yet. Reverse seems a little tough to get into at times. Any input..? I have lubed the shifter bushings again.. When i first bled it i used a power bleeder " presureized bleeder " and i let it run for a while after i saw the last few air bubbles come out. So i know the fluid is new and good.



Well as for whats done to it honestly i dont know.... I called jon told him i wanted a NEW tranny built to his specs along with a new t-case built to his specs with a ralliart LSD...So thats what i got. As for the clutch align tool i made sure it had the same room around it all the way round between it and the p.plate. The only hassel i had was gettin the tranny up in there to where i could get the tranny aligned up with the disc. I had a tranny jack but doing everything by myself and having to tilt it just right to get it above the crossmember was a PITA.... As for when i got the splines aligned with the disc it went in pretty darn smoothly... I had to lower the tranny jack a little to get it align with the disc & p.plate but one it was align it went it good.

 

eievo, good luck with the new setup! there is the initial breakin period for the tranny so it should smooth out as you put more mileage on from what i've heard. I am currently in need of a rebuilt tcase as my diff broke yesterday at the track (sucks), so i am trying to put the $$$ together to do the tranny and tcase together like yourself. Calling shep on Mon to get pricing. Keep us updated and again good luck.

 

i dont like driving the car when it feels notchy and even sometimes with the clutch all the way disengauged at low rpms it doesnt seem smooth... Errr... only 70 miles on it now.

 

This sounds like a possible clutch issue.

The reason the transmission is not willing to shift into Reverse and possibly 1st gear all that well while the car is at a stop is because the synchros are blocking the shift. They will do this if the speed of the input shaft is not synchronized with the gear you are shifting into. If the clutch is dragging or if the engagement point is near the floor the synchros will want to block the shift and it'll also wear out the synchros very fast.

Please check the clutch engagement point. To do this test you will want to have the car warmed up, so drive it at least 10 miles.

The easiest way to check the clutch is to get all four tires in the air by placing the car on a hoist.

Now start the car and put the car into 1st gear until the wheels start to turn round and round.

Now slowing push the clutch in until the wheel stop turning. Hold the clutch at this position.

At this point you should the clutch pedal should be at least 3 inches off the carpet. If not then the clutch needs adjustment.

The reason why the clutch should be this far off the floor at the engagement point is to allow enough room for movement of the clutch disc so it finds a nice center position between the flywheel and pressure plate.

I know this sound like a PITA way to check the clutch but this is the preferred method and the true reality check for where the clutch releases.

Let me know if you have questions.

If there is truly a problem with the transmission you know I will take care of it but let's first check some other things first.


Jon Ripple

 

Jon, in the conversation i noted to you before i had any miles on the new setup i had already adjusted the clutch pedal right after the install. Also it was stated in the sheets of paper i got with my order...Along with several other tip/required info for the new parts i got.

Well the setup only has roughly 330 miles now. I have been trying to figure out why its still hard to shift smoothly. I have double checked everything.... Clutch engaugement, i re-bled the hydraulic's... It hasnt really changed since it was when i just put it in. Except for it hasnt had any issues going into reverse when hot or cold... or first gear as well.. I havent really had any need to get into 4th or 5th gear but i have used them ever once and a while just to see how they feel and they seem great. The only issues i am really having is i can feel it kinda click/catch on a 1-2 shift and 2-3 shift... And it doesn't matter if i even hold the clutch too the floor and let my rpm's drop to 2,000 rpms. I dont really drive the car all that often but honestly i dont really have the urge to drive it ever since i installed the new parts. Just cause i cringe eveytime i feel it go into gear... I keep counting the dollars i spent and i feel it in the shifter. Now keep in mind its not a grinding noise or feel. I havent felt it "GRIND" or heard it "GRIND" its hard to explain...Just i can feel it click or catch type of feeling. I dunno....

Well what do you or anyone else think... I am up for suggestions. I am lost.

 

Thought i would add i am still running the stock shifter. But have brass under hood bushings. I have used hi temp silicone based lube to lube the under the hood bushings and the shifter moving points as well. Also i am running the Diaqueen in the t-case and rear diff that Jon sent me and i stock the redline fluids at the shop so i used redline MT90 that jon suggested for the tranny. I have checked all the shifter cables but honestly i dont know how to tell if there is anything wrong with them.. i just looked for anything obvious. They both seemed to be in thier holders well and seem to move easily "as for the cables inside the sleeving" But maybe i am just parinoid... Just gets me cause its only that i notice this on the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift...

 

good luck. i hope TRE comes thru 4 u. i'm going to go w/Shep 4 my buildup. i'm gonna do a Shep trans, '04 RS xfer case w/Quaiffe, Carbonetic twin plate clutch, & Royal Purple fluid. cost will b around 6k w/install...

 

Sounds like you may have narrowed it down to the clutch discs...