'96 t45 issue please help!!

[escanaba101]

Heres the deal. I have a 1996 Cobra with 66,000 miles. The car has been in storage since the day I got it in October. I take it around the block every week and just recently I noticed the 1st to 2nd upshift is grinding hard after 3k rpm. This is the only thing wrong with the trans every other gear shifts smoothly. No downshift issues either. What could be wrong? What possible options do I have before doing a rebuild? And if the best thing is to do a rebuild how much would it cost if I pulled the trans myself and took it into the dealer if I bought parts as well.

Let me know if any of you have had similar problems in the past and what you guys think I should do. I don't want to spend more than $500. Thanks so much I really appreciate it.

 

[COBRA90GT]

Well, the T-45 is probably begging for some TLC. Maybe the previous owner was speed shifting the trans and beat on it often... Bad shift fork? Synchro?

You could give Liberty a call for a quote. They are near you (Taylor) and might be able to help:

WELCOME TO LIBERTYS HIGH PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS INC.

Or try one of the other various tranny shops in the area as well. Have you made any recent changes to the transmission lately? ie - installed an aftermarket shifter or drained/replaced trans fluid?

 

[Greenscobie86]

I have the same problem with my 96 Cobe... It has 89k on it though..

I suspect a bad 2nd gear syncro. Sucks but i have to live with it for now.

Just hold the shift a little longer to let the gears mesh up better/slower, it has been working for me...

 

[stang dreamer]

98 cobra owner here with the same problem. i was told its a bent shift fork or bad synchro.

 

[Busted Boosting]

Well, the T-45 is probably begging for some TLC. Maybe the previous owner was speed shifting the trans and beat on it often... Bad shift fork? Synchro?

You could give Liberty a call for a quote. They are near you (Taylor) and might be able to help:

WELCOME TO LIBERTYS HIGH PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS INC.

Or try one of the other various tranny shops in the area as well. Have you made any recent changes to the transmission lately? ie - installed an aftermarket shifter or drained/replaced trans fluid?

Synchro's for sure! Had the same problem back in the day. I fixed it myself with the help of a rebuild manual that I got off of e-bay for $5. Had to buy a few tools but it saved me $500 from what the local trans shop quoted me. Keep in mind that most of that was for the R&R of the trans. Just rent a tranny jack from the zone and you are good to go. As long at you dont try taking the clutch off then everything else it very strait forward and the torque specs for the bell housing are more or less "Really Tight"! lol Same goes for the Drive Shaft bolts! It is time consuming but it is still better than dropping $500+ on somehting you can do yourself.

Good luck!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

It's not always a bad peice in the trans. I've had two clutches that didn't fully disengage and that caused my gears to grind during shifts. I thought I was 100% that the T45 was bad, but it wasn't. I'd attempt a clutch job first, and see what happens. If the problem continues, I'd then tear the transmission down.

 

[northy_polk]

How would one 'attempt a clutch job'? I'm nearly positive I've got shoddy 2nd/4th syncros. I can't afford another tranny [this is #2 DOH!] right now.