Shifting SUCKS in my car....
 

So just picked up a new to me 09 SS and after a few days of driving I have noticed a few things.

1. The transmission is a PAIN to get in reverse. Sometimes it goes right in and other times it acts as if there's an interlock preventing it. NO amount of going forward makes it go into reverse. It just goes in eventually with enough fiddling around. It's NOT the shifter adjustment. I have gone over it with a fine tooth comb and ruled it out.

2. It's got some really fancy looking short throw shifter. I hate it. It's far too stiff and vague for my liking. Perhaps the other issues I'm having are making me hate this shifter but I have nothing to compare it to.

3. This car absolutely, positively will NOT change gears at high RPMS without letting the rpm's drop a whole bunch first. NLS would be impossible. I believe this is my clutch causing this.

4. Whatever clutch they got in this holds extremely well. Zero slip at all in any gear. The problem is the engagement is RIGHT on the floor. I am seeing this is a common thing with aftermarket clutches in our cars. I have bled the crap outta it and am certain it's not the fluid.

The fluid will be changed tomorrow. My local stealer didn't have any in stock. I ordered 2 quarts off amazon for 1/3 the price the dealer wanted. They wanted $37 PER QUART!!! Damn they're proud of that stuff.


What are your guys thoughts on this?

I am going to get under the dash soon and see if the push rod is bent. If it's not I will probably order the adjustable rod/master cylinder combo. I figure if I can get just a TAD bit more dis-engagement when shifting at high rpm's that it would probably shift like it should. This may even make me stop hating the shifter.

I believe the transmission has been apart at one time or another. There's a clear line of aerobic sealant along the case halfs. Doesn't GM / Saab use silicone there?

This car definitely has the LSD in it. It's got the right code in the trunk. It most definitely spins both tires when it should. No one legged burnouts *roads have been wet*.

The tag on top of my transaxle does NOT have the LSD part printed on it. Didn't all the LSD transaxles have LSD as part of the code on that tag?



Edit: On a positive note. This car is extremely clean. The engine runs great and pulls HARD!!!! I like it. I picked up a HPTuners cable tonight and am going to go out and try to read the ECU. I hope it's not Trifecta locked.
Thanks people for any input on these matters.

What shifter does it have?

your reverse should have a lock-out. You need to pull up on the shaft to get into reverse.

IF the aftermarket shifter was not installed correctly that is your reverse engagement problem.

As for the clutch pedal, could be a shot clutch.


The 3.82 Gear Trans. didnt have LSD printed on the trans tag. If the # on the tag ends in a 6 (i think, it could be 5) it has an LSD.

4.05 Trans had LSD printed on there.

Post a pic of the shifter, it could be the issue with crappy reverse lockout placement which can be a pain in the d*ck.

Also get used to going first then to reverse, it's become a habit for me

Time to flush the brakes/clutch. Hydraulic actuated systems are notorious for the issues, outside of the reverse problem, you listed. The reason I say brakes and clutch is because they share a common reservoir.

For the reverse issue, I've always found it best to shift into third and then into reverse.

Good luck!

Trouble shifting at high RPMs can point to shift cables. I have the same issue in mine and Powell recommended replacing the shift cables. Apparently they don't have sufficient shielding and get compromised by overheating. Powell says he sees it all the time in the LNF. I have the new ones but haven't replaced them yet so I can't tell you for sure that it solves the problem but if Powell says so that is good enough for me :)

Ur shifter cable probably needs adjusting. When I put in sts, my reverse started doing same

Its most likely your cables or shifter. My twm has issues going into reverse. No problems with my ottp one tho

You just do a write entire on HPT.

Um what?

I do not know. I have come across it online before. I will post a picture of it. It looks very well built and feels very strong.



The cables / interlock is not the problem. I have had the whole console out and triple checked it all multiple times.

I will check out my tag again and try to get more info on specifics.



Ya know all day today it went into reverse just perfectly. I am stumped at the moment. Tomorrow it will get new fluid.



Brakes / clutch all fully flushed the second day I had it. All fluid looked pretty good and it made zero difference in clutch engagement. I am finding that if I do 2nd / Reverse so far it's going in. When I was having reverse issues no combination of gears / rocking would get it to go in. DEFINITELY not the interlock on the shifter nor cable lack of adjustment. Today it was fine all day long. I hope it just stays this way.



I'm not sure that I buy into the shift cable issue. It truly feels like the clutch simply isn't disengaging enough to allow a high RPM shift. When at lower rpm's or idle it's perfectly fine though. I am going to investigate the adjustable master cylinder push rod. I really think if I can get a fraction more push on the slave that it will start behaving at high rpm's.

Please do let me know though if those cables solve your issue.



It's not the adjustment nor the cables.



It's not the shifter.



Great to know. I lucked out though and didn't have to deal with it. I was able to do a full read and have been writing revisions to get things dialed in. PO had the LTFT's at 17! I am seeing a tiny bit of KR also. I will get it dialed in.


He was replying to my question about locked ECU's.

Here's exactly what my shifter looks like. Alcantra shift boot and Round knob just like in their picture.

Chevrolet Cobalt SS/SC Short Throw Shifter

By the way, I have to wonder. After inspecting the plastic shift tower and the bull$hit interlock system. Why not just cut that plastic blocker off. You know, the one that prevents reverse unless you lift the knob?

98% of all 5 speeds in the world do not have this blocker bull$hit setup anyhow.

It's a saab thing.......

You can cut it mine was broken/cut off when I installed my short trow shifter that's when I noticed lol but mine works great I have the ottp shifter tho

its there for a reason... obviously. If you want to get rid of it go for it.

You say its not the shifter but at the same time you want to remove the lock-out .... seems like a contradiction

I think its that shitty twm. No amount of cable adjustments could get mine to go into reverse smoothly but my ottp one on the exact same car is completely fine.

Question. Do you push all the way to the right then go up for fifth gear with that gate missing?



The reason I mention removing it is because mines all beat up from years of the interlock running against it. If you look at the thing it is a very thin, flimsy piece of plastic.



I will check into that. The thing is it's not rocket science.. shifter to far right then down for reverse. I have watched the mechanism with the console removed and it consistently pulls the cable to the proper spot when pressing the shifter right. It just will not go down sometimes.

Does anyone know if these transmissions have an internal reverse/fifth gear interlock mechanism. It acts like it does and blocks reverse at times. Yesterday the whole day it worked just fine.......imagine that.

Yup I have to mess a bit with mine but I'm used to it already so don't care lol but yes reverse is all the way to the right and down for 5th I have to go a bit to the right then up and that's what I want to fix but I'm already used to the shifter so it's no biggie

Gotcha. I am going to temporarily disable the interlock lever on mine and see how 5th feels to me. I may just cut that whole piece of plastic out.

Thanks!

No problem man

TWM reverse lockout is aluminum, says so right on the page.

Hes talking about the plastic lip on the shifter housing. Not the shifter itself

That^

Ahhh. You can replace that. #19 in this diagram GMPN: 20763149
http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.co...181A04-023.JPG

hey, have you ever figured this out? my 08 (or 09.. not sure) is the exact same way. its not overly hard to shift at low rpm but while driving and doing WOT runs its impossible. i have a couple k20 buddies who get in it and go wot and try to quick change like a typical honda and they pop the cables out of the clamp.. the cables are brand new and i replaced the roll pin in the linkage. i lost the engine 2 months ago and am doing a full build including all front end parts. i have the entire front end ordered, the billet engine mounts, and transmission mounts. i also am doing a new clutch with oem flywheel, ottp shifter, and anything that could possibly be hindering my shifting. id like to know where you got with this because what you describe is identical to my issue.