Hey guys, I just picked up my 09' TC as of yesterday and got everything in running order today (insurance, oil change, etc). It was running fine after a bit of driving and then out of the blue it won't shift into 2nd, 4th, or reverse. In my town it was fine, I drove 90 miles down to Ohio and was fine at my cousin's house and then we went out to a friend's house it started doing it. 2nd and 4th will catch if I slam the clutch to the floor and literally crank the shifter back as hard as I can but reverse almost never catches. It took me 10 attempts before reverse finally caught trying to back out of my aunts driveway.

Shifting back up into 1st, 3rd, and going into 5th is perfect and when it catches it feels tight and how it should be. All the bottom gears feel loose and sloppy and really don't seem like they're even catching at all. I have no idea what is going on or the slightest clue what it could be. My cousin who has been driving a stick a lot longer than I had mentioned that it may be the bushings but reading around here I've been seeing shifter cables and other things. It happens when I stomp it or even when I'm granny shifting the thing.

*Update* 5/19 - Tranny is leaking fluid (Parents pointed it out after I got home today)
-Checked under the cup holders, linkages seem to fine.

It has a ZZP Stage 4 clutch with less than 8k miles on it, ZZP adjustable Clutch linkage and a 24 psi tune. I've only stalled it 3 times since I've gotten it yesterday which I'm sure wouldn't have been the reason it's doing this.

Can anyone give me any direction on what it may be or how I can go about to fix it?

Thanks,
Stephen

 

You slammed the gears too hard. I bet one of the links under the cup holder came off.

 

pull the cupholders off (they r held in with clips, so give a good tug up) under the cupholders will b the cable linkage for the shifter. I would inspect first, look for one that has broken or just simply came apart. put back on (if not broken). hopefully its as easy as that lol. Good luck

 

Adjust the clutch rod out, if the clutch is going all the way to the floor before engaging then you probably aren't getting full engagement. Is the car you got Red? tinted?

 

Definitely sounds like your shift linkage just popped up out of the shift assembly. If that's it, just pop it back down in, easy fix. Happened to me one day slamming fourth too hard.

 

Clutch was catching near perfect when I drove it home and driving around the next morning getting things in order. I even drove it down to Ohio (5th gear the entire way on the e-way and minimal stops on non-eway roads) it was fine until I went out with my cousin over to a friends house. Even drove fine up to that point then I tried backing into his driveway and it wouldn't catch.

310 Hp, 360 Torque, ZZP Intercooler, BOV, U/LINC Pipes, K&N Typhoon, Tint, full cat-back, etc.
Not sure if it's the same car you looked at?

I looked under the cup holders, everything seems to be connected and moving when I shift gears. Didn't see any broken clips or anything that looked out of the ordinary but I'm going to go take another look and see if I can see something different.

I didn't notice it until now but the tranny is leaking fluid, my parents pointed it out after I got home from a job today and it's even inside the rim of the left-front wheel.

 

Dude, like 90% of the F35's have a light leak from the seals on the driveaxels where they enter the transmission.
I agree he's slammin gears like every V8 owner feels a need to crush synchro's.

 

Could be bad syncronizers if it won't shift correctly or go into gears. If it is you would need a new transmission. If that's the case I have one for sale with 18K miles and Limited Slip Differential(G85) close to you as an option should you need it.

 

your linkage popped out of the sleeve. mine used to do it all the time. let me find the picture. if you take the fuse box out you'll see right where it is. just need to push it back in. and i would suggest new cables

 

the rubber grommet needs to be pushed back. push back on the black sleeve that the cable is coming out of while pushing on the grommet. you'll hear it click. you can do it without taking the fuse box out but its a little hard to weasel your hand in there.

 

That's exactly what we found out it is doing and we tried pushing it back in but after you shift it just pops back out.

I've only owned it for 2 days and haven't actually been slamming it constantly. I know how to shift gear to gear and synchronize it properly.

The transmission fluid is all over inside the wheel, it doesn't seem like just a small leak but I'm going to take it to a shop. I'm definitely going to change the cables though, gotta pick some up tomorrow or Monday and get them swapped.

 

Transmission fluid shouldn't be in the wheel, maybe axle grease?

 

new cables will solve your issue then if they keep popping out. they just get stretched out over time. but being a new car i'd be weary of how the previous owner drove it..

 

Previous owner only owned it for ~8,000 miles and he noted it was driven a lot to commute to school so if it was driven hard it was for a very short time. The first owner had it for 2 years and 23,5k miles a year on it, definitely a commuter.

Check this picture out. If you look at the housing that the rubber boot connects into a crescent shape crack is there. I'm pretty sure that's the main reason that boot isn't staying in there.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Dumb question, is that the whole transmission itself or what would that housing be called? lol

 

bazinga. i knew exactly what it was right when i read the thread title lol.

new cables aren't too bad though.

GM ACDelco - Shifter Cables #GM-10383794

 

I know both of the people who owned the car before you. You got a super clean car. I cant believe your having any probs, both of them took immaculate care of it.

 

That's just the bracket on top of the trans. I might have one sitting in the garage.

 

Not going to lie, it was fairly dirty when I bought it. Thought it could have been detailed before we made the transaction but it was definitely cleanable as far the exterior and interior goes. Engine bay was clean though. I wasn't too worried about it since I detail cars anyways, kind of nice to be able to clean it from a dirty state and see my own work but like I said it would have been nice.

Let me know if you do or if you know where I could find that part at. I took the car down to a Trans shop to have them check out and fix that leak. Once I get it back I'm going to change that bracket myself unless anyone feels that I should have a shop do it?

 

He told me he had a few hundred mile drive the day before selling to you thats prob why it was dirty. Ive never really seen it dirty before haha. That car is beautiful when its all detailed. If your ever in Caddy hit me up.

 

Yea, like I said man it's no big deal. Nothing to complain about on my end, I just wish I wasn't having these problems! It's such a fun car to drive and it's killing me to have to take it in 2 days after buying it.

I go up to Traverse City every year and we roll through Cadi to pit stop at the Macd's right on the lake. I'll let you guys know this summer just in case something works out.

The shop I took it to said the end case needs to be replace due to a large crack across it as well as two huge dents (cause of the leak). He also mentioned that the bolts to mount it weren't even completely screwed in. I'm not going to point the finger at ZZP but the mechanic said the only way it would have been damaged that bad were either if it was in a huge front end crash or if the trans was dropped. It was "bone dry, not a drop of fluid" as he put it and said if I had drove on it another few days I could have blew the trans which scared the hell out of me. A nice price tag followed which didn't make me smile.

 

Did you ask to see the cracks and the dent? I never trust anyone. Many (not all!) shops are full of crooks. That sounds exactly like a line someone would feed you bc that job books a **** ton of hours. It does match up a bit bc you said it was all inside the wheel well where that crack would have dripped to but still, get a look at it.

Sorry you had bad luck so far. Trust me, when it's all taken care of, you'll be smilin' non stop.

 

No, not yet. Haven't had the chance to roll back up there and take a look at it yet. I'm going to ask to see it once he gets it finished, will just have him save the end case.

I got to drive it around for a little bit with it running ok (so we thought at the time)
Probably the most fun I've ever had driving a car.

 

Here's a better picture. The clicking bracket I have circled in yellow is on the shifter cables right? I'm looking at the picture on ZZP and I'm assuming it's the same part.

 

yes. you need new cables. the metal bracket itself is fine. but i would go ahead and upgrade while getting the new cables.

 

Here's the part number for your shift cables, that top one is jacked for sure

25798498

GMpartsdirect has them for 101shipped, might try looking elsewhere for a better price.