I have a few questions here, i shift to 5th, and i get neutral. In what order should i troubleshoot my issue? If i need 5th gear, what part list do i need to replace just 5th, im new to transmission work honestly. And i heard that you can service 5th with the transmission still in the car.. how can i go about this? I havent found the exact awnsers or pictures im looking for... ive heard roll pin, cables, shaft nut.. possibilities... im pretty sure ive shot the gear though. Can somebody guide me in the right direction? Money is limited, labor hours are not.
Please show me how to service 5th gear without removing trans from car.

 

The end plate on the transmission is where 5th gear is housed. Take off the driver's side wheel and you'll see it. I do not suggest opening it up unless you know what you're doing.



I HIGHLY doubt that you've just "shot" the gear. In fact, if you had, you'd know about it. Destroying a gear or a diff sounds like throwing a handful of quarters at the firewall. Ask me how I know. IF you need a new 5th gear, I do have an entirely new 5th gear assembly in a transmission in my garage. Getting it off without breaking it? I don't know if I can do that.

The roll pins are what hold the shifter heads to the transmission (bronze colored in the above picture).

The adjustments for the shifter cables are under the shifter boot.

 

If i pulled that plate off, would i encounter any issue putting it back on? (I have extra transmission fluid) - I just want to check, and at one point when it first happened, i heard some jingling down there lol.

As far as pulling the gear, i heard a sanded down gear puller does the trick.

 

It's a simple cover - shouldn't have problems getting it off or on. My worry would be the seal. I can probably take mine off and take pictures of it.

But honestly, I've never heard of anyone destroying a 5th gear. Destroying a 3rd gear takes 400+ ft-lbs of torque, and even then, that only happens because the shafts deflect and the gears end up breaking their teeth off.

I'd imagine that if you destroyed 5th gear, you could drain the fluid and you'd see the metallic glitter that comes out.

 

I've heard of a few loosing 5 gear for whatever reason. Yeah my worry would be sealing it back up not sure what they use

 

If i remove cover and all is well, where should i turn to as a backup, im gonna take it off, if i have to ill gasket seal it or purchase a new gasket, it should be ok though as its less than 10k miles in

 

Gasket sealer work? Its not very old

 

If it's a relatively new transmission, I'd start with adjusting the shifter cables. A far easier task. Checking the roll pins... again, far easier task.

I'd do those two things before opening up the case.

EDIT: if it's a new transmission... new as in you bought it from GM? Or second hand from someone else? I only ask because GM parts have a 1 year, 12,000 mile warranty.

 

i got it from ZZP new... but.... confirmed... TRASHED

 

Well hot damn. Look at that.

I'd call ZZP. If it's been less than a year and 12,000 miles, you might be able to get another. Sometimes they qualify those warranties with statements like "...when installed by a certified technician." But I also don't see the transmission listed on ZZP's site anymore.

Fixing it is an option, but I'd be worried about metallic bits grinding your bearing faces to bits.

 

Damn i wonder why that happened

 

Dang! Thats usually a 3rd gear issue not a fifth.

 

I too am curious as to how it happened. The torque load would obviously be quite higher in 5th, so I suppose if you're rolling full boost through 5th, it could happen. But I think that would make it REALLY obvious that it happened. I suppose it could have been a build up of stress fractures over time from WOT 5th gear runs and then they eventually it just let go at a much simpler time.

 

That would be my bet. I had a T-5 transmission that destroyed third, but it was beaten on pretty bad before I got it. I never had enough power in SS/SC to hurt the F-35. Do they not offer an aftermarket upgrade kit? I know back in my V8 days you either went with a Tremec Transmission or you Did the Viper Spec to the T-56. Now days it seems the TR 6060 has levels I believe to 6. Granted that's in a Vette.

 

There was a 6 speed conversion kit that was way better than OEM but cobalt kids didnt want to spend the money to make it worth while for Qualfile (probably spelled it wrong) to continue making them.

 

I remember back in the day, 07-12 and everyone wanted to go fast, but spend no money. The cobalt was always a teenager/college kid age car.

 

Part of the problem with the Quaife 6-speed is that when it came out, we didn't need it. No one was blowing up transmissions then - certainly not to the extend of needing a $4k to $6k upgrade. And also, this transmission is a PITA to take apart and reassemble making install another grand.

Exactly. A blessing and a curse. A blessing in that they're extremely cheap to modify now. A curse because it ran a lot of good vendors off and also made it so that all the really good (expensive) modifications are nearly non-existent.

 

I know, back in the late 00s there was so many options for aftermarket parts. I am really shocked being a GM vehicle that parts are so hard to find. GM parts for just about everything else is very easy to come by.

 

Got new gear, extra fluid, sealant if i determine i need on gasket, all necessary tools, anbody got the torque specs on that nut over 5th? I have 2 and will use the best one. And clean debris the best i can out of trans. Ready to roll.

 

The bearing under 5th gear might need replaced check fo play

 

Ive got a spare trans thats opened up already. I can pull whatever from it. Diff is messed up in it and case cracked (car met a ditch).
was considering putting a new diff in it and having the case fixed or getting a new one, but that just seems like to much work for a trans I have no use for. I hoard f23s. Lmao

 

Out of curiosity, were you able to find a replacement gasket for the transmission's end cover? If not, what are your plans to seal it?

 

Quoting myself here... I found the gasket, its part number is 90486235. It looks like it's in stock at gmpartsgiant.com and gmpartsdirect.com.

 

Its a brand new transmission actuslly, the gasket is in perfect condition