why so hard to get into gear? A568

[TurboSedan]

this car is driving me absolutely nuts - to the point that driving it only pisses me off anymore. for some reason, it is a complete PITA to get into gear, especially 1st when i'm completely stopped. if i come up to a stop sign and come to a dead stop, i have to almost force it into 1st gear. sometimes it goes in without too much effort but most of the time i have to really cram it into first otherwise i'll be stuck sitting there. it doesn't grind or anything; it simply doesn't want to go in unless i push really hard. it doesn't feel "mushy" when it goes in; it just feels like something is blocking it. it's also hard to get into any other gear, but not nearly as bad (maybe because the car is moving already when going into other gears). reverse is the same way but not quite as bad as first. i'm not sure if this is related, but sometimes after backing up the shifter is stuck in reverse and i have to push really hard to get it back into neutral again. i've already broken a couple of shifter cables this year due to this problem...

anyway, earlier this year the shifter selector cover on top of the transmission was leaking really bad (this part). i had to take the cover off and reseal it. thanks to help i had gotten on this board, i was able to do it easily. it's not leaking anymore, but it seems like the problem started about that time. i made sure to put everything back together right, but maybe i messed something up? has anyone else had this problem? could it be entirely something else that is making it so hard to get into gear? maybe this thing just needs to be rebuilt?

the transmission doesn't make any funny noises, and it never grinds going into gear. i wish i could stop driving it but my other car has problems too otherwise i would just take the transmission out and send it out to get rebuilt.

this thing is driving me completely nuts. if anyone has any ideas on what i could do to possibly fix the issue, i'm all ears! it's only a matter of time before the next cable breaks.

thanks

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[dodgeshadowchik]

does it go into the gears easily when the car is off?

i had this happen with my talon; and it was caused by a bad pressure plate. had some of the fingers break off so the clutch would only partically engage causing terribly difficult gear changes. Eventually it broke enough when I could not get it to go into any gear at all.

[BadAssPerformance]

anyway, earlier this year the shifter selector cover on top of the transmission was leaking really bad (this part). i had to take the cover off and reseal it. thanks to help i had gotten on this board, i was able to do it easily. it's not leaking anymore, but it seems like the problem started about that time. i made sure to put everything back together right, but maybe i messed something up? has anyone else had this problem? could it be entirely something else that is making it so hard to get into gear? maybe this thing just needs to be rebuilt?

If the problem started when you had the shifter housing off, maybe the parts didnt go back together exactly as they came out? A568's have those little spring loaded detents that are a major PITA to line up when you put the housing back on...

[TurboSedan]

i remember removing the springs, but i didn't remove those things below them (detents?).

a few months ago when i resealed the selector cover, all i did was - remove cover while trans was in neutral. took the springs out so i could easily clean the surfaces. after cleaning the surfaces i made sure to align those metal pieces (as shown in your pic), then put the springs back in and put the cover back on. does that sound right or did i miss something?

thanks!

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

does it go into the gears easily when the car is off?

i had this happen with my talon; and it was caused by a bad pressure plate. had some of the fingers break off so the clutch would only partically engage causing terribly difficult gear changes. Eventually it broke enough when I could not get it to go into any gear at all.

it actually doesn't make a difference. it's hard to go into gear either way. it is easier to get into 1st gear if the car is rolling a little though. from a dead stop it's doesn't want to go into gear at all.

i have noticed that, if the car is running and not moving, after i finally get it into first gear i can take it out of gear, in neutral *while keeping the clutch pedal pressed in* and back into first gear easily. however, if i put it into first gear, then back into neutral and let the clutch pedal out while in neutral, it is very tough to get into first gear again (if that makes sense lol).

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[BadAssPerformance]

Just gotta make sure those little rollers are in line with the shifter rails (rods) if they are not in line and end up off 90° they jam up instead of roll down the rods. The rods have notches in them that the spring roller pins snap into when in position...

[JDAWG]

Mine (90 VNT 568) was kinda hard to get in gear alot of time into first, mind you the only time it went into first was a complete stop, till it wouldnt go into any gear. I was goin to work and stopped, couldnt get it into anything, finally got it into second, luckily I was close to work. Pulled it apart and found this

[TurboSedan]

so when removing that selector cover like i did, is it actually a requirement to remove those things with the rollers? i'm wondering if i should take the cover back off and try to re-do everything or if the problem is something else...

thanks for the help, i appreciate it

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

Mine (90 VNT 568) was kinda hard to get in gear alot of time into first, mind you the only time it went into first was a complete stop, till it wouldnt go into any gear. I was goin to work and stopped, couldnt get it into anything, finally got it into second, luckily I was close to work. Pulled it apart and found this

wow! i've had a TO bearing go right through the PP on my old '89 T2 GTS, but never broke on in half!

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[BadAssPerformance]

It is not required to take those rollers out but if you rotated the springs durring removal or re-assembly, they could have dislocated the roller alignment?

Also, I am really only suggesting thsi because you said the problem happened rigth after you did that, so it kindof makes it a probability? Either that or its full of RTV and thats in the way of the shift fork?

[BadAssPerformance]

Mine (90 VNT 568) was kinda hard to get in gear alot of time into first, mind you the only time it went into first was a complete stop, till it wouldnt go into any gear. I was goin to work and stopped, couldnt get it into anything, finally got it into second, luckily I was close to work. Pulled it apart and found this

Damn, thats some carnage! *eek*

[JDAWG]

I never really beat it, other than normal , I think it was the orgional PP

[TurboSedan]

It is not required to take those rollers out but if you rotated the springs durring removal or re-assembly, they could have dislocated the roller alignment?

Also, I am really only suggesting thsi because you said the problem happened rigth after you did that, so it kindof makes it a probability? Either that or its full of RTV and thats in the way of the shift fork?

i actually used Mopar anerobic sealant to seal the housing up. from what i can tell that is what Cliff used on my brother's rebuilt A568. i use it sparingly.

i am really starting to wonder if the problem is indeed clutch/PP related...especially since i can take it out of 1st gear and go back into 1st easily (while holding clutch pedal in). but if i take it out of 1st and let the clutch out in neutral, then press the clutch back in and try to go into 1st it's a PITA all over again.

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[BadAssPerformance]

good on the anaerobic sealer

if it is a clutch issue, why are 2-5 ok?

Also, you can try to adjust the shifter too...

[TurboSedan]

it's not just 1st gear; it's every gear. 2-5 just aren't nearly as bad as 1st. it's bad enough that i couldn't even *try* racing, because no doubt i would miss the shift due to it not wanting to go smoothly into gear. and if i did try i would probably just break another cable. 1st is the worst followed by reverse. why it sometimes gets stuck in reverse is weird too i really have to put some muscle into it just to get it out of reverse sometimes.

my brother and i did try to adjust the crossover shifter cable (at the shifter) but that didn't help at all. i really got my hopes up that it would too and fwiw i am using the poly shifter bushings.

i would try to take the selector cover back off of the transmission and try to re-do everything, but i am afraid of not being able to properly align the detents if the transmission were out of the car i wouldn't hesitate, but it's really tough to see down in there with it all in the car. i really don't want to bring the car to a shop. i would take the engine/trans out myself before i do that.

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[BadAssPerformance]

when you adjusted the shifter did you have the pin in the shifter housing screwed in locking it into neutral?

[Turbulence]

Does it shift easily without using the clutch when you are moving? Seems to me that might rule out a clutch issue (if it is just as hard to get it into any gear).

Martin
89 Horizon
90 Sundance

[TurboSedan]

when you adjusted the shifter did you have the pin in the shifter housing screwed in locking it into neutral?

i looked, but i couldn't find that pin on this transmission which seems weird because i know i've done it before (on an A555 maybe, i can't remember). does the A568 have that pin? because my brother and i looked and we couldn't find it. we even looked at both of his Spirit R/Ts and neither of them had it.

Martin, i haven't tried that yet. do you mean when i am coasting with the engine off? i just got back from a test drive and i noticed that it doesn't want to go into gear when downshifting either. ie., if i am going 30mph in 3rd, then clutch it and try to shift into 2nd it doesn't want to go in (same deal if i am in 5th and try to downshift to 4th). i have to hold it downwards and eventually it will go in. i don't necessarily have to pull the shifter harder and harder to finally go into 2nd gear, it seems i just have to keep pressure on it and eventually it goes into gear. this happens when upshifting too just not as bad. but like i said, the absolute worst "symptom" is when i'm at a stoplight and it will not go into 1st gear without absolutely forcing it. it isn't that bad all time BUT it is somewhat tough to get into 1st gear (or any gear) all of the time. the only time it is easy to get into gear (feels normal) is when i finally get it into gear with the clutch in. if i keep the clutch held in i can take it out of gear and go through the gears no problem as long as i keep the clutch held in after the initial time. sorry, i am probably really bad at explaining it

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[BadAssPerformance]

That pin is in this picture next to the reverse light switch. You unthread it and flip it over and thread it back in with the shifter in neutral. Unbolt and rebolt the shift cable end then flip the pin back over when you're done.

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC02724aa.jpg

[TurboSedan]

ok, just went out to take a look and found it. i mistook it for something else earlier because it has what looks like a vent cap on top of it.

well i am going to try that first. if that doesn't do it i'm just going to have to try taking the selector cover off and make sure everything is right in there. if that isn't it, well, i guess i'll just buy a new clutch and begin surgery

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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS