# hard shifting, if at all



## The Black Mongoose (Oct 16, 2012)

so a short back story,

a few months ago i brought the gto into the stealership to have the master cylinder and the slave replaced. appearently they were cracked, at the same time i also replaced the the clutch and flywheel. 

now, i have been gone for a few months and havent been driving it, but today when i was touring around town, i noticed it was extremely had to shift into 1st mosty, but sometimes some of the other gears while upshifting, sometimes when down shifting, and really hard shifting into reverse.

sometimes it seems to "jump" into gear when i release the clutch.

i checked the fluid when i got home and it was dark brown (which i would think it would be clear since the should have put in new fluid) and same in the brake master, which all the fluids were suppose to flushed and swapped at the time of the service work.

npw when i did bring the car to them the "qualified technician" completely botched my shifter (ripshift). i manged to get the instructions for him to rebuild it, but could it still be all messed up and that was causing my shifting peoblems??

kinda hard to believe that master and slave would have anything to do with the gears themselves


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## pocketmaster (Feb 26, 2010)

The Black Mongoose said:


> so a short back story,
> 
> a few months ago i brought the gto into the stealership to have the master cylinder and the slave replaced. appearently they were cracked, at the same time i also replaced the the clutch and flywheel.
> 
> ...


I would start with the simplest thing to change and that would be the fluid. Personal experience a fluid swap can make all the difference in the world. I was having issues similar to yours after my Monster Clutch was installed. Checked the fluid about two weeks after install and it was dark. Changed it out and everything was good to go. Now its a habit to check my clutch fluid once a week....maybe more considering its my DD


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

The fluid is the first place to start. The darkening comes from clutch dust getting past the slave seal and into the hydraulics. What clutch and fly did they put in? After a really, really good bleed and fluid change park the car on a flat surface, put the car in first gear, take your foot off the brake and with the clutch depressed rev the engine a couple of times. You should not feel the car move at all. If you do report back.


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## The Black Mongoose (Oct 16, 2012)

I dropped it off today since it the work was under warranty. I had them install a monster stage 2 with the lightened flywheel. 

If the clutch dust is getting into the fluid, wouldn't that indicate that there is a problem somewhere else in the hyd system??


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

No pretty common and there a 99% chance that seeing you had someone else to the work they never flushed the line so you probably had most in there before.Clutch dust is extremely fine. When the slave's piston extends a tiny amount clings to the piston before it retracts. There's no way to stop it. I wish they went back to external slaves with a levered arm. Made adjustment and replacement of slaves easy too. If you didn't get a remte bleeder installed you will some day regret it. It makes flushing fluid very clean and easy and doing so extends the slave's life.

The clutch setup is so fussy with these cars and most the mechanics that work on them so uninformed that install using them is hit or miss. Monster has a reputation of stock measurements and highly leveraged pressure plate fingers and they are much more fool proof. You should be fine on the 2nd go round. I don't let anybody touch my car anymore.


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## The Black Mongoose (Oct 16, 2012)

Update:
Got a call from Chevy today with the tech on a three way. The tech flat out told me its most likely the clutch housing/assembly... Without even at least bleeding the clutch. Thoughts...

I called the advisor back and called bs, since that's the only part that wasn't under Chevy warranty. So he said he's going to have another tech look at it and at least bleed the clutch and swap the fluid.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

At least they'll try something although it's possible it's the cutch. The way to know is to do all the measurements and other work to really find out. Most mechanics like to put on parts until it's fixed. This car is very worth learning to fix yourself unless you're lucky enough to live near the few that understand it and have the money to pay them.


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## pocketmaster (Feb 26, 2010)

The Black Mongoose said:


> I dropped it off today since it the work was under warranty. I had them install a monster stage 2 with the lightened flywheel.
> 
> If the clutch dust is getting into the fluid, wouldn't that indicate that there is a problem somewhere else in the hyd system??


I have a Monster Stage 2 and love it. The guys @ SNL Performance installed it @ 90k miles. I currently am sitting @ 153k miles and its holding up like a champ. I do frequently change or at least use the "Ranger" method to change my fluid. Make a world of difference.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Although the turkey baster method does something it is minimal. A tiny bit of fluid goes part way down the clutch line and then gets returned to the reservoir when you let off the clutch. The clutch dust is concentrated at the bottom in the slave piston area. You are diluting a tiny bit off the top and then only part of that works its way up. Flushing using the bleeder either under the car and making a mess or standing up with a remote bleeder flushes it from the top all the way to the bottom. The abrasiveness of the clutch dust causes excessive wear on the "post" that the slave piston seals against and IMHO is one of the leading causes of our frequent slave failures. I took apart my last slave when I rebuilt my engine and that "post" had very noticeable wear you could easily feel and even though it wasn't leaking it was going to soon.


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## The Black Mongoose (Oct 16, 2012)

As a side note, I ordered a new rubber shifter boot. The ripshift tore it to shreds. I know this is a common problem for the shifter, and I've seen some remedies but in the end it ends up tearing anyways. 

My idea is to melt the rubber so it's more square instead of round, and maybe adding some rubber to the steel of the shifter so it's a little easier on the whiter boot. Your thoughts...

Also I ordered a rebuild kit for the shifter. But the kit came with 4 (2 larger in diameter, 2 smaller) springs. I thought there were only 2 (one on each side) of the shifter. It does look like the smaller one may fit inside the larger. Any ideas. Reason I'm asking,is the last time some tranny work was done, the moron didn't realize it was aftermarket, took it apart, and didn't know how to put it together. So I don't even know if he recovered all the parts.


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## The Black Mongoose (Oct 16, 2012)

Well boys here's what the dealership finally sent me. Maybe 1000 miles and 6 months. I was gone for 5 months


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

I've been 9 years with my GMM and original white and black boots. No issues.


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