# 05' M6 Hard to shift 1st and Reverse



## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Two months back the transmission became hard to shift into first and reverse. Diagnosed at the shop as a bad slave cylinder. Replaced slave and installed Monster Stage 1 clutch. Not cheap to say the least. Here I am two months later and it is now again hard to shift into 1st and reverse. Reverse being the worst I really have to force it in with multiple pushes sometimes. Other times it's fine. All other gears seem more hesitant to engage as well. What could be the cause of this? I would really hope the brand new slave isn't already failing! Please help!


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## 68OldGoat (Nov 23, 2009)

How many miles do you have on the car? What kind of shifter do you have (OE or aftermarket)? Sounds like you might have a worn shifter!


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## ViperT4 (Jul 18, 2010)

Try bleeding the slave first.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

It's not the shifter. You can test if it's the slave or if the system needs bleeding. Park the car on a flat surface. Put the car in gear with the clutch depressed normally and rev the engine. If you feel any pulling forward movement the clutch is not completely disengaging and you more than likely need to bleed the slave or perhaps even need a thin shim behind the slave. If that's not it you need transmission work.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Reverse is out completely as of today. I'm really frustrated with this! It's OEM shifter, and 61k miles. 1st engages good still so it shouldn't be the slave right? What else prevents reverse from engaging? I can press very hard on the shifter it just won't go...


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

There is a whine sound coming from the engine or transmission now. I would assume it's the transmission and probably related to the reverse issue as well. Back to the shop she will go once again...


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Shop says they think a bearing is out in the transmission and the syncro's are bad. Going to have to tear down transmission to fix. It's looking like this repair should be covered under the extended warranty thankfully!


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

I really hope someone can help me out here. Just got the car back from shop. They did transmission oil change, and that's it. Told me shifter assembly is worn, and that's the reason for reverse issue. The whining sound is still just as loud. The technician apparently told service guy it's normal. Most definitely is not. $200 wasted...

Sounds like a R/C car electric motor. It gets louder as RPM's rise, and progressively louder through each higher gear. The sound dissipates after a few seconds of pressing the clutch in, or taking it out of gear into neutral. It winds down, and stops. Another note to make. If I have it out of gear, with clutch pressed all way in, movement into a gear will cause the sound to start. That's before even engaging into the gear slot. You know when it hits that point of resistance?

I really hope someone can help me diagnose this issue as apparently shops are no longer capable of doing their jobs. After they can't fix something just go a head and say the sound is normal when I know it isn't. It started instantly while driving. Not something that developed slowly over time...

Is there any know issues with Monster Stage 1 clutch, or Monster clutches in general creating a whining sound with some type of failure? I really don't think it's the clutch because it only has 5k miles at most on it now. The sound from interior driving seems to be located towards front of vehicle by the engine, and not towards the rear.

This is all the more frustrating because I have the extended warranty, and I really think this is something internal to the transmission that should be covered. Without a diagnostic determining the problem I can't get it fixed, however...


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Pretty hard to diagnose this on the internet but you didn't indicate of you tried the test I listed above. I've never seen a shifter on these cars wear out at that mileage. did you take the car to a transmission specialist shop or general repair place?


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

I just did the test as you described. The vehicle has no movement with 1st in gear and clutch engaged high revving. I took the vehicle to a GM shop. General repair, and not transmission specific. However, they are supposed to be capable of diagnosing and fixing transmissions.

Like I said if I hit that point of resistance and hold it there with clutch engaged the sound will start to get louder as if it's creating a rotation on something in the transmission causing the issue. This only happens in motion. The same does not happen with vehicle parked using identical process.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

What's really messed up in this situation is how the shop first told me they believe the sound was a bearing going bad in the transmission. Then they change their diagnose to transmission needing an oil change. After the oil change makes absolutely no difference to the sound they then call it normal. So basically they misdiagnosed, didn't fix the issue, and then said it was good to go charging me $200 on the way out when this is likely a warranty covered issue. Also, they go for syncro's likely being bad to a bad shifter when svede is telling me it would be extremely rare for a shifter to be bad at my vehicles mileage. What should I do in this situation?


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## SyncTSH (Dec 28, 2012)

Yea im not sure why or how car shops have decided they can charge customers for their own stupidity and ignorance, just because they spent time doing dumb work doesn't mean the customer has to pay. 

I was formally into DSM cars and let me tell you they had their share of trans/shifting problems haha. The GTO has been pretty easy to deal with so far for me. I would advise taking it to a reputable performance shop that understands aftermarket clutch assemblies and these types of issues. general repair shops just replace shit, and generally don't care enough to solve complex issues like this. Goodluck, if you were in ohio I have a lot of suggestions, but I don't know of anyone in that area.


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## SyncTSH (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh, have you considered installing these parts:

Tick Performance Adjustable Clutch Master Cylinder Kit - 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO [TAMCKGTO] - $339.99$314.99 : MarylandSpeed.com- Your First Stop on the Way to Performance!

Tick Performance Remote Clutch Speedbleeder Line - 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, C5 Corvette, and LS1 F-Body [TPSBL] - $49.95 : MarylandSpeed.com- Your First Stop on the Way to Performance!

may give you some adjustment to make things work better.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Another update. Took her back to the shop and went for test drive with the service manager. He of course heard the sound and told me they would figure out what's wrong. The shop came back at me with diagnoses for shifter boot torn. This is the first issue on their diagnose tree. They wanted $300 to install this $60 part. I declined service, and as of now would like to replace to boot myself, and install an aftermarket shifter. If the boot doesn't solve the whine sound, and the shifter doesn't correct the reverse issue I'm back at square one.

Really don't think either will solve my issues. Basically right now I'm forced to do both in order to rule them out though. I'm reading a lot about the rear end developing a whining sound on our GTO's. Maybe that is the cause? What's bothering me is that I can hear, and increase the sound before a gear is engaged by holding it at that point of resistance. Do syncro's sound like a possible issue before this? I need to find good price on replacing the boot. Any suggestions? The GM OEM is $65 through that dealership. I also need to find an aftermarket shifter. I'm seeing BMM as the main available going for an average of $200. Any help would be appreciated!

I've been researching a lot about transmission whine on our GTO's, and I guess a main cause is the rear end. Took a friend for test drive today, and he could hear the whine outside vehicle. Driving I hear it coming through the shifter. Could I be experiencing the common differential whine? Again this sound developed out of no where. That's why I don't think the shift boot is at fault. Maybe the sound is traveling through the rear end and resonating in the shifter assembly?


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## 68OldGoat (Nov 23, 2009)

> Two months back the transmission became hard to shift into first and reverse. Diagnosed at the shop as a bad slave cylinder. Replaced slave and installed Monster Stage 1 clutch. Not cheap to say the least. Here I am two months later and it is now again hard to shift into 1st and reverse. Reverse being the worst I really have to force it in with multiple pushes sometimes. Other times it's fine. All other gears seem more hesitant to engage as well. What could be the cause of this? I would really hope the brand new slave isn't already failing! Please help!


We seem to be getting off-track to help solve your problem! I thought the problem was the shifting issue with 1st & reverse after the new clutch install. We appreciate you using this forum to find information but let's not expand the problem we started with. The rear end in these cars do whine sometimes ....but it has nothing to do with your car not going into reverse. It sounds like the people (I hate to use the word mechanics) you have taken this car to for diagnosis, don't know what they are talking about. Best next move would be to find someone with the skill to give a more plausible diagnosis than the shifter boot is ripped so it won't go into reverse ......Really?

The shifters most recommended on this forum are the GMM RipShift or the MGW-P.


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## SWGOAT (Nov 9, 2010)

I had issue with no reverse, syncro was replaced, check lockout soleniod operation if you still do not have reverse. RP syncromesh trans fluid can really help with shift quality. Torco RPG fluid for rear diff really helps with diff noises. You will need FM with Torco fluid. Just a thought, carrier bearing on drive shaft, they make noise when going bad and sounds like trans? Hard to say, change diff fluid, inspect carrier bearing on DS.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

New shop has diagnosed three bad gears (worn down) after complete teardown of transmission. Warranty has decided to not to cover this $1700 repair because of the Monster stage 1 installed less than 5k miles. Shop wants basically $800 in parts, and $900 in labor to fix the transmission. I should have never put in the stage 1 monster. Now I'm out a lot of money because of this decision.

The shifting was an issue well before installing the aftermarket clutch. They could never diagnose what was wrong. Dealership manager is trying to get warranty company to cover repairs, but I don't think that'll happen even considering the circumstances. Shop wants the $800 in parts for the three gears. I've searched for the entire gear cluster with minimal results. Can anyone help here? What should I do? Think at this point I will cancel the warranty and get back whatever I can from the $2000+ spent on it. This GTO has been a huge PIA for having 60k miles. Would have never expected so many issues on a low mileage vehicle...


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## 68OldGoat (Nov 23, 2009)

You are always going to throw the dice when you buy a used car and then you consider the extra performance of the GTO and your chances of getting something worn out prematurely by a previous owner (beat on) are high. Look at the positive side ..... you have a new clutch and will have a new transmission that you know is going to be reliable for many more miles.

Just as an idea, Sometimes the GM Dealerships can influence an Insurance Co decision on covering a repair. The insurance is looking for any preexisting problems prior to the clutch install. Maybe you could have the dealer submit the first time you took the car to them and reported the shifting problem .... hopefully this would be prior to you getting the new clutch. I think the insurance could be convinced that the tranny should be covered if you can prove to them you had the shifting problem before the clutch install ... and can have it backed up by a dealer.

Good Luck!


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

gt4awd said:


> New shop has diagnosed three bad gears (worn down) after complete teardown of transmission. Warranty has decided to not to cover this $1700 repair because of the Monster stage 1 installed less than 5k miles. Shop wants basically $800 in parts, and $900 in labor to fix the transmission. I should have never put in the stage 1 monster. Now I'm out a lot of money because of this decision.
> 
> The shifting was an issue well before installing the aftermarket clutch. They could never diagnose what was wrong. Dealership manager is trying to get warranty company to cover repairs, but I don't think that'll happen even considering the circumstances. Shop wants the $800 in parts for the three gears. I've searched for the entire gear cluster with minimal results. Can anyone help here? What should I do? Think at this point I will cancel the warranty and get back whatever I can from the $2000+ spent on it. This GTO has been a huge PIA for having 60k miles. Would have never expected so many issues on a low mileage vehicle...


A Monster Stage 1 clutch is not responsable for transmission internal damage. Your warranty company is being retarded.

Its about the equaviant of an LS7 clutch upgrade from GM.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Yes, I am aware of the fact there's no way the clutch caused this damage. The warranty companies look for anything they can to deny an expensive repair claim. They even said there's a "rubber build up at wheel wells", and were accusing me of beating on the car. Damn thing can't even do a burnout because of stock suspension wheel hop. I went back and forth with dealership owner. Threatened to sue in small claims and to report to BBB. Eventually he gave in. He will cover 1/3, warranty company 1/3, and myself 1/3 or repair costs... What did help is the fact that I did bring vehicle in multiple times for shifting issues before the monster clutch was ever installed.


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## gt4awd (Mar 26, 2012)

Got the GTO back just a few ago. Sound is gone, and it's shifting good. One thing I noticed. If I overshoot 5th gear and accidentally attempt to slide into reverse there's a grind of gear. That's with clutch fully pressed. I remember reverse always being locked out, and prevented from any type of engagement. Other than that things seem back to normal. The work order states replacing 3 of the gears, and that 5-6 syncro was melted to 6th gear. That bumped up repair costs some. Out the door at $720 for a $2400 repair. Can't complain too much I guess... Please car give me peace of mind for months now. I've had the bad luck of something going wrong once a month or every two months, and the failures seem to be getting more extensive!


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