ok.. its not really an issue, but an observation..

I was driving my car recently, and the shifter jammed, actually, it wasn't the shifter but the selectors in the transmission. (it still isn't quite the same as it was before, and I intend to fix it) HOWEVER, I discovered what caused it, and everyone should be aware..

Nobody, myself, the dealer, several others that looked at it, could not figure out what caused the jamming, so I took the car home. Since then, the car hasn't felt quite the same.. (if you've ever gotten your car's shifter jammed, it usually does a little damage to the gates in the shifter, or in our case, the selector in the transmission giving it more play, and therefore makes finding a gear sometimes difficult)

To make a long story short, I was hoping that the problem was due to the selector cables becoming damaged, or a bushing on the selectors on the tranny, so I upgraded to my aftermarket bushings..

While doing that, I upgraded to my B&M shifter and the shifter bushings for the assembly (let me add it took me just under 2 hours to do because I was being meticulous, very very easy installation BTW)

After removing the stock shifter, I set it aside and finished the installation..

Then I discovered what probably caused my jam up.. I looked at my stock shifter after cleaning it up. It turns out the Pivot ball (the large "ball" in the middle of the shifter) is pressed onto the shifter's shaft.. Well, it shifted down almost 1/4" (somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4) and changed the shifter geometry and I inadvertantly jammed the gear because it didn't 'slip into gear' the same way it did originally.

In theory, this shouldn't happen since the shifter gate has nothing to do with the shifter, its in the transmission's selector levers.. but I must have not been paying attention and somehow got it between and all fouled up. Mainly because there is a spring loaded "centering" device on the shifter that keeps the stick centered in the 3/4 gate position...

This is the best guess I have on what caused the issue other than something inside the transmission (again, nothing was found wrong with it)

When I replaced the shifter with an aftermarket, most of the problems went away.

Weird eh? Anyone else who has taken their shifter apart, take a look at the pivot ball on it and see if its shifted up (not pressed fully onto the shaft (you'll see grooves below the ball on the shaft.. )

Any thoughts? The trans oil is clear and no material, it wasn't underfilled or overfilled, the car shifted smoothly with no clunk or noise before the incident, and none since. However it doesn't want to shift into third from 5th (a 2 gear downshift) without knowing exactly where the gate is since it still seems off a small amount.

Just a quick warning, and query for thoughts..

 

All stock shifters look like they're not fully pressed in when in reality they are. There would have to be a huge force to loosen up that press fit. Those splines are there to hold the ball in but are not meant to be fully covered once installed. Your jamming is just a typical Evo tranny acting up, Welcome to the club!! Majority of Evos have some issues with their trannies.

 

LOL Figures.. Feel like doing a clutch soon?

 

Please do not make generalized statements like this. It is just not true that a 'majority' (ie over 50% of all Evos) have trans problems. There are people with problems, and there are more people experiencing problems than there should be with a new car like the Evo. But to say over 50% are effected, is a baseless statement.

SC~

 

BTW, It doesn't feel like theirs anything actually "wrong" just something out of adjustment that we can't find..

 

Oh and another though, although the ball doesnt "move" because its pressed on, it looks different than 2 other shifters I've seen, which led me to believe it may have been an issue.
Such is life.. I haven't had any trouble with it the past few days since I replaced the shifter.

 

My opinion is that, and I don't intend to change it. I have driven over 25 different Evos and maybe 2 have felt quite smooth when shifting, and I don't mean lugging it around town either. A relatively bone stock Evo has a better chance of maintaining a good tranny, but any high horsepower Evo will and has experienced tranny problems. I will change my statement that most HEAVILY MODDED Evos suffer from tranny concerns (over 330whp

 

When I downshift especially to 4th, 3th I hear the tranny "grinding sounds" from 4500 through 2800 RPM. I just bought the car this past weekend and have 100+ miles. I then went into the dealer and drove a similar '04 RS heard noise but not the grinding but was not able to hit the same RPMs. Maybe will have to go back and try again. When I try the same when my car is cold its hard to tell but when its been on the hwy I hear it clearly.

Any thoughts would be appreciated...