I was driving down the road at about 60Km/h (37MPH) in 5th gear just cruising. and then i thought of a forum post complaining about transmission problems, notchy, clunky, etc.

my transmission is pretty notchy in the first couple gears too sometimes, so i thought maybe the clutch wasnt disengaging properly.

So as an experiment, i clutched in all the way as hard as i can pin the clutch pedal on the floor, and then i shifted out of 5th gear and try to shift it into the first (gently trying of course), it would not go in first gear.

I thought that if the clutch is fully disengaged, I should be able to shift into any gear I want? or maybe there is some kind of protective mechanism in the transmission that prevents people who want to shift into 3rd but accidentally shift to 1st?


PS. I wasnt going to clutch out, i just wanted to see if i could go in any gear i want if the clutch is fully disengaged.

 

This is normal. Lesson #1, never down shift into first gear when the car is already moving. You will f'k up your synchro.

 

I don't know the specifics on it but there is a lockout for first gear when u r at higher speeds ie over 10 mph. It was like that in my 03 gt 07 gt and now my 11 gt. stock shifter is notchy naturally unfortunately but listen for extra noises etc. Mgw short throw resolved my notchiness but if u r truly concerned that the tranny is having problems take it to two dealerships before accepting their that's normal excuse. Then install an Mgw and the notchiness will go away. Ford has worthless rubber mounts for the whole shift mechanism vice hard nylon bushings.

 

Your engine is disengaged from the transmission however your cars drive train (drive shaft and Rear end) are not. So the transmission is still turning. See where I am going with this.

 

Sounds like an experiment that could have been costly to me.....

 

im glad that i asked this question here.i could have got bored someday and try to do it and somehow actually got in that gear and it would be so bad.

how come i have heard of people blowing up their engine or clutch by shifting into 1st by accident when they wanted to shift into 3rd? their transmission doesnt have the 1st gear lock-out?

 

Agreed, downshifting into first gear at any speed above 5-10 mph is looking for trouble. Yea, the MGW shifter takes away any doubt of "is it me or the transmission". The worthless soft rubber rear support of the original shifter I believe was done by Ford to keep the noise from the gearbox at a minimum, and feel smooth as possible, but you never quite know what gear you will go into when shifting faster than normal. After all, isn't that one of the reasons we all bought Mustangs?

 

Question, is there any indication what gear your in on the dash or the 4.2 display for the manual 2011-13 cars?

 

nope...

 

To me, it's not difficult at all to know what gear I'm in. To go into 3/4 you have to be centered....I feel like if that is a problem for you, you shouldn't be speed shifting...

 

It's all about the feel...

 

once you get to know a car you can hear, feel and sense what gear your in. The main reason I love manual is you are more in tune with the car. For the noobs driving stick pay attantion to RPM vs MPH and you should be able to after a while know at a glance if your ever in question.

BTW for the OP.. why were you lugging your engine 37MPH in 5th??

 

^^ was wondering the same thing, 37 is a little low for 5th.

 

nothing is lugging, it cruises fine under 2000 RPM.

i can only imagine how much torque ur GTs have, cos even with my V6 i can get away easily shifting at 2000 RPM in the city.

 

Yeah, I haven't had any lugging with being in 5th at 37 MPH. The car cruises pretty well.

(Prefer 4th at that speed because it's louder)

 

I can shift to 5th at around 45, but acceleration is poor. I'd prefer to be in 4th until around 50 if I'm just cruising 60 if not. every 10 MPH shift is normal, 60+ in 3rd is for fun . Remember the GT can go to 7k RPM.... it sounds better and has more "push" when rev'd high. I've hit 90 in 4th with no problem.

 

This happens when people are accelerating hard (like during a drag race).
It's called a mechanical over rev and it does happen (ask LS1 owners).
In this case a rev limiter does nothing for you when you jam the trans in a lower gear.

Too my knowledge their is no first gear lock out. At slower speeds the system won't allow you too engage first gear untill you get below a certain MPH.
But at higher speeds it can happen under some conditions.

As a former LS1 T56 owner I have a bunch of bent and broken pushrods to prove this point. I have not heard of a new `11+ Mustang encountering this issue but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

Bah... dont tell my Tremec that!

 

5th on an MT82 is more like 4th on a T-45 etc...

I still believe that driving MT-82 cars by gear number instead of gear ratio is a cause of problems, even if it's only so-called downshift lockouts.

 

Manual says not to downshift to first over 15 mph.