5.0 Mag April 2012...
Boss 302 Mustang
"The downside to the powertrain is the six speed manuals shifter... Bang the shifter at high rpm and at best you hit a brick wall in the neutral gate or worse generate a sickinging high speed grinding.You sure as heck wont grab a gear. This is the Boss 302 s weakest link !"
:grr: I say the MGW SHIFTER is EXPENSIVE but less so than a trans ! It should be a crime that Ford didnt go aftermarket on a shifter to get press like this on an otherwise flawless limited production car !

 

I have no issues with the gearbox however I'm past the age where I find it prudent to "bang" through the gears.

Of course, those magazines are more interested in creating problems to sell parts for their sponsors than providing anything useful to the enthusiast.

 

I find the gearbox rewards a light touch.

 

There is something to be said about the shifters mentioned in the article.

Yes, many drivers are experiencing issues with the stock shifter. I fore one experienced tha same issues as he writter of the article. The MGW fixed the problem.

Is the MGW expensive?? With a cost less than that or a rear tire.... Is that expensive??

Should Ford have invested in a quality shifter for the Boss?? If they had invested in a better shifter for all MT-82 cars they may have saved money in the long run.

Coulda, woulda shoulda.......

The shifter did make a huge difference for me.

 

I have also had the lockout of gear selection at high RPMs. I just recieved my MGW this week. This spring i will notice if the shifter remedies the issue.
Normal street use is fine, but when I ran it down the 1/4 mile it happened everytime.

 

Im not a road racer but a drag racer, I cant speak for anyone else but I have many times banged my car at 7000 RPM's and didnt miss a gear, no grrinding and it feels as tight as any shifer Ive ever had, and Ive had quite a few, competition plus, vertigate, you name it.........magazines are sponsored, by part makers.........get it?

 

Hey Tedd, Is the MGW equally at home on the dragstrip?

 

Some can baby this shifter or light touch or what ever you want to call it, then blame others for for not using it correctly as I have seen on many boards but the bottom line is that at high RPM's many of these transmissions simply do not work (shift). I know on my Boss I can shift with one finger or my whole hand and the same result will follow, no fifth.

The question that always comes to my mind is this, if we are suppose to shift the car in a dainty ladylike way, why does Ford promote the car as track ready car? When I shift into fifth it's at 125 MPH maybe in a turn or G-force banking, try as I might I can't do a nice gentle shift under these condition and I would rather have the car go into gear so I can continue on my way. In any case, light or firm, it still will not work until you lower the RMS's and from what I understand that does not tend to win races.

IMO opinion it is not the shifter but the trans. While the MGW shifter is a major improvement over the stock shifter it is not the answer to a poorly -- built or quality inspected or whatever word(s) you want to insert here --trans and will not solve these problems. It does make it easier to actually get the car to go into fifth and helped a lot with the newly presented fourth gear lockout I have seen but it does not fix it.

I did speak with George and he stated in fact the intent of the shifter was not to fix problems with the MT-82 but to address the weaknesses with the factory shifter. He told me this before I bought the shifter BTW. He did hit the bulls-eye with what they set out to do and I would recommend this shifter to anyone who does not have the money to swap in the Shelby gear box.

 

I shift it like my old Bimmer or Miata rather than like any North American car I have had. No lock outs on me since I adapted to this style. When I first drove it, I slammed it home and did indeed have issues. Put in away in November with 25k on it since picking it up in May and only had issues in the first few weeks. We'll see what 6 months of not using it will bring.

 

I have only made it down the 1/4 ONCE without a problem and it was a test, I basically kept all shifts @ 6k. and only ran a 13.0

 

Yep. While I had some grinding in 2nd and 4th early on I've had no issues shifting at high RPM's on the track or otherwise. If fact mine shifts better at high RPM's.

 

I agree....You cannot speak for everybody.

And yes I get it. That's why I looked to the web sites for opinions from people installing after market shifters. Then I looked at the different shifter on the market. Found only one who address the complete shifter issue, not just the cover and lever. Yea, several companies offer a rear mount bushing to replace the weak Ford mount. Only one company offers a double bushing on separate shafts. That's when I got it. Paid cash for it as a matter of fact.

And no, there are not a whole lot of magazines influencing me in Afghanistan. Get it.

I too have driven many different cars, trucks, semis, farm and industrial equipment. Standard shifters, air shifters, solid linkages, cable arrangements as well as automatics. My first after market shifter was the competition plus in 1978. A very impressive shifter. The standard I have compared other shifters to. The Ford shifter on the MT-82 does Not compare to the old reliable Comp Plus.

The shifter in the My Boss is NOT the worst stock shifter I have used. It just leaves a lot to be desired. The Muncie in my 1968 big block vette was a pure mystery shifter. Would it go into third or third and reverse?? Yes, very hard on the muncie. The Hurst shifter fixed that issue. That's why I looked into the hurst first. Not too impressive. No reverse lockout, a small light to install somewhere to warn you if you hit reverse. Poor reviese. Not reviews in magazines who of course sell parts. Reviews on line from many sources.

Other drivers, same results with the Boss.

So glad you are more capable then my self, the service manager from ford with 37 years experience, and other drivers who drove my Boss all with the same results.


Yea, I get it. I am not worthy.

 

I'd say rather than pointing out some of us ate better a shifting than others, what is in fact being pointed out is the inconsistency in the shifter/tranny combo. I doubt very much Ford spec'ed a ****** tranny combo on this car. I wager real world experience and production line manufacturing have uncovered some weaknesses.

 

I'm not going to get into the assinine "some people don't know how to shift" debate. We aren't trying to find a g-spot here, it's f'n 4th gear. If the lever stops cold in neutral, the shifter/tranny is faulty. Period.

I suffered the 4th gear lockout again yesterday. It has happened to me three or four times and only upon a) wfo acceleration, and b) when I might not have full traction. For sure, yesterday, the car was still spinning in 3rd, when I tried to upshift to fourth. Except for the grindy shift to 2nd, I never have shifter problems in ordinary driving.

Another data point that I have yet to hear from anyone else. My skip-shift no longer works. I tend to drive like Mr. Magoo on the street, so I don't mind skip-shift (I fantasize about a day my car might get 17 mpg). I still get the skip-shift indicator, but even if I go for an ultra-light flick down, the lever goes to 2nd, not 4th. I have no idea if this relates to any of the other complaints.

Researching the MGW.

Jimmy

 

 

Only have about 100 miles on my car and yesterday was really the only day I've had extended driving time in it. I had a couple of issues and just chalked them up to not having enough stick time yet.

My car was built in October, do the shifting issues seem to be more with the early builds or is this across the board?

 

OP. the problem may not be your shifter. I had this same issue with my car the first trip to the drag strip. High rpm shifting and the shifter hits a wall. It's a clutch issue. High rpms and the springs in the pressure plate won't release. Just from the rpms. Better clutch now and no problems at all. I would probably upgrade the shifter first but maybe shouldn't expect it fix the issue.

 

Hmm, I also don't think it is shifter, need to try tranny fluid change 1st to MTL and if that ain't it then maybe a better clutch is in the cards. Mine is 5th gear issue and it gets worse as the tranny gets hot.

Peter

 

Probably just a hot clutch issue also. Heat will make the fingers on the plate weaker also and lose spring tension. If its not grinding, it's probably not trans issues.

Also. Could possibly be a clutch fluid issue also but I doubt it.

 

How does the Barton shifter compare to the MGW ? I have been told the Barton is even more precise than the MGW.