[d0nindp]

I went on a road trip this weekend from Houston to Louisiana. Yesterday after we got up and went to breakfast my car wouldn't shift properly. It will go into gear and I'm sure it's not the clutch.

Basically the gear shifter has no spring and it's very tight. It goes into gear fine when you find the gear. 5th is a little difficult to find for fear of trying accidentally going to reverse.

I drove it home and plan to drop the car off at the dealer tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone experienced this before and if so what was it? My shifter has been squeaking the last month or two and I have the stock shifter.

 

[darkman]

Standard operating procedure is to check the clutch fluid level first whenever a V has any kind of shift-related problems. I would do that. In your case, however, it does sound like you shifter bushings and/or clutch pedal bushings are worn.

 

[gtg732w]

Also, d0nindp, the V should lock out reverse after you get to a certain speed to prevent mixing up 5th and reverse.

May not be best to rely on it if you're having other tranny problems, but I was glad to know about it when I found out.

 

[d0nindp]

Also, d0nindp, the V should lock out reverse after you get to a certain speed to prevent mixing up 5th and reverse.

May not be best to rely on it if you're having other tranny problems, but I was glad to know about it when I found out.

Car is going to the dealer tomorrow. We'll see what they say.

 

[AG'S-V]

Car is going to the dealer tomorrow. We'll see what they say.

Which dealer you taking it to?

 

[rand49er]

... it does sound like you shifter bushings ...

If those suckers self destructed, which is highly likely, that would definitely explain the symptoms you mention.

Good answer, darkman!





(Watch. It'll be something totally different. :banghead

 

[darkman]

(Watch. It'll be something totally different. :banghead

Well diagnosis by internet pole is risky business, on the other hand our advice is pretty much worth what we charge for it.

 

[d0nindp]

Which dealer you taking it to?

Stewart Cadillac downtown. Jaime the V mechanic knows me and my car and I trust him to work on my car. Plus Stewart is about 3 minutes from my office.

 

[CadzillaTN]

clutch pedal bushing?

 

[PISNUOFF]

He was talking about the shifter bushings on the linkage. I would put my money on that after checking and swapping the fluid.

 

[darkman]

clutch pedal bushing?

There are bushings in the clutch pedal assemby; and worn clutch pedal bushings are second on the troubleshooting list (GM Service Manual) under "dragging clutch."

The shift bushings, however, seem more likely (to me) in this case because of the report that the shifter "has no spring and is very tight."

 

[d0nindp]

Still waiting to get a call from the dealer to tell me what the problem is/was... I did get a chance to speak to the mechanic when I dropped it off. He said the shifting feels "very tight" and believes it is probably a problem with the shifter. Hoping to find out something soon so I don't have to walk home.

 

[d0nindp]

Okay so we were kind of all wrong... My service rep just called. I didn't get a lot of details but my transmission is shot and it is being completely replaced with a new one - all covered under warranty. After 4 or 5 times of being in the shop for transmissions problems (that would never reproduce themselves for the mechanics or service rep) my transmission is being replaced... I should hopefully find out more tonight when I go by to pick up a loaner car.

I guess I was lucky I got back to Houston from my road trip. So much for only needing a shifter, I guess that's why I'm an IT Manager and not a mechanic.

 

[darkman]

Glad to hear the warranty will cover your problem. Some folks have had to wait awhile on replacement transmissions. I hope there are some in the supply pipeline by now.

 

[d0nindp]

Glad to hear the warranty will cover your problem. Some folks have had to wait awhile on replacement transmissions. I hope there are some in the supply pipeline by now.

Me too! If not I'll be putting miles on the dealerships new loaner car. I enjoy having a loaner car for a week or longer. When I get back into my car it's like getting a new car and it always seems so much faster than I previously remember.

 

[calidave]

This is the first time I've heard somebody complain about tight shifting in the V..

Glad to hear it's getting sorted though.

 

[darkman]

Me too! If not I'll be putting miles on the dealerships new loaner car. I enjoy having a loaner car for a week or longer. When I get back into my car it's like getting a new car and it always seems so much faster than I previously remember.

On the one occasion I had a loaner car I loved it - I could actually go to the store and not have to park a quarter of a mile away to keep away from the other people's opening car doors hitting my darling V.

 

[d0nindp]

Alright, got my new 09 CTS. It sounds a lot faster than it is. The mechanics said there is a transmission with my name on it in Michigan. It should be about 5 days until it gets here. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

The mechanic that looked at my car also ripped apart my transmission. I forgot the exact things he said but I'll try my best... It wasn't the gears that were bad but rather the gear looking things that engage the gears. Looking at the

perhaps they are called "gear blockers" but there is one for each gear and they are all noticeably wore. In addition to the wore parts, there were 3 little tabs on the 5th gear (or something associated with 5 gear) perhaps it was the 5th gear syncro key? Whatever the part was, it was 5th gear related and one of the tabs was broken off. Perhaps this was causing the intermittent noise I was hearing in the past? He didn't know what would cause all the wear to gear/blocker (I'm calling them blockers.) The actual gears were in good shape with no noticeable wear.

Long story short it was $3,800 for a news transmission or $3,500 for the new parts to replace my damaged parts and $1,000 in labor to reassemble the trans with the new parts. The dealer decided to give me a new transmission and I'm VERY pleased with their decision!