Lost 3rd Gear at the track

[tetstang]

So, I was at the track and having a great day, ...then I lost 3rd gear. Shifter was engaged in 3rd, I was throttling on exiting a turn, experienced some vibration and then the car went to red line. Shifter (MGW) stayed in 3rd gear position. Have all other gears including reverse and clutch is fine (McLeod RXT). Shifter moves into all positions, but 3rd gear is nada. No grinding, and no big noises.

Ideas? Shift collar toasted?

Thanks for any help.
TS

 

[VoodooBoss]

I had the same thing happen. The gear breaks between the gear and shifting fork guide (I think that's what it's called). I've seen a couple of others have the thing happen. Search and you'll find a photo I posted of someone else's that broke. Is your car under warranty?

 

[steveespo]

What year? Broken synchro for 3rd gear by the sound of it.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Here it is. This is how mine looked.

 

[tetstang]

Thanks for the replies. Any more thoughts are really welcome! I'll admit, I expected the tranny to break at some point. Car sees about 25-30 track days a year (road course - Sonoma, Thunderhill, Laguna Seca). It's never been a smooth shifter, and has always run hot, spewing fluid out of that little funky vent at the top. Finally seemed to control that with a rubber line and catch can mounted up near the battery and the Boss trans cooler scoop below, and RedLine fluid.

So, now...what to do about it. Stay with the crummy MT-82 setup, or replace with a Magnum XL? I looked into the Tremec Magnum XL, and don't care for the gearing. My final drive is stock 3:55 limited slip (not Torsen - My car is a GT). Looks like with the Tremec 2.97 first gear option, I'd have to go with a 4:10 rear gear set just to get close to what I'm used to. Even with that, the combined gearing is a bit taller - not what I need. And, once into the differential, why not a Torsen diff as well? Oh, and I'll need a new clutch disk for the RXT for the 26 spline Tremec. Oh...Oh.. and a new driveshaft too to mate up with the yoke of the Tremec.

See what I mean.... yikes. Any experiences from you guys with Bosses that have swapped to Tremec would be really appreciated !!

TS

 

[VoodooBoss]

I'm in the keep fixing the MT-82 for all the reasons you just listed. There are plenty of upgrades you can make that will make shifting the car easier including using an Auto-Blip. In fact later today I'm going to launch a contest where you can win one.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Thanks for the replies. Any more thoughts are really welcome! I'll admit, I expected the tranny to break at some point. Car sees about 25-30 track days a year (road course - Sonoma, Thunderhill, Laguna Seca). It's never been a smooth shifter, and has always run hot, spewing fluid out of that little funky vent at the top. Finally seemed to control that with a rubber line and catch can mounted up near the battery and the Boss trans cooler scoop below, and RedLine fluid.

So, now...what to do about it. Stay with the crummy MT-82 setup, or replace with a Magnum XL? I looked into the Tremec Magnum XL, and don't care for the gearing. My final drive is stock 3:55 limited slip (not Torsen - My car is a GT). Looks like with the Tremec 2.97 first gear option, I'd have to go with a 4:10 rear gear set just to get close to what I'm used to. Even with that, the combined gearing is a bit taller - not what I need. And, once into the differential, why not a Torsen diff as well? Oh, and I'll need a new clutch disk for the RXT for the 26 spline Tremec. Oh...Oh.. and a new driveshaft too to mate up with the yoke of the Tremec.

See what I mean.... yikes. Any experiences from you guys with Bosses that have swapped to Tremec would be really appreciated !!

TS

Sorry to hear that,... I went through 3 MT82 gear boxes from 2013 to 2015. Then in late 2015 Got a Ben Calimer built stage 1 Mt82 and after at least 30 track days its still going strong. My track buddy has a GT and he did a auto to manual swap to the same Calimer stage one box but with the new MGW race shifter, boy does it shift nicely. Its far cheaper then the magnum swap and you keep the gear ratios for our high rpm motor.

Actually out of all my upgrades, the improved Calimer MT82 made the biggest difference as far as winning races goes.

 

[tetstang]

OK Folks....things just got weird with my "lost 3rd gear". My mechanic put it on the lift today, drained and inspected the fluid (RedLine MTL). Clean, no metal, no issues. I told him that I had unplugged the Skip-Shift solenoid at about 500 miles, and wondered (a true WAG) if the problem could be electrical. He filled it with fluid, connected the solenoid and ran thru the gears with the car on the lift. A-hum.... 3rd gear was present and accounted for.

What?? So, no broken gears and metal flying around. Working 3rd gear now. Does this make any sense? Is there a solenoid, actuator or something that could fail that won't allow the car to be in gear, even if the stick shift is in position? Is this a coincidence with a fluid change?

Remember, I lost 3rd gear while under throttle, with no position change in the stick shift.

Ideas?

 

[zajac]

I do not want to hijack this thread about 3rd gear. But I see that you are using Redline MTL as a trans fluid. Is that a choice you made rather than Redline automatic trans fluid or Mercon 5. I do not have a Boss so I do not know the stock fluid recommendation. I have used Redline MTL in many other manual transmissions with excellent results. I have been unhappy with the Mercon 5, Redline automatic trans fluid and Royal Purple in my S197 w/Tremec 3650 and have considered Redline MTL.

 

[tetstang]

RedLine MTL seemed to work better, that's all. Tried RedLine auto trans fluid as well. MTL helped with the overheating issue.

Back on topic: I read on another forum that third gear in the MT-82 is a two piece gear. A few have broken in half and left little evidence in the fluid. Can anyone here verify this ??

 

[VoodooBoss]

RedLine MTL seemed to work better, that's all. Tried RedLine auto trans fluid as well. MTL helped with the overheating issue.

Back on topic: I read on another forum that third gear in the MT-82 is a two piece gear. A few have broken in half and left little evidence in the fluid. Can anyone here verify this ??

Yes, I already did. There were no visible metal particles in my trans but they still need to replace all bearings.

 

[tetstang]

VoodooBoss
I didn't get that from your earlier post. The gears looked whole.

 

[VoodooBoss]

It's broken into two pieces.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

It looks like a radial break where the syncro sleeve broke away from the gear?

2HP

 

[Bossncobra]

There is a nylon piece that goes in the shift fork, it is what slides the syncro hub back and forth as the fork moves. When we took my trans apart, these pieces were junk. 2 were broke and 2 were ground down to almost nothing. It would explain why there is no metal coming out with your fluid. It is the weak point of these trannys. I reverse engineered one, and when I find someone with a lathe and mill, I am going to make them out of bronze. Now that mine have been replaced, it shifts like a toploader. ( I have a ram clutch, MGW shifter) I just powershifted it at 7500 in every gear on a test shot yesterday. THESE CAN GET WORN DOWN FROM RESTING YOUR HAND ON THE SHIFTER WHILE DRIVING.

 

[2012-Boss]

There is a nylon piece that goes in the shift fork, it is what slides the syncro hub back and forth as the fork moves. When we took my trans apart, these pieces were junk. 2 were broke and 2 were ground down to almost nothing. It would explain why there is no metal coming out with your fluid. It is the weak point of these trannys. I reverse engineered one, and when I find someone with a lathe and mill, I am going to make them out of bronze. Now that mine have been replaced, it shifts like a toploader. ( I have a ram clutch, MGW shifter) I just powershifted it at 7500 in every gear on a test shot yesterday. THESE CAN GET WORN DOWN FROM RESTING YOUR HAND ON THE SHIFTER WHILE DRIVING.

Yes, that is one of the week points in the transmission. There are three areas I know of off hand: The shift fork pads, the shift stop, and flexing of the shift for itself. You can buy bronze shift pads and stops and may re-builders weld the shift forks. These modifications help, and are a big part of what the performance re-builders do, but they are not full proof. You can get the bronze parts at several places, but I would suggest you contact Ben Calimer to find out your best options:

https://www.facebook.com/Getragmt82/

 

[Mad Hatter]

+1 on Ben Calimer

 

[SDS]

Yes, that is one of the week points in the transmission. There are three areas I know of off hand: The shift fork pads, the shift stop, and flexing of the shift for itself. You can buy bronze shift pads and stops and may re-builders weld the shift forks. These modifications help, and are a big part of what the performance re-builders do, but they are not full proof. You can get the bronze parts at several places, but I would suggest you contact Ben Calimer to find out your best options:

https://www.facebook.com/Getragmt82/

+2 on Ben Calimer.....he's addressed all of the weak links in the 82 internals

Steve