I noticed earlier this week that when I shift into 6th gear (around 60-65mph, like usual), I get a really bad shudder from the tranny. If I pick 5th at the same mph, it works fine. It feels like I picked 6th going about 45 or 50 mph...way too slow. I've got to take the car up to 80-85mph for the shudder to be 'tolerable', but I know it's still there. I've got 137k on the car, and at least 80k on the transmission. It was rebuilt/replaced/something before I got it.

Any thoughts, suggestions? Start saving for a tranny rebuild and be thankful it's my high gear as opposed to 1st?

Fred

 

tTt

 

I have the same prob so ttt for us

 

not sure how bad of a shudder you are talking about. Mine does this as well(only a slight shudder feel that most passengers don't even notice), but I expect it to. 60-65 is still to slow to shift into 6th and expect the car to still pickup speed. This is probably causing your shudder. Like you said 40-45 is too slow and would produce this feeling ---- well 60-65 is still a little too slow as well. 6th is for cruising at set speeds mainly not to eccelerate with.

 

4.11's will fix that

j/k but yes, shifting too soon can cause extra wear...

I usually dont let it go below 1500 rpms in 6th...any lower and I just go ahead and downshift into 5th.

What rpms are you at in 6th when this occurs?

 

Did you always have that shudder in that RPM range? Because it could be ignition related. I had a low RPM stumble/hesitation, and when I put it into 6th gear, it would shudder pretty bad, and shake my hand around on the shifter. I found out that I had 2 burnt plug wires and a weak coil Fixed those problems, and the shudder went away. And now I have 4.10s, so it makes 6th more usable

 

It's bad. Like shakes the whole car bad. I don't pick 6th at that speed to accelerate. I usually shift into 6th, flip on the cruise and set it; cruising at 62-ish mph.


That might be something though... I did just redo my plug wires. I'll check them out and make sure everything's hooked up right.

I don't know if I'm paranoid, but I have seemed to notice a slight shudder in all gears now.... how could an ignition problem cause the tranny to jump all over the place... and just in 6th gear?

Fred

 

If the ignition isnt firing properly you arent making as much power as you could be. And 6th gear is a very 'overdriven' gear which is the hardest for the engine to push the car.

What rpms are you at when this happens? Usually when I was under 1500 rpms in 6th I would get the same thing but I learned to just use 6th without deviating from whatever speed I was at, to keep it consistent, which woulnt shudder. Now that I have 4.11's it doesnt shudder at all, and 6th is usable on pretty much any hill, and otherwise at any rpm above 1100 or so on a flat.

 

I'm shifting into 6th at about 2000-2300ish, just normal, casual driving. The engine slows back down to 1700 or so at 65mph. I have to take the car up to 80-85mph before the shudder goes away (or away enough that it's tolerable) I wouldn't even try to go into 6th at anything less than 60.

If it is one of the plug wires I just put in (and this would make sense because the shudder appeared close to the time I did the new wires) how would I go about finding which one(s) were causing the problem?

 

that sounds normal to me. when i had 3.42's and bolt ons, 6th gear was basically usless unless u were going above 75-80. RPMs had to be above about 2,0000-2,500 for it to pull like any other gear without shuttering.

 

I know what you're saying, but I've always driven in 6th above 60 when I'm cruising. The shudder isn't normal, it's extreme. I don't want it to pull in 6th, I just want to drive with it. There's no reason to run the car at 2k to just go 65.

 

It will be apparent which ones are problematic. Just take a good look at the wires (take them off one at a time) and check them for cracks in the insulation, burn/melted marks, etc. Mine were obvious.

 

That would so rock.

PatriotTA and stone4779: You two are on the ball tonight! You had the answer!

psst...my94blackz .... check and see if your number 6 plug wire is actually connected to the plug. You'd be surprised how much that helps!!

Fred

 

my94Z....

The wires can sometimes be hard to tell if they clicked in there...be sure to check both ends...the end on the coil and the ends on the plugs.

Did you change the spark plugs too? If you did then it could be that they arent gapped properly.

Of course it could be a bad coil, but I dont know how to check that..I havnt had a problem with mine yet[knocks on wood].....suggestions anybody?

ucnu112: no problem man....any problems you have you can always post on this board and chances are someone here can at minimum point you in the right direction.

Now, for those 4.11's! I absolutely L-O-V-E mine! Great for racing on a roll