05' M6 Hard to shift 1st and Reverse

gt4awd · 12-30-2012, 06:09 PM

Two months back the transmission became hard to shift into first and reverse. Diagnosed at the shop as a bad slave cylinder. Replaced slave and installed Monster Stage 1 clutch. Not cheap to say the least. Here I am two months later and it is now again hard to shift into 1st and reverse. Reverse being the worst I really have to force it in with multiple pushes sometimes. Other times it's fine. All other gears seem more hesitant to engage as well. What could be the cause of this? I would really hope the brand new slave isn't already failing! Please help!

68OldGoat · 12-31-2012, 01:24 AM

How many miles do you have on the car? What kind of shifter do you have (OE or aftermarket)? Sounds like you might have a worn shifter!

ViperT4 · 12-31-2012, 09:29 AM

Try bleeding the slave first.

svede1212 · 12-31-2012, 10:17 AM

It's not the shifter. You can test if it's the slave or if the system needs bleeding. Park the car on a flat surface. Put the car in gear with the clutch depressed normally and rev the engine. If you feel any pulling forward movement the clutch is not completely disengaging and you more than likely need to bleed the slave or perhaps even need a thin shim behind the slave. If that's not it you need transmission work.

gt4awd · 12-31-2012, 05:42 PM

Reverse is out completely as of today. I'm really frustrated with this! It's OEM shifter, and 61k miles. 1st engages good still so it shouldn't be the slave right? What else prevents reverse from engaging? I can press very hard on the shifter it just won't go...

gt4awd · 01-01-2013, 06:09 PM

There is a whine sound coming from the engine or transmission now. I would assume it's the transmission and probably related to the reverse issue as well. Back to the shop she will go once again...

gt4awd · 01-09-2013, 06:38 PM

Shop says they think a bearing is out in the transmission and the syncro's are bad. Going to have to tear down transmission to fix. It's looking like this repair should be covered under the extended warranty thankfully!

gt4awd · 01-11-2013, 05:59 PM

I really hope someone can help me out here. Just got the car back from shop. They did transmission oil change, and that's it. Told me shifter assembly is worn, and that's the reason for reverse issue. The whining sound is still just as loud. The technician apparently told service guy it's normal. Most definitely is not. $200 wasted...

Sounds like a R/C car electric motor. It gets louder as RPM's rise, and progressively louder through each higher gear. The sound dissipates after a few seconds of pressing the clutch in, or taking it out of gear into neutral. It winds down, and stops. Another note to make. If I have it out of gear, with clutch pressed all way in, movement into a gear will cause the sound to start. That's before even engaging into the gear slot. You know when it hits that point of resistance?

I really hope someone can help me diagnose this issue as apparently shops are no longer capable of doing their jobs. After they can't fix something just go a head and say the sound is normal when I know it isn't. It started instantly while driving. Not something that developed slowly over time...

Is there any know issues with Monster Stage 1 clutch, or Monster clutches in general creating a whining sound with some type of failure? I really don't think it's the clutch because it only has 5k miles at most on it now. The sound from interior driving seems to be located towards front of vehicle by the engine, and not towards the rear.

This is all the more frustrating because I have the extended warranty, and I really think this is something internal to the transmission that should be covered. Without a diagnostic determining the problem I can't get it fixed, however...

svede1212 · 01-11-2013, 06:07 PM

Pretty hard to diagnose this on the internet but you didn't indicate of you tried the test I listed above. I've never seen a shifter on these cars wear out at that mileage. did you take the car to a transmission specialist shop or general repair place?

gt4awd · 01-11-2013, 06:26 PM

I just did the test as you described. The vehicle has no movement with 1st in gear and clutch engaged high revving. I took the vehicle to a GM shop. General repair, and not transmission specific. However, they are supposed to be capable of diagnosing and fixing transmissions.

Like I said if I hit that point of resistance and hold it there with clutch engaged the sound will start to get louder as if it's creating a rotation on something in the transmission causing the issue. This only happens in motion. The same does not happen with vehicle parked using identical process.