ZR-1 Net Registry Forums - View Single Post - Your ZF6 makes noises or won't shift, what to do?

tccrab · 04-07-2008

Chapter 2

Removing the ZF6 at home...

Let’s start at the beginning.
A few months after buying “Girlfriend” I made a rude discovery during my first attempt at power shifting into second gear.
Wide straight open country road, nobody around for miles, I hear myself saying “Let’s see what she’s made of”.

I launch at around 2500rpms, my BFG F1’s let loose and then start to grab. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “Well, there goes $20 worth of tire”.

When the tach needle goes nearly vertical, I grab the shifter, lift my right foot slightly, jab my left foot down and pull hard on the shift knob. I feel the shifter slip out of first and then almost hesitate as it seems to hit something as it tries to go into second. My right hand vibrates and I hear a loud grinding noise. I panic, lift the gas pedal and try to stick it into third.
It won’t go. The shifter feels “slushy”, the gears don’t want to engage.
I wiggle the shifter, push the clutch in a few times and finally it goes into third.
After I get home I call Bill Boudreau, ask him if I “Screwed the Pooch”. He tells me it will need ‘fixin but if I treat it right and don’t bang second gear it will probably last a little while longer.
Fast forward four years. A beautiful sunny Sunday. Wifey and I take “Girlfriend” out for a drive. We spend a couple hours cuisin, enjoying the early spring. The secondaries never open the entire drive (wifey… well you know…).

We’re stopped at the stop sign just down the street from the house. I push in the clutch and…
It won’t go into first gear. The shifter feels “slushy”. It almost seemed like something is in the way preventing me from engaging first gear. I try second gear, same thing.
Crap.

I run it through the gears, clutch it a few times, and then in frustration just jam it into first with a loud “Clunk”. I limp down the block in first gear and carefully pull it up into the garage.
A little while later I go to push it forward in the garage so that I can get it up on Jack Stands. I put the shifter in neutral and release the parking brake. I shove on the side of the car.
The car does not move.
I rock the car back and forth and I can feel that the car is still in gear.
I recheck the shifter. It’s in neutral. The transmission however, is still in gear. I’m able to get it out of gear later by shifting through all the gears, banging on it and cussing.
Up on Jack Stands she goes.

I get on the phone, call up JeffVette. I ask him, is this something I can do at home? I can still hear him laughing. He tells me that he's doing a transmission a few weeks later and if I trailer it up to him, he'll do it for me. An intriguing offer, I must admit, especially after laying under the car and asking myself if I was nuts for even thinking about doing this at home.
But, hey, what the heck. I'm an idiot, and I've got tools. (hey, that sounds like something "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" would say).

To be continued…
Chapter 3.
Removing the ZF6 at home, or...
How do I get the sardines out of the can without ruining the can?

04-07-2008	#26
tccrab Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Folsom CA Posts: 1,661	Re: Your ZF6 makes noises or won't shift, what to do? Chapter 2 Removing the ZF6 at home... Let’s start at the beginning. A few months after buying “Girlfriend” I made a rude discovery during my first attempt at power shifting into second gear. Wide straight open country road, nobody around for miles, I hear myself saying “Let’s see what she’s made of”. I launch at around 2500rpms, my BFG F1’s let loose and then start to grab. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “Well, there goes $20 worth of tire”. When the tach needle goes nearly vertical, I grab the shifter, lift my right foot slightly, jab my left foot down and pull hard on the shift knob. I feel the shifter slip out of first and then almost hesitate as it seems to hit something as it tries to go into second. My right hand vibrates and I hear a loud grinding noise. I panic, lift the gas pedal and try to stick it into third. It won’t go. The shifter feels “slushy”, the gears don’t want to engage. I wiggle the shifter, push the clutch in a few times and finally it goes into third. After I get home I call Bill Boudreau, ask him if I “Screwed the Pooch”. He tells me it will need ‘fixin but if I treat it right and don’t bang second gear it will probably last a little while longer. Fast forward four years. A beautiful sunny Sunday. Wifey and I take “Girlfriend” out for a drive. We spend a couple hours cuisin, enjoying the early spring. The secondaries never open the entire drive (wifey… well you know…). We’re stopped at the stop sign just down the street from the house. I push in the clutch and… It won’t go into first gear. The shifter feels “slushy”. It almost seemed like something is in the way preventing me from engaging first gear. I try second gear, same thing. Crap. I run it through the gears, clutch it a few times, and then in frustration just jam it into first with a loud “Clunk”. I limp down the block in first gear and carefully pull it up into the garage. A little while later I go to push it forward in the garage so that I can get it up on Jack Stands. I put the shifter in neutral and release the parking brake. I shove on the side of the car. The car does not move. I rock the car back and forth and I can feel that the car is still in gear. I recheck the shifter. It’s in neutral. The transmission however, is still in gear. I’m able to get it out of gear later by shifting through all the gears, banging on it and cussing. Up on Jack Stands she goes. I get on the phone, call up JeffVette. I ask him, is this something I can do at home? I can still hear him laughing. He tells me that he's doing a transmission a few weeks later and if I trailer it up to him, he'll do it for me. An intriguing offer, I must admit, especially after laying under the car and asking myself if I was nuts for even thinking about doing this at home. But, hey, what the heck. I'm an idiot, and I've got tools. (hey, that sounds like something "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" would say). To be continued… Chapter 3. Removing the ZF6 at home, or... How do I get the sardines out of the can without ruining the can? Last edited by tccrab; 04-07-2008 at 09:15 PM.