Transmission Conversion / Swap (Page 1/2)
labbe001 FEB 23, 04:27 PM
Hi All
I have an 87GT - 5 Speed that keeps popping out of 1st gear. This only happens say if I'm at a stop lighting in neutral, light changes and i switch to 1st gear.....it immediately pops out when i let off the clutch. This may happen once or twice in a row before it stays in gear and i can accelerate. None of the other gears do this. Researching on the forum, it seems to be the belief that it's the synchros in the transmission. It also seems to be a common opinion that it's less of a hassle to find a 5 speed from a parts car and swap it out rather than rebuild (mostly bc parts to rebuild are unavailable)
Things i've done so far are.....adjusted clutch cables, blead the clutch system, changed fluids and a couple of other troublshooting measures.

So i've been researching eventually swapping in a different transmission. I see there's a Getrag 282 FWD option that involves minimal modifications to swap in. Amongst all conversions, this seems to be the easiest option.
I plan to do a 3.4L swap eventually but an keeping the 2.8L for the time being.

I'm having a little trouble finding the exact transmission for this swap. Can someone recommend a place to source these transmissions? Also, can anyone that's done this swap please chime in on the complexities and maybe give some pointers they learned from doing the swap.
Any and all comments/suggestions/recommendations welcome. Thank you in advance.
Raydar FEB 23, 09:14 PM
Before doing all that, try adjusting your shift cable, if you haven't already.
If it's mis-adjusted, it can cause the trans to jump out of gear.



Basically... start in neutral.
Loosen the shift cable nut, at the trans.
Shift the trans into third, by hand.
Go to the shifter. Move the lever to third gear.
Place a pin or drill bit through the shifter arm and the base, to align the front rear motion.
Tighten the nut on the shift arm at the trans.
Remove the pin.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 02-23-2024).]

labbe001 FEB 23, 09:48 PM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:

Before doing all that, try adjusting your shift cable, if you haven't already.
If it's mis-adjusted, it can cause the trans to jump out of gear.



Basically... start in neutral.
Loosen the shift cable nut, at the trans.
Shift the trans into third, by hand.
Go to the shifter. Move the lever to third gear.
Place a pin or drill bit through the shifter arm and the base, to align the front rear motion.
Tighten the nut on the shift arm at the trans.
Remove the pin.





Hm….I’ll have to give that a try. I did notice the other evening that the shift cable nut was very loose. And by very loose I mean I was able to spin in by hand. I just tightened it back up but didn’t pay any attention to what gear it was in. Hopefully this will solve the issue.
labbe001 FEB 24, 10:02 AM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:

Before doing all that, try adjusting your shift cable, if you haven't already.
If it's mis-adjusted, it can cause the trans to jump out of gear.


Place a pin or drill bit through the shifter arm and the base, to align the front rear motion.
Tighten the nut on the shift arm at the trans.
Remove the pin.



Working on this this morning and a little confused about exactly where you place the drill bit or pin. Is this at the arm on the transmission side or inside the vehicle at the gear shifter side?
labbe001 FEB 24, 10:09 AM
Oh I think I figured it out…..I have Rodney’s short throw comp shifter and it doesn’t have this hole in it to be able to pin into 3rd gear.
1985 Fiero GT FEB 24, 11:38 AM

quote
Originally posted by labbe001:

Oh I think I figured it out…..I have Rodney’s short throw comp shifter and it doesn’t have this hole in it to be able to pin into 3rd gear.



Makes sense, you'll want to reinstall the stock shifter arm to adjust the cables, then reinstall the short throw shifter.
labbe001 FEB 24, 01:25 PM

quote
Originally posted by 1985 Fiero GT:


Makes sense, you'll want to reinstall the stock shifter arm to adjust the cables, then reinstall the short throw shifter.



Yes that’s what I ended up doing. So then I went for about an hour long drive. Many starts and stops. It didn’t pop out of gear not one time. I came home and parked it for about 30 minutes. Went to go for another drive and it started doing it again. It’s a definite improvement than what it’s been. It went from about 75% of the time popping out, to 0% to about 25%. I recently replaced the clutch slave cylinder and bled it using Archie’s method. Is it possible I may need to bleed again?
Patrick FEB 27, 03:58 AM

quote
Originally posted by labbe001:

I recently replaced the clutch slave cylinder and bled it using Archie’s method. Is it possible I may need to bleed again?



Does 1st or Reverse grind when trying to put the transmission into gear with the engine running? If it does, can you put it into gear without grinding when the engine isn't running? If the answer to both questions is "Yes", then that would indicate that there might indeed be air in the clutch hydraulics.

Was this slave you installed a Rodney Dickman dual-seal unit, or just a regular single-seal slave from an auto supply store?

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 02-27-2024).]

labbe001 FEB 27, 10:23 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Does 1st or Reverse grind when trying to put the transmission into gear with the engine running? If it does, can you put it into gear without grinding when the engine isn't running? If the answer to both questions is "Yes", then that would indicate that there might indeed be air in the clutch hydraulics.

Was this slave you installed a Rodney Dickman dual-seal unit, or just a regular single-seal slave from an auto supply store?




No grinding in 1st gear when the engine is running. It has grinded in reverse from time to time....but very very rarely. Rodney didn't have any slave cylinders so I bought a regular one from O'reilly and installed the dual seal kit from Rodney.
fierofool FEB 27, 11:48 AM
Popping out of gear won't be in your hydraulics. It's mechanical and you're working in the right area to correct it. I had the same problem when I swapped transmissions and it turned out to be that the cable wasn't properly adjusted when the swap was done. I followed Raydar's instruction sheet and resolved the issue.

When I place the shifter in 3rd and pin the shifter, I loosen the cable nut then grasp the transmission shift lever and move it forward and backward, feeling for it to settle into a detent of sorts. I feel that's properly engaged in the gear, then I tighten the ball stud nut. Of course, you want to be sure the square shoulder of the ball stud is seated properly in the transmission shift lever.