03 Manual Shift linkage adjustment?

my 03 will no longer shift into 2nd gear with the gear shift.

No effort required nor grinding of gears and appears to shift into position with the gear shifter (inside car) however when I let out the clutch it is not fully engaged and grinds and pops out of gear. I can shift it fully into gear under the hood. I believe it must be out of adjustment (cable / linkage) if that is possible?

has anyone had a similar problem and has a quick fix solution? Is there an adjustment?

:banghead:

seconed one i run into having this problem on the 5 speeds the other guys was the shift cable. he realy had a tuff time finding one he checked salvage yards no go. i don't even think he could get one at dealer.

Thanks for that scrapper1
As I've been trying to find an adjustment I found that when I thought I had put it into 2nd under the hood ... I was actually putting it into 4th that's why it appeared to be working..... but it was not

this means it's probably the transmission ... geeze ... less than 100,000 km

I wonder if this is covered under warranty?

it just might be under warranty? how long ago did you buy this car?

Remove your center console.

Put the car in neutral and wiggle the shifter around. The transmission will go into dead neutral position on its own. NOTE-On the back of the shifter assembly is a u-clip which slides front to back and locks the shifter in dead neutral.

Disconnect the shift cables from the shifter assembly. Use a small flat head and be extremly careful not to break these as you can only buy them again while buying a whole new shifter assembly ~$140 from GM. There is a little lip which is its locking mechanism. You'll see what I mean when you get under your console. If you having a problem going into gear, its most likely the main connector. The side to side pivot should be fine.

Put the shifter in dead neutral and slide the u-clip pin into the shifter. This will lock it in dead center. Once that is done, slide the shift cable back into the locking clip so its snug and lock the clip back down.

Make sure the car goes into all gears smoothly. All of the white gripping portion of the cable will probably be buried into the locking clip. At least mine was when I did both short throw shifters.

If there is still a problem, your synchros inside the transmission are most likely shot. If you want to save some money, you can find ANY F23 getrag transmission and swap internals. Its maybe a 6 out of 10 wrenches to do.

If you need a new shift cables..J-body Getrag shift cables - GM P/N 22707146

Thks Classicrocjunkie ... excellent explanation...
Followed it through with the same result ... unfortunately...
All gears appear to shift in perfectly
When I drive it ..... it will shift into 2nd and stay in gear until I try to accelerate.. then grind out of gear.... can't hold it in even with light acceleration.

cables seem fine to me.

Reviewing my files on the car it has warranty to 126,000 km... I'm going to call tomorrow to make sure this is covered ... ($100 deductable)
I'm the third owner - the last owner added "48/80000 Optimum Used Total Roadside" at 46,000 km Jan 07.... I might be lucky here

If not .... I'll find some docs and twist some wrenches to cahnge out the internals.

thks again ... very good post

i dout they will but never hurts to try and yours is doing all of what yours are doing. popping out of out of gear.

good luck......

Thks Classicrocjunkie ... excellent explanation...
Followed it through with the same result ... unfortunately...
All gears appear to shift in perfectly
When I drive it ..... it will shift into 2nd and stay in gear until I try to accelerate.. then grind out of gear.... can't hold it in even with light acceleration.

cables seem fine to me.

Reviewing my files on the car it has warranty to 126,000 km... I'm going to call tomorrow to make sure this is covered ... ($100 deductable)
I'm the third owner - the last owner added "48/80000 Optimum Used Total Roadside" at 46,000 km Jan 07.... I might be lucky here

If not .... I'll find some docs and twist some wrenches to cahnge out the internals.

thks again ... very good post


Well if you need to tear into the transmission I have some pictures which show how to tear it down. There is a seal you'll have to destroy and order a new one from GM since there is a recessed hex bolt which holds the the internals. GM also used Red lock tite and is a beeeeotch to break loose. I used a torch and heated it, then a quick pop with a hammer and socket.

If you want to go that deep, I can guide you though. I installed a Limited slip Diff into mine.

I found someone who had the same syncro problem on another site... he got warranty....so I'm hoping ..... his was 3rd gear

Re: Getrag F23 scyncro repair
Thursday, October 11, 2007 8:24 AM
Mike Witton (http://www.j-body.org/reg/mykl8)


So I got the tranny apart and the forks seemed fine. The 3rd gear scyncro has more wear then the other scyncros so I brought the gear sets into the dealer and they said it looks pretty worn for only 68k. Then one guy askes doenst it still have power train warranty? and with my luck IT DOES!!!! till June 08. So I know how to take my Getrag apart when I want to put in a LSD http://www.j-body.org/global/images/emoticons/ag.gif Any way I gotta go back to work and put it all back together http://www.j-body.org/global/images/emoticons/ae.gif

Thank you all for all your help.

I'll post back when I find out what they replace

Re: Getrag F23 scyncro repair
Sunday, November 04, 2007 3:31 PM
Mike Witton (http://www.j-body.org/reg/mykl8)


so I got my car back a week ago and heres a list of what they replaced

X2 Axle seal
X1 Gear
X1 Bearing
X1 Bearing
X1 Washer
X1 Syncrhro
X3 Spring
X3 Ball
X2 tranny fluid
X1 Ring
X1 Funnel ?
X1 Plug
X1 RTV Sealer
X1 Gasket maker

All under power train warranty http://www.j-body.org/global/images/emoticons/ae.gif

www.j-body.org is a good site to search for knowledge. However, there is a lot of drama on there with people thinking their e-thugs. Other wise its a good place. I'm a member on there also since 2004.

Well it looks like I need to do this myself.. no warranty... the warranty is not transferable without it being transfered by the original extended warrranty purchaser... it follows the person not the car???? aparently

Classicrocjunkie I would appreciate any guidence or pictures you indicated you had on how rebuild one. I went to the wreckers and picked up a '03 F23 with ~ 140K km on it for $90.... no idea of it's actual condition so no point in just thowing it in without taking a look .... and if it's apart ..... might as well put in a rebuild kit. I don't suppose there is a way to test it without putting it in the car .... is there?

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Classicrocjunkie (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=172487) are you still out there?

Not really other than making sure it manual will go into all gears. Just playing with the shift forks out side the transmission. Next best bet is tearing the whole thing apart and checking out the internals...

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/JMHZ2401/100_0239.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/JMHZ2401/100_0240.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/JMHZ2401/100_0242.jpg

Inside of an F23

I was under the car and discovered one of the Axle seals has been leaking. Since I just bought the car I have no idea how long it's been leaking..... Not having a dipstick to check the oil level and before I pull this tranny out can anyone answer this......

Is it possible the transmission oil level could get low enough to cause problems with it shifting but still not have any other signs of being low like noisy etc? I guess for the cost of the oil I could just fill it up.... seems a waste if there's no hope.....
:cool:

just pulled the fill / overfill plug to check for oil level with y finger, about a quart came out... car was almost level ... means it was overfull

would this effect shifting? I would expect not ... but ... I don't really know

I have an F23 sitting in my garage and it has 12k miles on it and its been drained. I can shift it into every gear with very little force.

You can try adding some fluid, but if you having issues going into gears I think it is something more serious.

:headshake I believe I found the problem. A missing plastic bushing in the shift mechanism on the transmission was not allowing it to shift fully into gear. This effected 1st and 2nd, 5th and reverse. The shift cables had to be adjusted to allow only one of each set to work. I will confirm this tomorrrow when I get it all back together. I need to get the part.

I'll add a pic also.