I posted this in my build thread, but I thought I might get more information here. This is for a track only Ecotec swap NA. No forced induction.

A few weeks ago we swapped a used six speed transmission in to replace the five speed that grinds into fifth. We put Ford Motorcraft transmission juice in with half a bottle of lightweight shock proof. Ecotec flywheel, Supermiata clutch and pressure plate.

On test day it was determined that the six speed was not shifting at speed. At a stop it would shift fine into any gear, but at speed it would not go into gear unless you rev matched perfectly. It felt like something was blocking the shifter from going into gear. It wasn't grinding, just not going in. I read something about some bolt that should not be removed on the six speed, and we may have accidentally removed it during install thinking it was a fill hole, or tightened it too much because it was loose. We bled the clutch and tried again, no improvement.




We pulled the trans and the took the pressure plate off and the clutch disk had some strange wear marks. The pilot bearing also fell out when the disk was pulled, and the seal was off on one side, so we replaced with a spare we had in another pressure plate. Could the pilot bearing have been out of the flywheel? The damage looks circular. Flywheel and pressure plate looked fine.

We made the call to toss the five speed back in and the team had it done pretty quickly. Slapped it back together and the transmission worked all weekend. We really only needed fifth at the end of the main straight, but most of the time we just let off when we got to the end of straight in fourth.

The team appreciates any feedback or ideas you may have.

 

I’ve moved away from the Ford stuff and use Amsoil MTG. Shifting improved.

Is it just me or is there damage to the rivet heads near the springs (not the ones inside the friction surfaces)?

I’ve never had the 6-speed not shift, I’ve only ever had trouble getting it to go from 4-5.

 

There was damage to the rivets beside the springs. It does seem like the pilot bearing was rattling around in there, but we can't figure out how it got there.

 

Did it take more than one stab to get the transmission into the clutch/pilot-bearing/engine? Maybe the bearing came out on the input shaft nose, got pulled off by the clutch, and got caught between the flywheel and clutch disk?

 

Possibly. Team members graciously changed the transmissions both time.

 

It looks like there is a circular wear pattern on the clutch disc, the 2 rivets and the mark next to the spring appear to align in a circle, anything that might have caused that?

If the pilot bearing was totally out, and nothing was supporting the front of the input shaft, I could see that causing an issue at speed with the clutch not disengaging. IE if the input shaft was cocked and the friction disc couldn't smoothly slide on it as the clutch was disengaging.

 

My best guess is the pilot bearing got stuck between the flywheel and clutch disc causing those marks on the disc. I am going to toss the six speed back in this summer and test again.