What causes the popping out of 3rd get issue (rb25 trans)?

[sepulchralx]

Shifter pops out of 3rd in decelleration always... What causes that? car shifts into and out of 3rd fine.

Thanks

[SullivanRacing06]

i had the incorrect shifter in the transmission, then i got the correct one and then it ended up being the incorrect shifter washer/ bushing order when it goes into the transmission, ie the piece of plastic the upper shifter bushing rotates in the rear of the transmission. hope this helpos

[s13_240_rb20]

call me what you want, but when I put the shifter into the transmission when I built the 240, I put the shifter in 180 degrees backwards and just assumed that it was like that because of the swap. I think my shifter boot was stretched to the limit and constantly applied pressure to PULL it back (out of gear).

I didn't figure out that my shifter was backwards until 2 years later when I pulled the engine/transmission again... Wouldn't it be nice if your problem was just something as simple as a tight shift boot pulling it...

--TJ

[Joe]

make sure your boot isnt too tight, i had to cut mine.

also make sure your fluid level is correct. mine used to pop out of gear on track if the fluid was low.

[vin diesel]

sounds like your shifter has some tension on it and when you are decelerating your revs match your shifter pops into neutral

[Cjmartz2k]

LOL, there is an arrow on the inner shifter boot that points to the front of the car. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people put it on backwards and have there "shifter boot be to tight and pull it out of gear"

Also, I had a transmission that was missing the retention ball/spring that holds it in gear. It's just above the speed sensor IIRC.

[sepulchralx]

make sure your boot isnt too tight, i had to cut mine.

also make sure your fluid level is correct. mine used to pop out of gear on track if the fluid was low.

You mean the rubber boot from trans to shifter or from chassis to shifter?

[sean8564]

Bad syncos you need a series 2 transmission which nissan fixed the problem. I have one on order for myself

[Cjmartz2k]

Yep, I mean the rubber boot. Look for the arrow (maybe on both rubber boots actually).

Synchro's have nothing to do with it staying in gear, only getting in gear. That's not the problem. Also, they didn't really fix the problem in later trannies, but they tried.

[sepulchralx]

Yep, I mean the rubber boot. Look for the arrow (maybe on both rubber boots actually).

Synchro's have nothing to do with it staying in gear, only getting in gear. That's not the problem. Also, they didn't really fix the problem in later trannies, but they tried.

So the rubber boot from the chassis to the shifter right? not from the trans to the shifter?

Should I slide it down the shifter some or just trim it?

[Cjmartz2k]

Check both of them, and look for the arrow. Make sure it points to the front of the car. Also, with the boots off, run it through all the gears and make sure it isn't contacting the body.

[sepulchralx]

Check both of them, and look for the arrow. Make sure it points to the front of the car. Also, with the boots off, run it through all the gears and make sure it isn't contacting the body.

Checked boots even tried other shifter... it still pops out. Its almost like the trans is "pushing it" out of gear on decelleration. Its really annoying.

[Cjmartz2k]

I would suggest removing the boots all together and taking it for a spin just to eliminate that as a possible problem. It doesn't sound like it is, but it's so easy to be sure and it the problem 99% of the time.

Next thing I would check is that spring/ball I mentioned earlier. It sits on a series of bumps on the shifter rail and kinda holds stuff in gear. Mine was out, and it wouldn't want to "pull itself" out of gear as much as having ZERO resistance to coming out under light throttle and decel. It's under a little cover that has 2 bolts in it. Take off the bolt that holds the spring in, not the one that holds the cover plate. I think I remember it being pretty self explanitory. Under that bolt should be a spring under pressure, and a ball hopefully stuck to the spring. Might have to use a magnet to get it out. DON"T TURN THE transmission SIDEWAYS DURING THIS or the ball will fall into the transmission. Ask me how I know I then removed the who bracket/cover plate and determined the hole wasn't big enought o let the ball ride on the rail. Might be hard to imagine, but when you get it apart, it makes sense. I just made the hole a little bigger and it was good. Thing I can't figure out is it came out of a junk yard car with like 60k on it. SOmebody must have been driving that s*** around for a while.

[sepulchralx]

I would suggest removing the boots all together and taking it for a spin just to eliminate that as a possible problem. It doesn't sound like it is, but it's so easy to be sure and it the problem 99% of the time.

Next thing I would check is that spring/ball I mentioned earlier. It sits on a series of bumps on the shifter rail and kinda holds stuff in gear. Mine was out, and it wouldn't want to "pull itself" out of gear as much as having ZERO resistance to coming out under light throttle and decel. It's under a little cover that has 2 bolts in it. Take off the bolt that holds the spring in, not the one that holds the cover plate. I think I remember it being pretty self explanitory. Under that bolt should be a spring under pressure, and a ball hopefully stuck to the spring. Might have to use a magnet to get it out. DON"T TURN THE transmission SIDEWAYS DURING THIS or the ball will fall into the transmission. Ask me how I know I then removed the who bracket/cover plate and determined the hole wasn't big enought o let the ball ride on the rail. Might be hard to imagine, but when you get it apart, it makes sense. I just made the hole a little bigger and it was good. Thing I can't figure out is it came out of a junk yard car with like 60k on it. SOmebody must have been driving that s*** around for a while.

Can I do all that you mentioned with the trans still in the car (like from the chassis shifter hole)? Or do I need to drop the transmission?

[Cjmartz2k]

I loosend the motor mounts, IC piping, and dropped the transmission a bit to get at it. My RB is in a Skyline though, so the room might be a bit different.

[sepulchralx]

I loosend the motor mounts, IC piping, and dropped the transmission a bit to get at it. My RB is in a Skyline though, so the room might be a bit different.

So where is it on here cause i don't see any 2 bolt thing above the vss





By the way, when I forcibly hold the shifter in 3rd when i'm decellerating, i feel something wobbling against the shifter or shifter arm almost like its trying to just push it out..
Modified by sepulchralx at 6:19 AM 5/10/2009

[Cjmartz2k]

Sorry, miss-spoke a little. It's above the fill plug on the side, so it's not in any of your pics. You can kinda see the casting lump from it on the other side of the pic with the bellhousing part of the transmission case. Look at the three ribs on the bell housing part. First rib towards the back points right at what I'm talking about on the other side (in your pic) at about the 4 o'clock position from the tape measure.