'97 GT shifter rattle: HELP!
Hugh Johnson
I've got a '97 Mustang GT with a 5-speed, of which we recently took
delivery. So far, the car is great, with only a few quibbles. One, which
is particularly disappointing, is a resonant vibration which under certain
circumstances causes something in the shifter assembly to rattle quite
annoyingly.
When in fourth gear with the revs around 2000 (which translates to about
50mph, a common cruising speed on many roads I drive) something within the
car begins to resonate and buzz. It's of a low pitch and *really* grates
on the nerves. Initially, it sounded like it was coming from within the
dashboard. The rattle will get noticably louder if I just add a tad more
throttle, as if a certain exhaust rhythm from acceleration was causing the
resonance. Towards 2500rpm, and below 1900rpm, the vibration disappears.
I also haven't been able to perceive the rattle happening at 2000rpm in any
other gears -- only fourth.
I recently figured out that the vibration is somewhere in the transmission
or shifter assembly: when it is occurring, if I hold the shifter firmly in
my hand, or pull it back towards me with a decent amount of force, the
vibration subsides, and I can faintly feel the same vibration frequency in
the shifter as I hold it. It is, in fact, the same vibration frequency the
shifter will make when you slightly push foward on the shifter, as if to
take it out of gear, without letting the clutch out; you can feel the
transmission resisting it, with a characteristic vibration from the gear
it's in (I suppose).
Has anyone had a similar experience? What might be "wrong" with my
equipment? I'm not sure what could cure this problem, as it would seem
there is just an inherent resonance between that particular engine speed
and that gear. The situtation as it is is not acceptable; I'm going to
have the dealer attempt to quiet the problem, and would like to avoid the
"it's operating normally" excuse. Any advice or information about this
that I could give them beforehand to help expedite the repair would be most
appreciated.
E-mail replies appreciated.
-- Hugh Johnson
hu...@macconnect.com
SJ
Hugh Johnson wrote:
>
> I've got a '97 Mustang GT with a 5-speed, of which we recently took
> delivery. So far, the car is great, with only a few quibbles. One, which
> is particularly disappointing, is a resonant vibration which under certain
> circumstances causes something in the shifter assembly to rattle quite
> annoyingly.
I just test drove a new '97 GT convertible 5-speed yesterday and my
girlfriend noticed how the shifter vibrated right away. I didn't notice
it myself but she told me after the test drive. I probaly didn't notice
it because I was too worried about a rattle coming from the trunk
(which was supposed to be the boot, but I don't know about
that and will have to test drive the car again with the boot removed
from the trunk). Anyway, hopefully someone else will shed some light
on the shifter rattling as it is a concern for me as I may purchase
a new 97 GT convertible (still looking at the Camaro also).
Let me know how your problem turns out.
Sam
Matt
I have a 96 GT with the exact same problem. For a while I thought it was
the asytray assembly but, I have no Idea where that annoying rattle comes
from.
Hugh Johnson <hu...@macconnect.com> wrote in article
<hugh-ya02408000R...@news.macconnect.com>...
> I've got a '97 Mustang GT with a 5-speed, of which we recently took
> delivery. So far, the car is great, with only a few quibbles. One,
which
> is particularly disappointing, is a resonant vibration which under
certain
> circumstances causes something in the shifter assembly to rattle quite
> annoyingly.
>
Jim (Cheater8) Stoltz
Matt wrote:
>
> I have a 96 GT with the exact same problem. For a while I thought it was
> the asytray assembly but, I have no Idea where that annoying rattle comes
> from.
>
Check the knob on the e-brake handle. For months I had a rattle that
I was sure was the shifter, turned out to be the E-brake handle knob
was loose - the little button you push in. It's threaded and you can
just tighten it.
Jim
Marc Warden
In <335687...@ix.netcom.com>, SJ <naw...@ix.netcom.com> writes:
>
>I just test drove a new '97 GT convertible 5-speed yesterday and my
>girlfriend noticed how the shifter vibrated right away. I didn't notice
>it myself but she told me after the test drive. I probaly didn't notice
>it because I was too worried about a rattle coming from the trunk
>(which was supposed to be the boot, but I don't know about
>that and will have to test drive the car again with the boot removed
>from the trunk). Anyway, hopefully someone else will shed some light
>on the shifter rattling as it is a concern for me as I may purchase
>a new 97 GT convertible (still looking at the Camaro also).
>
>Let me know how your problem turns out.
>
>Sam
Hi Sam.
My '96 GT's stick shifter vibrates and generates a buzz above a certain RPM
when in 4th gear and only in 4th gear.
First time I heard it I experimented until I learned it was coming from the
shift linkage and was just a buzz, nothing significant, nothing was loose and
about to fall off the car.
At first I would just rest my hand on the shifter to quiet it down, but now I
either shift into 5th, or ignore the buzz. I mean now that I know it is
nothing serious I don't worry about it.
I suspect some engineer spent no little time coming up with a design that
buzzes above a certain RPM while the tranny is in 4th that doesn't
buzz when the tranny is put into 5th in order to encourage the driver to
shift into 5th. I mean, how many years have stick shifts been around? By now
I would think that a buzz from the linkage would be an intentional one.
If it is as I suspect, intended to encourage the driver to shift to 5th,
it's not as onerous as the method used by my '89 Tempo. It used a dash
light that came on at various RPM/engine load combinations signaling it
was time to shift.
It about drove me crazy: Every time someone rode with me, he or she would see
the light come on and then go off while I was driving and thinking it was a
serious warning light point it out to me and ask about it. I'd spend no
little time explaining it was just Ford's way of letting the driver know it
was time to shift to maximize fuel economy.
At least the buzz is only in one gear and it doesn't hurt to shift into 5th.
I'm finding my car's mileage is improving. Thank God. It's mileage was in the
high 'teens (I was not putting my foot in it) and the high 'teens ain't
good...
I'd like to see Ford adopt the method used by some cars, and that is a gage
that indicates what kind of mileage one is currently getting given the engine
speed, road speed, throttle opening, engine load (what else? -- how about
fuel flow?).
Sincerely,
Marc Warden (ma...@ibm.net)
AlanD442
I never really noticed this shifter problem in my 95 gt conv. until I
replaced it with a Hurst shifter that I'm currently using. The noice was
noticeble immediately. The vibration noice from the shifter decreases and
almost stops when the shifter is held tightly at the handle. When you
remove the T handle the noice stops instantly. Just a little FYI. Has
anyone else experienced this problem or know a cure???
Alan
Gordon Rimac
>> I've got a '97 Mustang GT with a 5-speed, of which we recently took
>> delivery. So far, the car is great, with only a few quibbles. One, which
>> is particularly disappointing, is a resonant vibration which under certain
>> circumstances causes something in the shifter assembly to rattle quite
>> annoyingly.
Well, my 96 GT does it too, only noticable in high gears (4th or
5th)... I quit worrying about it because I am not eager to have it
sit in the dealership longer than it has already.... Maybe next time
something goes wrong I'll have them fix it too.
Just crank up the Mach 460 and you won't notice it anymore...
seriously, though, if anyone has a solution that doesn't involve
another extended stay at the dealership--I'm all ears.
-Gordon
Christopher
I have experienced it in my '94 GT with a hurst, but here's the catch:
it only occurs after I've been driving for maybe 30 minutes or more at
highway speeds, then suddenly, boom, something occurs and it starts
vibrating. It doesn't stop until I come to a complete stop. Removing
the knob silences the noise, but the vibration that causes the noise is
still present, the knob simply transforms the vibration into noise
somehow. Actually, after much experimenting, I think that the vibration
is coming from the transmission mounts, not from inside the
transmission. One reason is that once the vibration starts, it will
continue even if the car is not in gear. Another reason is that the
noise will not occur if it's raining. The water may lubricate the
transmission mounts. This is all speculation, and may be simply my
problem rather than a universal one.
Christopher Wilms
'94 GT (supercharged)
Hugh Johnson
In article <hugh-ya02408000R...@news.macconnect.com>,
hu...@macconnect.com (Hugh Johnson) wrote:
>I've got a '97 Mustang GT with a 5-speed, of which we recently took
>delivery. So far, the car is great, with only a few quibbles. One, which
>is particularly disappointing, is a resonant vibration which under certain
>circumstances causes something in the shifter assembly to rattle quite
>annoyingly.
Well, here's the follow-up to my rattling shifter experience.
I took the car to my dealership's service department and asked them to
check this rattle out, along with a few more initial-quality quibbles I had
with the car. It only had 930 miles on it at this point.
The service manager was quite anxious to please. He took my car in without
an appointment, and gave me a free loaner car. The Mustang was in the shop
for only two days. The result: I got a new transmission! The service
manager said that they could easily reproduce the rattle, and that it was
*not* normal, and that they weren't about to tear into a three week-, 900
mile-old transmission and start swapping out parts. They put in a brand
new one, and will send the old one back to Ford (who I guess will send it
back to Borg-Warner) to figure out what was the matter with it.
So far, I'm mightily impressed with my service department (Leif Johnson
Ford, Austin, Texas). My folks, who both have Fords ('90 Taurus SHO, '93
Probe GT) have not had as good luck with their dealerships -- so I was
expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised. Hopefully, they will
keep it up.
Anyway, the new transmission works fine, doesn't rattle or vibrate anymore,
and actually seems a little quieter. My original tranny seemed to whine a
lot on the lower gears, and the new one is quiet and efficient. Maybe the
original one was quite sick -- I'm glad I've got a new one.
-- Hugh Johnson
h...@mindspring.com
hu...@macconnect.com
NoOption5L
Adjust the shifter stop bolts.
Patrick
Marc Warden
Hi Hugh.
A new tranny for a resonant vibration. Wow! That must have been
some vibration!
I guess the vibration and symptoms I've experienced are nowhere near your's
in degree of severity since even with the symptoms, I in know way believe my
car is a candidate for a new tranny.
My tranny does not whine, growl, balk at shifting, act up in any way,
except as I've reported in an earlier posting, it vibrates slightly and the
vibration manifests as a slight buzzing of the shifter linkage.
This vibration and buzzing occurs only within a very narrow RPM band and then
only in 4th gear and even then appears to be sensitive to road surface for I
have noted the buzz only occurs on certain roads, even with all other
conditions present.
When the shifter buzzes, a slight pressure, my hand resting on the shifter,
dampens the buzz.
However, the next time I take the car in for service, I will bring this buzz
to the service writer's attention. I'm not the final word in tranny
shifter buzzing and I'd certainly not want to end up living with a bad tranny
simply because in my opinion the buzzing didn't indicate to me a severe
problem.
And, finally, it does appear like you have found a very good dealer. My
congratulations to you!
Sincerely,
Marc Warden (ma...@ibm.net)