5 speed shifts hard in to gear without the motor running.

[soldthedart]

I have been busy working on my new project 85 svo.
Ive done a ton of work but never sat in the drivers sweat and tried shifting the 5 speed since I had hooked up the clutch cable and had to reset the clutch pedal by pulling it up. When I bought the car it seemed to go threw the gear ok and I have yet to start the car.
Is it possible I have caused this with not resetting the clutch pedal, you should be able to go through the gears without the clutch with the motor off.
It seems to go into all gears but its kinda rough.
Ive never owned a Ford before let alone a SVO.
Maybe Im not hip to the shift pattern?
1 3 5
[ [ [
2 4 R ? If this is the shift pattern then its not happy in 5th or reverse.
does not seem to engage as the other gears.
Any help would be appreciated.

[svono50]

Your cable exercise probably didn't have much to do with your shifting experience. When the car isn't running/moving it really doesn't give a 'true' impression of the shifting. Make sure the quadrant is putting some tension on the cable when you pull back on the pedal. You may need to drive it a bit to get things to settle into their final resting place. If you hold the clutch in while 'dry' shifting, it may make the unit go into gear a bit easier, but no guarantees there. 5th gear, while synchronized, doesn't like to be shifted into quickly like 2-4 and reverse is not sychronized, which is why I would attribute their resistance to smooth engagement while sitting still.

One thing to make sure of is the fluid the trans is filled with. The T5 units do NOT use 80-90W gear oil, they actually use ATF. While you can get away using the gear oil, it will cause the synchros to move a bit slowly and likely cause grinding upon quick shifting, especially when cold. Below 50 deg F, the shifter will feel like it is moving through a very heavy paste. Part of your prep should be to drain/refill the trans with fresh ATF (Dextron-III or Mercon-V or your favorite synthetic). Don't use any friction modifiers with the fluid, as the synchros don't like modifiers. I have been using Mobil 1 Synthetic fluid for 15+ years with great results.

[SVOeric]

without the transmission turning, the gears will be hard to go through. this is normal, depending on the positioning of the gears, some may not want to go in at all.

this is not a ford thing, it's pretty much the same with any manual transmission.

[soldthedart]

I do appreciate the input.
Waiting on the first start up is stressing me out.
Cant wait to get my Turbo back from the rebuilder.

[gbeaird]

without the transmission turning, the gears will be hard to go through. this is normal, depending on the positioning of the gears, some may not want to go in at all.

this is not a ford thing, it's pretty much the same with any manual transmission.

^^ This! Put it in neutral, push it one way or the other for a few inches, then see if it won't go into those gears better But then 4th may be hard to get into, etc. :-)