Anyone running a Richmond Super Street 5-Speed Transmission?
Inquiring if anyone else using this tranny has had problems shifting.

 

Why did you choose that over a Tremec?

 

Shifts great doesn't it (sarcasm alert!). I'm running the regular 5-spd with the 1:1 5th.

For fluid use straight 30W non-detergent oil with a bottle/tube of posi additive. The oil I've been using was listed as compressor oil on the bottle. I found it at the local CarQuest store.

Also give it some time to break in. The syncro's take a while to seat.

RBob.

 

Nephew has 1 in his TA and loves it,he's running around 400 HP

 

At the time (2007) Tremec didn't offer the ratios I was looking for. Road racers & Autox's that I was in contact with recommended the Richmond over the Tremec. Each has their pros & cons. Engine Dynoed Hp (flywheel) is 551 @ 7000 rpm & 487 lb ft @ 5300. Engine bottom end was built for power adders if needed; so I needed a stout tranny.
Tranny only has 200 - 300 miles. Talked with Richmond today and they belive the 3rd synchro & sliders have issues. $100 for shipping & car being down for several weeks is a real bummer; especially since we only have a few months of nice weather here.

 

I was trying to get some break-in miles on it before I called Richmond. They recommend I get tranny to them ASAP or they may not cover the costs.
I am using Red Line oil they recommended. I will ask them about the oil your using. Thanks everyone for their input.

 

Shipping a trans isn't cheap. Gotta wonder why they can't just send you the new synchros and sliders for you to install yourself. That seems cheaper to me. Their bad parts, they should pay parts and shipping.

 

Does it freely grind going into 3rd, unless the gears are perfectly rev-matched? Mine was that way going into 2nd. With no help from richmond gear I fixed it myself. It was built with the wrong syncro on 2nd.

5th gear being paired with reverse uses a different syncro. 1 - 4 all use the same design syncro.

In my case the trans was built (factory) with a 5th gear syncro on 2nd. Because of the design differences in the syncro's, it was like not having one at all.

RBob.

 

GOOD POINT!!!!
I'm going to ask.

 

YES. When shifting into 3rd, I have to put the shifter into the neutral gate, blimp the throttle to match rotation speed and 90% of time it goes in. Same proceedure for down shifting.
I purchased the tranny new because I didn't want someone else's problem. So much for that theory.

 

Wow, absolutely the same. Including the reason I too purchased a brand new sealed in the box transmission.

My car sat in the garage for nearly 8 years due to this. Never moved. I was so disgusted with the tranny and richmond gears attitude that I walked away from the car. Then one night after years of tripping over a car that I hadn't been driving: jacked it up, pulled the tranny, cleared off the bench, and split the case.

That way I was committed to fixing it and couldn't walk away again. When I stacked up the syncro's I noticed that there were two of one style, and three of another style.

The slots for the keys were different widths. Sure enough, the two that were alike had wider slots. And marked for 2nd and 5th (my markings). Bang, found the problem.

The other issue I found was that the assembly grease the RG factory used hadn't dissolved yet. A thick sticky grease was all over the roller bearings, shafts, sliders, what a mess.

In talking with RG support, they said to clean that off. Out of everything, and make sure you clean out the oil feed holes in the various parts.

Why? What is going on? I asked. Oh, we used the wrong assembly grease for a while. It doesn't dissolve and will prevent the oil from circulating. And that eventually the bearings and all will start seizing on the main shaft. And destroy other parts.

I nearly dropped the phone when I heard this.

So in the end it was good that the wrong syncro was used. Otherwise the tranny hard parts would have been destroyed. And, due to the time frame, out of warranty...

If you want to hear about another great RG screw-up, ask about the shifter.

RBob.

 

Yes RBob, I'd like to hear about the shifter.

 

RBob,
I too had an issue with the Long shifter.
All started with Richmond (and I called them with my application) or Summit giving me wrong part number for the tranny. I got the 702 straight tail shaft. WRONG. If anyone orders one get the 705 11 degree tail shaft; it will save tons of aggravation and frustration. Mine sat in the box for 1 1/2 yrs before I had time to install it, then found out it was wrong. Couldn't return it because I bolted it to the bellhousing. I had to modify the tunnel, fab a mount, speedo cable, custom drive shaft, torque arm, Long shifter & etc. all after the underside was painted. During my rebuild, everything was custom. Now I see why all 3rd gens were either race cars or slightly modified street cars and not what I did. Even after going with name brand companies that stated everything would fit, they failed to mention the parts would not function properly for a track/street car, unless you modified them. There a few companies that were excellant and would highly recommend, one advertises here. I learned alot.
Anyways, Richmond said they would cover the repairs to the tranny, I'll soon find out.

 

Hurst shifter, also brand new. When fitting up the shifter two of the shift rods were obviously not going to work. Fortunately this was being fit up on the bench. So I could easily play and adjust as required. For one rod I was able to modify it. For the other rod, being an old hand at this had some extras. Found one of those that fit and it was good to go.

The kicker was, the trans liked to get stuck in 1st gear with the shifter in the neutral gate. With the shifter in the neutral gate, that was it. Couldn't get it back into first to pull the tranny into neutral.

In this state it was either drive in 1st. Or, get the 3' 2x4 I carried for the occasion, lie on the ground, and hit the shifter linkage to knock the tranny into neutral. Then start the engine back up and continue on the way.

When blocking traffic from this scenario, the glares ended quickly once the 2x4 showed up. It was about the only saving grace of the whole embarrassing/troublesome ordeal.

I called Hurst and as soon as they heard it was a RG 5-spd tranny, the response was along the lines of, "yes, we know, RG gave us the wrong dimensions." "Nothing we can do about it."

So, as I had been called in the past, Mr. Modify awoke and took it on. The issue is difficult to describe, so let me explain a little first.

The shifter has three plates that pivot individually. The lower portion of these plates form the tabs that the shift rods connect to. Above the pivot point is a cutout in each plate.

Attached to the shifter handle, protruding parallel to the ground is a shaft with a mushroom head on it. As the shifter is moved side to side, the mushroom engages the cutout in each plate in turn. This allows a single plate to be selected, then moved fore and aft to shift.

The issue was that the mushroom head was not large enough. As the shifter was pulled back out of first, if any pressure to the right is placed on the shifter handle, the mushroom would dis-engage from the 1/2 plate before pulling the trans completely out of gear.

Being the transmission gear detents are spring loaded, the trans stays fully engaged in 1st. With the shifter now in the neutral gate.


The fix was to build up weld on the mushroom head. Then turn it in a lathe to a greater size. Took some careful measuring and some educated guessing for the thickness, taper, and diameter. But in the end it worked on the first try (I got lucky).


L69Z28, let us know how you make out with RG and your tranny.

RBob.

 

RBob,

About what year was your shifter ordeal?

I've had two different Hurst 5 speed shifters over the years without incident. Just curious.