Does anyone else have a grinding sound when shifting into third gear? It didn't start until the car had 90,000 miles on it and I checked the clutch to see if it was disengaging correctly and checked the gear cables to make sure they were adjusted correctly. The Ford dealer didn't find anything about it. So did anyone else have this problem?

its most likely the synchro rings are worn.

its most likely the synchro rings are worn.


Actually if I'm not mistaken, this is a common problem that alot of people had straight from the factory. Just don't go into 3rd gear so fast, slow it down a little and it is fine, i did it several times before i learned.

It being a 2001, your syncro is worn. I just replaced mine. if you can do it yourself you can replace third for about 100 dollars plus a clutch and trans fluid.

My dad's Bmw 325i would grind and shake alot in third gear. Yesterday his transmission just decided to fail and we had to get it towed. It had 92k miles on it so just watch out. The clutch engages into gears just fine so yeah the shop is gonna tell us what the problem is later today and I'll post back so hopefully it'll help you out.

I had the problem with my 04 mtx in 3rd and 4th, Turned out there was a service bulletin for it and they fixed it under warrenty.

Been there, done that. 4 times with my 02 zx3. Multiple rebuilds - the revised syncros still didn't help the issue. Be glad you got to 90k before you got that issue. On my 02, it happened at 21k, 30k, 45k, and 60k. Thank god for the 5/100 powertrain warranty that my 02 came with.

Frankly, it's an issue with all revisions of the mtx-75 (not sure about post 05 models - my 07 hasn't shown it yet) - my 99 Contour had that problem as well (2.5L duratec & mtx-75). Since it was out of warranty - I just lived with it - no big deal - you just adjust to it.