[MechaHeretic]

Hey guys, first post on the forums. Got a 2014 ST (2nd owner, 44k miles) I've done some research in some of the other threads (mainly this one and this one), but those issues seem to be present throughout the course of people's drives. My issue is mainly in the morning, and even then comes with some weird caveats.

For the past few weeks, it's been incredibly hard to put it in 1st or reverse, then going to 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th. It's not impossible, just takes a bit of muscle, which I know is horrible to do. The weird thing is, the shift lights don't even come on to tell me to go to 2nd or 3rd. Usually it's bugging me to shift when it hits 3k, but nothing. It takes about 15 minutes of driving for the shifts to become smoother, and the shift lights to start working again, but even then, it's extremely difficult to stop and get it into reverse.

I figured it was simply "cold fluid" syndrome, but it's happening even when the low hits 80 at night, and I had no issues a few months ago when it was 50 overnight. Also, why would the shift lights not be working if it was simply a fluid issue?

tl;dr - Hard to shift in mornings, no shift lights, after 15 minutes it's butter, even after sitting at work for 10 hours it cranks and shifts fine.

 

[Cowlynz]

Check there is nothing that is blocking the linkage in the engine bay, below the airbox...
Things from hose clamps to wall nuts left by squirrels has been found to get caught-up in there.

http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/63962-car-only-has-second-gear-neutral.html

http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/37683-lost-1-3-5-r.html

About the shift light, does the car have a tune on it?

 

[MechaHeretic]

Couldn't see anything out of the ordinary under the air box without taking the box out entirely. Will have to wait a few days before I have time to do that. Don't have a tune as far as I know. 2nd owner, but I bought it from an authorized dealership, and I'm assuming they would've caught and re-flashed if they noticed something modded. Everything else on the engine appears stock, including air intake, exhaust, and turbo-related. No mods to interior or exterior appearance either. So I doubt a tune was installed, or if it was, it was probably re-programmed.

Also checked brake fluid, as it's my understanding that the reservoir is shared between the brake/clutch hydro systems (correct me if I'm wrong). Haven't checked MTF yet, hoping that's a last resort, as that usually means more drastic issues are probably going on.

I would love to take it to the dealer, since it's still well under the 60k warranty period, but I fear they'll just drive it as soon as I bring it in, say they found nothing, and send me on my way. It needs to sit overnight for some time for it to show it's head.

 

[MechaHeretic]

OK, so...... Weird update here.

Was on a decently long drive and tried to put the cruise control on. It would go into standby, but not actually set a speed. Couldn't figure out why. Tried everything, then remembered that it turns off if the clutch pedal is pressed. Pumped the clutch pedal, but still wouldn't set. Finally put my toe behind the pedal and pulled, and the **** popped out 3 inches and stayed there. Car still shifts fine, cruise control works, and it's easier to get into reverse.

Wtf happened? I knew my clutch pedal always seemed low, but I don't remember it changing since I bought the car. Now it's even with the brake pedal, which seems weird as hell to me since driving it lower for the past few weeks. I'm assuming that's what's been causing me this grief. Tomorrow morning will be the clincher. How the everloving f*** did I not think about the clutch pedal in the first place? Also, why was it stuck so low?

 

[bootdinker]

look for the clutch assist spring thread. ill bet you are either missing it or the previous owner replaced it with a weaker one.

the cruise switch is at the top of the pedal travel - the spring helps it get there.

 

[DeadlyBreakdown]

OK, so...... Weird update here.

Was on a decently long drive and tried to put the cruise control on. It would go into standby, but not actually set a speed. Couldn't figure out why. Tried everything, then remembered that it turns off if the clutch pedal is pressed. Pumped the clutch pedal, but still wouldn't set. Finally put my toe behind the pedal and pulled, and the **** popped out 3 inches and stayed there. Car still shifts fine, cruise control works, and it's easier to get into reverse.

Wtf happened? I knew my clutch pedal always seemed low, but I don't remember it changing since I bought the car. Now it's even with the brake pedal, which seems weird as hell to me since driving it lower for the past few weeks. I'm assuming that's what's been causing me this grief. Tomorrow morning will be the clincher. How the everloving f*** did I not think about the clutch pedal in the first place? Also, why was it stuck so low?

Willing to bet previous owner removed the clutch assist spring. I did the same mod, but the clutch was sagging 2-3 percent after every single drive (don't wanna know what it would be like if i didn't pull up with my foot after months). I threw it back in.

 

[MechaHeretic]

Willing to bet previous owner removed the clutch assist spring. I did the same mod, but the clutch was sagging 2-3 percent after every single drive (don't wanna know what it would be like if i didn't pull up with my foot after months). I threw it back in.

Yup, that's what it is. I'm missing the clutch spring. I wouldn't have even thought about that if it weren't for bootdinker up there mentioning it.

I don't even have the old spring to throw back in, but apparently I've been driving without it for the past year, so I'm not going to go hunt one down. I guess i'll just keep this in mind the next time my clutch starts feeling funky. DeadlyBreakdown, did you just pull up on the clutch with you hop in? Did you notice any other weird things happened besides the pedal sag?

 

[DeadlyBreakdown]

Yup, that's what it is. I'm missing the clutch spring. I wouldn't have even thought about that if it weren't for bootdinker up there mentioning it.

I don't even have the old spring to throw back in, but apparently I've been driving without it for the past year, so I'm not going to go hunt one down. I guess i'll just keep this in mind the next time my clutch starts feeling funky. DeadlyBreakdown, did you just pull up on the clutch with you hop in? Did you notice any other weird things happened besides the pedal sag?

Just the pedal sag. I literally had to pull up on the clutch every 5-10 minutes while driving. I did it out of muscle memory and probably wasn't needed but you will feel it sag after a few minutes even if you're just sitting idle.

Like I said, the AP shows it sagging between 2-4 percent which I don't think is enough to engage at all but it's something I didn't want to mess with so I threw the spring back in.

 

[angrychair]

TL DR

my friend had a similar issue in his 03 Cobra he purchased 2 years ago, shifting being super stuff. I dont' know what the deal was, but we googled the hell out of it, and ended up swapping the trans fluids out for something more along the line of a custom blend and it totally fixed the issue. We don't know what was put in the trans by the previous owner, or if it was even ever changed out, but it made a world of difference when i was like "WTF how does trans fluid effect shifting on a top loader like this?"