try using 3rd and second for down shifting. i have been told that 1st doesnt have a syncro. not sure if its true but its hard to get into first in my car from 5th.

 

i have a pro 5.0 and its the same thing. drop it into 2nd first and then into first .

 

Yep, I sometimes gotta jam my car into 1st with a nice quick swift forceful movement... sometimes 1st will open up though, right before you come to a stop if you just hold some light pressure onto it to go into first it'll suck it in, but sometimes it still doesn't...

 

I just put mine in neutral until the rpms drop.

 

+1, you shouldn't be shifting into 1st while the car is moving; and as long as you are moving at all 2nd will get you going again quite nicely, even with the stock 3.27 rear end...

 

+1

 

Unless your transmission has been damaged, first gear is fully syncronized. I downshift to first all of the time without coming to a complete stop. After reading a similar thread, I tried downshifting to first at 45 mph and had no problem at all. (I didn't let out the clutch.) But, I have a habit of shifting to second before going to first from the old days when transmissions were not fully sycronized. You might try that. The only time I've ever even felt the gears rub a little is when I've gotten lazy and didn't have the clutch all of the way to the floor.

MGW is supposed to be a good shifter. Still, if you didn't have the problem before and you now suddenly have it after installing the shifter then I would suspect that something is wrong with the shifter or the installation. Make sure that the stops are adjusted correctly and for some transmissions you have to take the stops completely out.

 

Unless your transmission has been damaged, first gear is fully syncronized. I downshift to first all of the time without coming to a complete stop. After reading a similar thread, I tried downshifting to first at 45 mph and had no problem at all. (I didn't let out the clutch.) But, I have a habit of shifting to second before going to first from the old days when transmissions were not fully sycronized.

I'm an old dog and I would like you to explain the above statements regarding your shifting techniques. What transmission are you referring to that was not fully synchronized? It would have to be quite a long time ago. And you state that you can shift your trans into 1st gear at 45 mph? The lay shaft is spinning too fast at that speed for most standard transmissions to be capable of a 45 mph downshift to 1st gear, whether synchonized or not.

 

with the 3650 1st is pretty much supposed to be blocked out at anything over 15 mph to prevent damage...forcing it in is not the of best idea, thats why once your slowing down and your almost to a stop it allows it to go into first.

 

+1^

I'm not sure if the N.E. cars are similar, but it even says in my owners manual to avoid shifting in to first at speeds above 15 mph.

 

Nice to see I'm not the only old guy on these forums. lol

 

Not sure your as old as Eagle & I. I mean, I'm down to low sex output...lol

 

I haven't had the car very long so I'm not sure if it was doing it before I installed the shifter.

 

Yea mine has never went into 1st even going 5 mph without forcing it, so i never do unless im stopped, like cliff said 2nd will get you moving at slow speeds, before and after my MGW shifter, so im thinking its not MGW shifter problem.

 

Correct, it's the transmission... mine did it before I installed my MGW too...

 

Oh, I just realized... I should have said baddest... no, I think that's outdated. Maybe I should have said sickest... that don't sound right either. Actually, that is one I have to think about all of the time. When someone says something is sick, I immediately relate to something that is malfunctioning and underpowered. Oh, well... I suppose I will adapt, but in the meantime I think just I'll stick with neatest.