Money shift.. Where to go from here
 

Hey friends...Not the first post i'd like to be making to introduce myself to the forums but this has been something eating away at me the past 24 hours. 2015 scion FRS 25,000km, just purchased a few days ago..

Two nights ago I did the unthinkable and accidentally went from 5th-2nd rather than 5th-4th.. I have been driving stick for years now and never once made this error so please save the rookie comments. And yes, I now use the backhand technique, something that would've have prevented this from the beginning.

I am unsure exactly just how fast i was going and how high the rpms went past redline if at all, but this is what happened: The tires did NOT lock up, the car did not jerk forward. The car did not spew any components or oil, the engine ran just fine after the miss-shift. I immediately put the clutch in when i heard the error; the engine sounded VERY high in revs but did not have the loud depth of power coming from the exhaust; it instead sounded feint.

As mentioned, almost two days have gone by. I have had to drive it to and from work and have been babying it since. I could be going crazy but upon starting the engine up cold the car does idle rather rough and there is a mild but noticeable shake. As for loss of compression/power I cannot notice a significant change but also havent floored it to find out. The engine has the what i think are usual annoying clicking and chirping sounds of the boxer engine.

I know my next step is a compression test and ASAP.. Toyota wants to charge 200$ to do it which i think is robbery.. But i also don't have the time and patients to get to those spark plugs myself.

Granted the two days that have gone by since and the 80+km i have driven after the error, is it safe to say i got lucky and didn't bend any valves? Should i be noticing more aggressive symptoms if i actually did damage? Is there a high chance my clutch is damaged? I have heard stories where people have gotten off the hook for accidental money shifts and also ones where there was zero forgiveness.

Thank you guys for taking the time to hear me out and shed some light on this.

Cheers :bonk:

Hello Benadryl and welcome to ye ole forum ....... :clap:

First off ...... :slap: ....... don't do that no more.

I reckon if the clutch is still working and the engine is still running ...... your car be OK ...... :thumbsup:


humfrz

Thank you for the welcome humfrz.. smack to the head and all!

Is this a matter that can cause the engine to just shit itself in a week/month/year? Would i be best to get a compression test despite the ridiculous cost? :suicide:

If the car runs the same as before you're fine.

Youre probably overthinking this. I'll bet your car is a-OK.

I've spent the past day watching the aftermath of money-shifting and reading everybody's horror stories on forums. I'm driving myself crazy and praying the boxer put up a good fight in that moment and time :burnrubber:

He's like me. I'm a paranoid too. But that's what I like about this forum! They're here to give you assurance, even though they don't have to. But this forum and its members are dope and helpful.
@Benadryl: As everyone says, if your car is fine for the past few days, you should be ok. You probably just increased the wear of a part, nothing serious. Just pray that nothing really went bad. But praise God you didn't blow up your engine!!

Congrats on your new car!

2013 Scion FRS
Instagram: @Exrald.frs

For sure! I was a part of RX8Club a few years back so the second i saw a forum for the 86's I knew i wanted to join. People can be extremely helpful at times.

And thank you sir, looking back my tires could have locked up and i probably wouldn't be typing this today.. those back roads can be awfully tempting but dangerous :drool: And replacing the engine would spin my life a 180 in terms of finances. Never again!!

Go stomp on it. Report back.

Take it on a backroad. If it survives, the car is fine :D

I'd suggest you forego a compression test. I figure that if a valve got messed up ..... the car would have let you know by now.

Did that incidence set your engine up for a long term breakdown ... ?? Who knows, but, what are you going to do ..... rebuild the engine now ..... I think not ..... ;)

Back in the day, we used to "float" valves all the time ..... no damage till one of them dropped ...... then there was no doubt in your mind ...... because the piston would beat it to death ...... making a lot of racket.....:eyebulge:


humfrz

Notice most of those stories resulted in a failure very shortly after the miss shift. Like has been said if you are still running then odds are well in your favour that you will be fine. The impact of a serious miss shift generally (not always) causes damage that will not show up with a compression test. It is the joints, rods and valves that take the brunt of the force.
I would just keep driving and not sweat it since if you did damage anything it would take an engine strip down and close examination to find it anyway.

I'm not saying how I know this but I happen to know this engine stays in one piece at 8,000 rpm on a mistaken downshift from fifth to second gear, at least if you are half awake and don't let the clutch in all the way before the scream from the engine tips you off. Just btw, these are strong engines and you cannot have dropped a valve so no worries there. It takes a fair bit of valve spring float to hit a valve, and valve float is not very common in modern engines due to very tight timing gear needed for precise remission controls. The highest strain on a streetable engine occurs at TDC at the end of the exhaust stroke. That's when the piston gudgeon or less often the con rod bearing takes the biggest load. No compression or power pressure holding the piston down is the reason.

The other tip I have is "so what"? If the engine runs, pulls strong and is not making unusual noises just drive it until you find out whether you broke it or not. If it is broken you will be taking the whole engine apart anyway, there is nothing you can do that will change this now.

Do NOT take it to a dealer because they will tell you it's broken.

You could slap a Supercharger on to check if it still holds together , like I did. If it breaks I will rebuild with stronger rods.

Seriously, if you overrev an engine by missing a shift like that you wouldn't need to be asking if the engine broke or not, it would be obvious.

I did the same exact thing a couple weeks ago, despite your rough idle observations It could just be your paranoia. After a mile or two of easy throttle I was back to "spirited driving" after my money shift haha I like that term.

Sent from my 2PQ93 using Tapatalk

:slap: .....for you too ......pay attention to what you're doin when shifting.

I'll betcha your right hand had either a cell phone it, a joint, a beer or was half way up your co-pilot' dress .......:rolleyes:


humfrz

Thanks for that in depth explanation! I figured after 100km i got extremely lucky since it's still running. The clutch feels a little retarded when shifting but that could just be me still getting used to the high bite point..

And for all those wondering, I just floored it...... Still put the same smile on my face as it did the first time I stepped on it :thumbup:


In defence to everyone else that is a part of the Money shift club, I can attest I was not doing anything else when it happened. I just wasn't used to being aggressive with the FRS's transmission and shifter throw/spacing. Plus i'll admit I got a little excited by the pull I was about to experience dropping it to fourth at 125km/hr :drool:

Regardless, I appreciate all of your guys' help and advice. Saved me a couple hundred dollars and lost sleep!

Many, including me, have lowered the clutch bite point:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...height&page=48

If you're feeling brave you can remove the overcentre helper spring completely:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...height&page=10