240sx 1990 Hard to shift gears

[mick]

I had my shifter rebuilt? Mechanic said it needed new bushings.Then I changed over to a rebuilt 5 speed trans.

Ever since......I can almost feel the gears when shifting into 1st and 2nd.

It is sometimes smooth; but mostly it takes force.

The shop said it is normal and will break in.It's been a year.

Is the shifter supposed to be something to fight with?Is there a way to smooth it out?

[s13sr20chris]

is there enough gear oil in the trans? no, you should not have to fight the shifter. feeling the gears a little is ok but should not require excessive force.

[benemorius]

Yeah, exactly how much do you feel the gears? And when you are shifting to first and second, are you moving or (almost) stopped? Are you downshifting or otherwise causing a great difference between the speeds of the two halves of the transmition? (engine half at idle speed, wheel half at cruising down the road at 20mph speed)

[S13B0OST]

actually id like to add something to this about gear shifting and 1st - 2nd, i own a 91' 300zx n/a, and when im going 1st - 2nd, and i shift fast, like not fast but normal, it grinds bad, it might be theres no oil but the mechanic checked it out and told me i may be going to fast for the gear thats why it did that, so i looked at my owners manual and i shifted at exactly the speed it said you should shift from 1st - 2nd, and i shifted normally; it still grinded up. also my 2nd - 3rd grinds alittle only when i shift fast. one other thing, when i get up in the morning and drive the car to work or just drive it in general, i go to like 3.5k and shift to second and i wont let off the clutch and ill just have the clutch depressed and it reads 2k on the tach...and when i let off the clutch in second going like 20 it doesnt even jump it rides perfect like i shifted perfectly...wtf is wrong there? it doesnt do it after i drive it alittle so whats going on there? i think i may have some transmission problems lol just your input would be nice on these questions...thanks

[navysnail]

by shifting too fast i think he means like ripping through the gears, its easier on the transmission if you go slower, maby a full 1 sec. with your foot on the clutch or so, because that gives the synchros a chance to slow down

also, make sure it isnt synthetic in your transmission, it will cause that (do a search for it in 240tech for an explenation)

[benemorius]

If you put it in second and let the clutch back up at 2k rpm while going 20mph.... you did shift perfectly. It's called matching revs... Is that what you mean or did I misunderstand?

[navysnail]

that is for shifting from one to the other, but if the synchros arnt performing right, you would have to clutch out in neutral, match it, then gear in, match it again, then clutch out (double clutching, yes it does make you SLOWER) but its basiaclly a "manual" synchro

[S13B0OST]

no i mean when i have the clutch in, and its in second and im moving, the tach reads 2k and doesnt drop, like its stuck there or something and then ill take my foot off the clutch like 3 or 4 seconds later just testing it, and it smoothly rides, and if i try to equalize you know clutch/gas when its at 2k on the tach it drops to 1k-1.5k and it studders alittle you know when you have a bad start and it bounces alittle thats how it is

[benemorius]

Kinda sounds like your clutch isn't fully disengaging. Is the fluid low or anything?

[s13sr20chris]

the tach may be sticking. that think is not perfect. your ear will tell you just how precise it may be.