Grinding gears!!! Wahts going on?

[Oceanblue]

ok i just started out driving manual not too long ago.. i have a question, when i try to put my car into reverse, and i have my clutch all the way down, it grinds sometimes and need to be pushed in a bit, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesnt, i make sure that my car is stoped when i shift into reverse.. as a matter of fact, i have 1 feet on clutch, and 1 on brake. why does it grind?

Also, im starting to hear a little bit of metal contact when i shift into 2nd gear, sometimes (very seldom) on 3rd as well, its not grinding, but i can feel a little metal contact. why is this??

Another thing that troubles me is sometimes at around 10miles or 2000rpm in 2nd gear, i can push into 1st gear, it just wont go in.. does anyone know why?

The car has around 80k miles... whats going on? do i need a new transmission at this stage already?? or do i just need a transmission oil change? maybe amsoil or redline? what do you guys think??

[elwesso]

I wonder if its possible for the shifter to be not aligned properly or something.

[Oceanblue]

i was thinking about that too, i asked 1 of my friend and he said it shouldnt be since if the shifter is not aligned, it will pop out or just wont engage. but i still think it might be... how can i check this myself?

[slickster1013]

Well as for your question about why it wont go into first, you have to reach a certain MPH til it will let you go into first gear, you almost have to be at a complete stop, but not quite. Maybe you're not pushing your clutch down all the way, and that's why it is acting up, i'm not sure. If you don't know much, take it to a mechanic ( one you can trust/ know) and see what they say about it, then go from there. Sorry i'm not much help, but good luck anyway

[Oceanblue]

you are a lot of help, atlease i know why its almost impossible to push my 1st gear in when im at a certain speed! so i guess that is normal? i thought it might be normal because i can downshift on any other gears with no problems at all, only 1st gear it just wont let me unless im at a really slow speed.

[Equilibrium]

Sounds like worn synchros to me. Once the synchronizer gears start to get some wear on them it gets hard to go into first unless you're stopped, and depending on which one is worn it'll also become difficult to shift gears without grinding or "metal contact" sounds.

as for reverse I dunno if it has a syncho or not. I sometimes have trouble getting into reverse. Come to find out my console wasn't on straight and it was blocking the gear shift lol

[Oceanblue]

by the way, i make sure that my clutch is all the way down when i was trying to diagnose the problem. thanks

[Oceanblue]

so would a amsoil or redline transmission oil help? i think its minor but is there no help?

[Equilibrium]

Well it's hard to say since we don't know for sure if it is the synchro gears or not, but it deffinately wouldn't hurt.

If it is worn synchros then yes, swapping in a higher grade gear oil will reduce the problem, and if the wear isn't that bad can mask it all together. It would also be a good way to see if thats what your problem is.

[slickster1013]

I don't know about the synchronizer being the problem with the metal sounds and trouble with reverse, but i know it is normal when you can't go into first until you reach a certain speed. Mine is the same way and i can shift through gears fine. So, the first gear thing is normal, but like i said, just get it all checked out

[Equilibrium]

yeah like I said, the reverse thing probably doesn't apply, but I know that the first gear problem is synchro related. Now logic dictates that you can't engage first gear going 25-30 mph, but once below 20 you should be able to. I know this because I am able to and only after I had the gearbox serviced and put some redline in.

As far as this being his problem, it could be something else combined with the synchos, just the synchros, or something else all together. That's why I suggested the flush and fill with a higher grade oil to see if the problem is reduced any.

But as for the metal on metal sound, without hearing it it's impossible to diagnose what it is, so he should deffinately get it checked out as well. But make sure you go to someone you know or a friend or family member knows. Shops have a terrible habit of overcharging when it comes to transmission work.

[Oceanblue]

i dont hear any sound when i shift to 2nd and 3rd, i onlt "feel" metal contact. thanks for all the help guys! keep them coming by the wya, im looking to get redline MT-90 synthetic gear oil, if iwas to go amsoil, which type should i buy?

[zer0c123]

What is the year and model of the car?????

Get Redline MT-90. Also if your car is a 240sx you can follow the guide for changing transmission oil in the articles section.

If it doesn't solve the problem then maybe there could be air in the system or a failing slave cylinder. I have almost the exact same problem and S13sr20chris pointed out that it might be slave cylinder or air in the system. However I haven;t gotten the change to bleed the system nor inspect the slave cylinder, so idno if it will solve the problem.
Modified by zer0c123 at 8:22 PM 1/21/2006

[Oceanblue]

my car is a 97 LE, i dont quite know how to change my tansmission oil to tell you the truth, but i want to learn.

when you say you have the exact problem, what do you mean?

[zer0c123]

I gotta head off to work soon,

so i'll just post a link to my old post.

zerothread?id=143367

[Oceanblue]

sorry but did that solve your problem?

[zer0c123]

As i said before i haven't done the above yet. When chris pointed out about the slave cylinder i did a search on slave cylinder and that made it more convincing that the slave cylinder could be the problem.

[Oceanblue]

ok i think the griding only happens when its very cold.. in the morning? im not getting uch grind once i drive it for a while... any ideas?

[babowc]

thats pretty common in older cars.. but yours is a 97.. meh, still 8 years old..anyways, change the transmission oil if you havent done that yet.

and drive/shift softly til the car/transmission reaches op. temp

[dgeesaman]

ok i think the griding only happens when its very cold.. in the morning? im not getting uch grind once i drive it for a while... any ideas?

Definitely change the oil - I suggest a GL-4 or GL-4/GL-5 cross-list (no cheap "GL-5"s) in 75w90. Redline MT-90 or Amsoil MTG is a good choice. IMO, due to synchro wear and/or bearing wear, you need to replace it every 30-60k to keep it clean, or else your transmission bearings will die before the car does.

As for first gear not engaging, this is normal - 1st isn't designed to engage while rolling, so come to a complete (or nearly complete) stop first. When you do try and shift into 1st on a roll, push gently on the shifter until it clicks in.

For the reverse problem - are you sure that reverse is fully engaged? Since engaging reverse involves actually moving a gear into mesh with 2 other gears, it can happen that the teeth line up and don't mesh. The shifter will move partway into the reverse position, but not clicked in. When this happens, move the shifter back to neutral, clutch out, clutch in, and try reverse again. I've never had this happen twice in a row.

Dave