Tough shifting when cold, grinds 2nd and 3rd..

[Luke]

My car's got about 99k miles on it and i recently changed my gear oil in my trans to Redline MT90. All of these problems seemed to start after that, and also when it started getting very cold out. Now shifting seems harder than before and it'll grind a little before popping into 2nd and 3rd if i shift to fast. It's not like it's grinding and not wanting to go into the gear, it just crunches before engaging. Once it warms up, it seems to be better. But i've been shifting to 2nd so slow when it's cold so i don't feel it grind.

Could my syncros be going, with only 99k? I haven't abused the trans, and i never have misshifted and grind any gears ever. I got it at 92k and the shifting was great then.

Or could it be the gear oil i used. is the Redline MT90 too thick for this temp or is the synthetic bad for high mileage trannys? I know the trans is full because i've checked a bunch of times (on a flat surface). Should i switch to a lower weight oil? Thanks if you can explain to me what's going on.

[Luke]

Also, i changed the differential oil at the same time with valvoline synpower 75w-90. And it seems like the drivetrain vibrates some, it's mostly noticeable in 4th gear more than others.

[FrEaK]

I have a similar problem going only into second... it could be a sign of aging synchros... i would worry abot once it begins to do it in the heat, or after the car has warmed up... a little cold always brings something with it...

[lbrowne]

Could it be that with the new lubricant you're not letting the transmission warm up enough for the fluids to get flowing good.

If everything was fine before it, try giving you car that little bit of extra time to warm up, and shift very easily into gears for the first bit after you start driving. once shes at normal operating temps you may find she does not do it at all (the grinding sound).

[Luke]

Yeah I sit and let the car warm up usually. and I definately shift easy before it really warms up. Hopefully this goes away when it warms back up...

[daniel240]

Yea my car always grinds on the first shift into 2nd when its really cold out and after that, it never does it. its really weird, i just go easy on the first shift to 2nd then everythings ok.

[Silvia007]

I didn't read the thread entirely but here's my 2 cents, if you're experiencing problems shifting or hard shifting when cold, put gearing into neutral and pump the clutch a few times and it should be fine!

[Luke]

I'll try that Silvia007, thanks for the tip.