Problem shifting

[Superwomanchick]

I wasn't sure where to put this thread so i'm sorry if it's in the wrong section. Lately when I first start driving my car it's difficult to put it into third. I always warm up my car and it doesn't do it with any other gear. It almost feels like I don't have the clutch in all the way when I do and it only happens once a day. Any ideas what could be wrong?

[xxthat girlxx]

Are you sure you're putting the clutch in all the way? Is it grinding at all?

[WhtRexGrl]

When I lived in Florida I had an 05 RSX Type-S, that sounds like it had the same issue. I thought it was me and didnt say anything about it at first but my husband noticed it one day without me saying anything. I am not sure if it is the same thing but it would only happen to me like once a day and it was mostly on my way to work in the morning. As time went on (about 6-8 months) it started to happen more often. The car was under warranty so I took it to Acura, they said the 3rd gear synchros (im sure i spelled it wrong) were junk, and it had started to damage the other gears. They replaced everything & I didnt have another issue after that. Hopefully this helps a little.

[Jonathan]

I wasn't sure where to put this thread so i'm sorry if it's in the wrong section. Lately when I first start driving my car it's difficult to put it into third. I always warm up my car and it doesn't do it with any other gear. It almost feels like I don't have the clutch in all the way when I do and it only happens once a day. Any ideas what could be wrong? It only happens once a day ?

What temperature is it outdoors ?

When do you first start making use of 3rd gear ?
Is it only when you shift from 2nd in to 3rd ?
What if you try downshifting from 4th in to 3rd ?

Can you try rev matching your gear shifts ?

Possibly you could try skipping 3rd and go directly from 2nd to 4th gear... just make sure you shift gently in to 4th.

It sounds like your third gear synchronizers are on their way out

When was the last time your transmission fluid was changed ?

[Superwomanchick]

It only happens when it's cold and only when i'm going to third from second and I put it into third around 27mph, usually at 2500-3000rpms, it doesn't grind, it just feels like i have to put more effort, everything on my car is stiff though, my clutch is ridiculously stiff and it takes a little more effort shifting than in my bfs wrx, it just feels like more of a rougher ride overall. I don't know about the tranny fluid but i'll have it checked out. It doesn't feel like it's hurting my car when I shift, it's just a little harder, I'm afraid it's just me being wimpy, cause I am pretty small, and I don't work out lol. Or maybe i'm just pushing it at a slightly off angle? I've never had that problem in any other car though.

[munkis]

It only happens once a day ?

What temperature is it outdoors ?

When do you first start making use of 3rd gear ?
Is it only when you shift from 2nd in to 3rd ?
What if you try downshifting from 4th in to 3rd ?

Can you try rev matching your gear shifts ?

Possibly you could try skipping 3rd and go directly from 2nd to 4th gear... just make sure you shift gently in to 4th.

It sounds like your third gear synchronizers are on their way out

When was the last time your transmission fluid was changed ?

The additional info requested here would help, especially transmission fluid change. How many miles are on your car?

I would not recomend skipping gears when updshifting this leads to synchro wear. I would also never skip gears down shifting with out rev matching and/or double clutching.

Jay
Chief Mechanic
Team Broken Racing
www.teambrokenracing.com

[Superwomanchick]

I don't know when the last owner changed the fluid, and it has 76k.

[SassySTi284]

Probably just safer to change out all the fluids. On my hubby's WRX, his tuner recommended a blend for his WRX tranny with an STI RA Gearset. He had a problem with 4th grinding every now and then and as soon as he put it in, it was shifting as smooth as butter. 3 qts of Redline Lightwieght Shockproof Gear Oil and 1 qt of Mobil 1 75-90 in this order: 1 Redline, 1 Mobil, 1 Redline top off with Redline (Redline Lightwieght Shockproof is too thick by itself)

[WhtRexGrl]

I let it go because I thought it was me, but that made the problem much worse. It started out like yours being hard to put it into gear but after a couple months it started grinding also. I would def try to figure it out before it turns into something much worse.
I sent you a PM

[MoN]

The same thing was happening to the wrx we had two years ago. It was a bad synchro. After a couple of months like that it got so weak that Ed ended up spinning a bearing and chuncks of metal blew through the whole engine and that was the end of that car. So def have it looked into before you end up having to shovel tons of money out to fix a major problem when it could be fixed before anything else gets ruined.

Probably just safer to change out all the fluids. On my hubby's WRX, his tuner recommended a blend for his WRX tranny with an STI RA Gearset. He had a problem with 4th grinding every now and then and as soon as he put it in, it was shifting as smooth as butter. 3 qts of Redline Lightwieght Shockproof Gear Oil and 1 qt of Mobil 1 75-90 in this order: 1 Redline, 1 Mobil, 1 Redline top off with Redline (Redline Lightwieght Shockproof is too thick by itself)

This is also a great idea, whenever Ed does his tune ups this is what he does. I remember the first time we needed a lube change in the wrx ,the shifting was a bit jumpy but after this concoction was put in there it was smooth as butter too.

[Jonathan]

I don't know when the last owner changed the fluid, and it has 76k.
Okay, so it is a used car.

Did you purchase it from a Subaru dealership ?
How long ago did you purchase it ?

Do you have any form of warranty either expressed in writing or implied ?

Are there any Subaru dealerships or tuner shops in your area that have a really good reputation for quality work ?

Pulling your transmission to have the 3rd gear synchros replaced isn't cheap.

Doing a "junk yard" transmission swap isn't a whole lot cheaper.

Learning to do smooth "double clutching" when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear may or may not help you out a whole lot.

Can your B/F teach you this technique, or better yet try it himself and see if it helps ?

[xxthat girlxx]

I don't know when the last owner changed the fluid, and it has 76k.

Did you do the factory 60K service? I know a tranny fluid change wsa on the "to-do" list for my '04.

[Superwomanchick]

Ok so I think it was just me, cause all day today i've been driving and making sure I push my clutch in all the way and it hasn't done it once. Maybe I was just getting lazy, my clutch really is super stiff :o

[xxthat girlxx]

Ok so I think it was just me, cause all day today i've been driving and making sure I push my clutch in all the way and it hasn't done it once. Maybe I was just getting lazy, my clutch really is super stiff :o

I thought I had a problem downshifting into 4th once, but I was just shifting stupidly one week. Definitely keep an eye on it!!!!

[Superwomanchick]

lol yeah, maybe I just got a little too comfortable. Oops. . .

[MoN]

What is the purpouse of double clutching? Should it be done all the time? Or is this just something you do when you have shifting issues?

[StripesRX]

Double clutching reduces the stress put on your transmission and engine. Instead of being shocked into spinning at a higher speed with the entire drive train stressing the system, you rev the engine so its operating at a faster speed before you engage the clutch and attach it to the tranny etc.

That might not be the best explanation, but thats how I understand it.

[Jonathan]

What is the purpouse of double clutching? Should it be done all the time? Or is this just something you do when you have shifting issues?
In a perfect world you should never ever have to use the double clutching shifting technique in a modern car.

Double clutching is a gear shifting technique first employed be heavy duty truck drivers some 75+ years ago... back when gear synchronizers either didn't exist, or were just not built strong enough to be expected to last the several hundred thousands miles of service life that such trucks were expected to endure.

Simply described "double clutching" is the act of briefly releasing, and then depressing the clutch pedal in the middle of changing to the next gear when the gear lever is in neutral just before selecting the next gear. In effect you are pressing and releasing the clutch pedal twice when making a gear change. Hence the term "double clutching". Typically when double clutching you "blip" the throttle ever so slightly when you have released the clutch pedal in the middle of your gear shift.

The explanation as to what double clutching is, and why it is done is a bit technical and something I sort of hoped I wouldn't feel the need to explain here. But here goes... Please try to bare with my overly simplistic explation...

Inside the typical manual transmission you have an "input shaft" that spins at the speed of the engine when the clutch is released (engaged). You also have a selection of gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd... & Reverse) that the gear at the other end of the input shaft is engaged with when you select a gear. These selections of gears (gear cluster) spin proportionately to the road speed you are traveling at. When changing gears, the gear you are selecting and the gear at the end of the input shaft are typically spinning at different speeds. The gear synchronizers do their very best to get the input shaft gear to spin at the same rate of speed as the selected gear. When everything is functioning correctly and both gears are spinning at the same rate (in synch with each other), they can then engage easily with little effort and the input shaft gears rotations get transferred to the selected gear and are used to power the car down the road. This is a both a simplistic and overly verbose explanation as to how your typical manual transmission functions. Hopefully it sort of makes sense.

The intent of "double clutching" (briefly engaging the clutch and "blipping" the throttle while the transmission is in neutral) is to get the input shaft spinning at (or at least nearly at) the same speed as the the gear you are about to select. By doing this you effectively reduce the work of the gear synchronizer. "Knowing" just how much to blip the throttle, and how much to release the clutch pedal is something that takes time and lots or practice to "learn" and eventually consistently get right. Even the best of us either when under pressure or when not paying full attention will occasionally mess up on and "miss shift".

Those who are involved with "drag racing" or "street racing" are often times familiar with the term "slap shifting" (shifting from gear to gear quickly with out the use of the clutch) and/or "speed shifting" (shifting with the clutch, but with out fully releasing the throttle when making gear changes). There are also special techniques for "launching" that involve revving the motor excessively and then "dumping" the clutch in such a way as to promote some initial wheel spin and (hopefully) obtaining quicker than normally possible acceleration. Such aggressive driving techniques, while effective, can drastically shorten the life of your entire power train. Many would be "drag racers" or "street racers" have a heightened sense as to when their high performance car is developing issues that can likely lead to some expensive repairs and will often times choose to trade in the car before something breaks. For these reasons one should exercise extreme caution when purchasing a used high performance vehicle.

[Jonathan]

I don't know when the last owner changed the fluid, and it has 76k.Even if what you suspect is true, and you haven't always fully depressed the clutch when shifting gears, I still think it would be a very good idea to have your transmission fluid exchanged with fresh clean brand new transmission fluid. You could very easily have bits and pieces of worn out metal gear teeth and gear synchronizers floating around in your existing transmission fluid that could likely mess up other transmission components. Getting your fluid changed promptly is a cheap means of reducing the likelihood of additional transmission issues.

[Superwomanchick]

Even if what you suspect is true, and you haven't always fully depressed the clutch when shifting gears, I still think it would be a very good idea to have your transmission fluid exchanged with fresh clean brand new transmission fluid. You could very easily have bits and pieces of worn out metal gear teeth and gear synchronizers floating around in your existing transmission fluid that could likely mess up other transmission components. Getting your fluid changed promptly is a cheap means of reducing the likelihood of additional transmission issues.

Don't worry I plan on replacing it soon.