Notchy gears?

Inframidi · 10-07-2008, 08:53 AM

Sometimes when just stopped in a driveway I'll go through all the gears and they'll be notchy as hell. Like you really have to throw it in first or third or fifth. But sometimes, it's SMOOTH as **** and they slide in. Now I heard a lot about third being notchy, but not the other gears. Problem here or **** tranny fluid? I'm going with the latter.

Inframidi · 10-07-2008, 08:57 AM

Oh and one more thing. I'll be shifting 1>2>3>4 and all the gears feel fine, but when I put it in fourth I can feel vibrating from the shifter unlike all the other gears. What could that be?

JoeFromPA · 10-07-2008, 09:27 AM

Infra - I'm not going to tackle the root of your issue, which is debated in a number of ways and I don't know all the answers. What I will say is that switching to AMSOIL MTF will almost certainly make you 90% happier.

I have ~37k miles on my AMSOIL MTF and it's starting to get a little notchier than I like. I imagine a swap would help relieve it again. It did magical things at 15k on my car.

Joe

volvo9 · 10-07-2008, 09:52 AM

All manual transmissions do not shift well when at a complete stop, it's just the nature of the mechanics. The internals of the transmission have to be moving for everything to work properly, when stopped nothing is moving and sometimes engaging a gear is impossible without trying another gear first because of the position everything stopped in.

Inframidi · 10-07-2008, 10:10 AM

Hmm, that makes sense. Thanks.

Monsterbishi · 10-07-2008, 10:14 AM

Sitting with the engine off and shifting gears is not good. The gearbox is designed to work when all the parts are rotating, primarily so that your gear synchros have time to match one gear to the next, shifting when they are not moving gives them no time to engage, wearing on your gear synchros.

There are a number of reasons that your gears could be notchy when the car is on. I suggest changing your gear oil to something like Redline.

A good reason that it may feel knotchy when your car is on is that your gear synchros may be worn, or not working properly. There is a slight 'bump' in my gear box when i shift into first sometimes.

If your notchy feeling gets worse go to the dealership.
-p

Shertz · 10-08-2008, 12:06 AM

is amsoil something the dealership would have or should i pick some up before i hit the shop?
my Si only has about 2500 miles on it and i'm looking to kill a bit of the notchy-ness as well

10-07-2008, 08:53 AM	#1 (permalink)
Inframidi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Clifton Park, NY Posts: 169 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Notchy gears? Sometimes when just stopped in a driveway I'll go through all the gears and they'll be notchy as hell. Like you really have to throw it in first or third or fifth. But sometimes, it's SMOOTH as ** and they slide in. Now I heard a lot about third being notchy, but not the other gears. Problem here or ** tranny fluid? I'm going with the latter.

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10-07-2008, 08:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
Inframidi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Clifton Park, NY Posts: 169 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Oh and one more thing. I'll be shifting 1>2>3>4 and all the gears feel fine, but when I put it in fourth I can feel vibrating from the shifter unlike all the other gears. What could that be?

10-07-2008, 09:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
JoeFromPA Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Age: 26 Posts: 468 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Infra - I'm not going to tackle the root of your issue, which is debated in a number of ways and I don't know all the answers. What I will say is that switching to AMSOIL MTF will almost certainly make you 90% happier. I have ~37k miles on my AMSOIL MTF and it's starting to get a little notchier than I like. I imagine a swap would help relieve it again. It did magical things at 15k on my car. Joe

10-07-2008, 09:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
volvo9 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: North Attleboro, MA Age: 26 Posts: 2,517 Andrew iTrader: 0 / 0%	All manual transmissions do not shift well when at a complete stop, it's just the nature of the mechanics. The internals of the transmission have to be moving for everything to work properly, when stopped nothing is moving and sometimes engaging a gear is impossible without trying another gear first because of the position everything stopped in.

10-07-2008, 10:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
Inframidi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Clifton Park, NY Posts: 169 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Hmm, that makes sense. Thanks.

10-07-2008, 10:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
Monsterbishi Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Denver Age: 25 Posts: 335 P Slyce iTrader: 0 / 0%	Sitting with the engine off and shifting gears is not good. The gearbox is designed to work when all the parts are rotating, primarily so that your gear synchros have time to match one gear to the next, shifting when they are not moving gives them no time to engage, wearing on your gear synchros. There are a number of reasons that your gears could be notchy when the car is on. I suggest changing your gear oil to something like Redline. A good reason that it may feel knotchy when your car is on is that your gear synchros may be worn, or not working properly. There is a slight 'bump' in my gear box when i shift into first sometimes. If your notchy feeling gets worse go to the dealership. -p

10-08-2008, 12:06 AM	#7 (permalink)
Shertz Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NW CHI 'Burbs Posts: 119 iTrader: 0 / 0%	is amsoil something the dealership would have or should i pick some up before i hit the shop? my Si only has about 2500 miles on it and i'm looking to kill a bit of the notchy-ness as well