A shifting problem of which I am unsure.

G

groovyjdawg

Member
:
03 Protege ES
So, when I push in my clutch it squeaks a little, no big deal.

BUT, I have also been having a difficult time getting into 1st gear and reverse, and sometimes (but not as often) 2nd.

To get into reverse I usually have to let my car roll about half to a full foot before it will go into gear. And if I try to do it whilst rolling, I found out yesterday, it will make a grinding noise. And it honestly scared the s*** out of me.

As for 1st, and sometimes second, I just have to push really hard. And sometimes I have to let my car roll back a little before I can get it into 1st. 2nd just requires a little bit of force.

I was wondering if this was a clutch issue? Or something else? Because I really want to get this problem fixed. The previous owner put in a short shifter, is it possible he screwed something up?

I have contemplated just buying a new clutch to see if that was the issue, but I figured there has to be someone out there who knows what this problem is caused from.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

~Ethan
 
1st and reverse can be notchy. Never put into revese while rolling, you will grind eveytime. What kinda trans fluid you use? Thicker oil can make it more difficult. You should never "force" a gear. It should slide into gear easily. If you force it, you will destroy your synchros and put a lot of stress and wear on your forks and other transmission internals. Every gear has a "sweet spot" or an rpm range where the gear is designed to be put in at. 2nd gear is the most touchy, and if you have worn synchros and/or thick gear oil then 2nd gear will not like being down shifted into above 20 mph... In general you don't want to down shift into 2nd above 20-25 mph anyways.

I recommend changing your trans fluid. Redline MT 90 ftw!
 
Its my only ride, so I kinda had to force it into first, especially at lights and the like.

I got the car about 2 months ago, so I have no idea what trans fluid is in it. And I don't even know how to change it for that matter. I only downshift into second when I'm taking a corner, so I'm usually at about 15-20 mph.

As for the reverse, I was just putting it in while rolling because it wouldn't go in in the first place. But yeah, I'm not gonna do that again. But the other day when I was gonna leave work, I had to literally rock my car to get it into reverse to back out of my parking spot.

Where can I find a how-to to find the hole to drain the tranny fluid? And as for the redline, was that a brand of fluid?
 
Be easy on your trans and it will be easy on u. :D

Rocking a little to lossen up the gear, espsecially reverese, is pretty normal. Change your trans fluid, it should help.

Redline is the brand, MT 90 is the specific product.
You'll love it.
 
There's a drain bolt and a fill bolt I believe 21 mm on the top and bottom in same general area on driver's side of trans. It'll take 3 qts of Redline MT 90, good s***, I use it makes big diff. If you have trouble getting reverse, try putting it in 1st or 5th then reverse.
groovyjdawg said:
Its my only ride, so I kinda had to force it into first, especially at lights and the like.

I got the car about 2 months ago, so I have no idea what trans fluid is in it. And I don't even know how to change it for that matter. I only downshift into second when I'm taking a corner, so I'm usually at about 15-20 mph.

As for the reverse, I was just putting it in while rolling because it wouldn't go in in the first place. But yeah, I'm not gonna do that again. But the other day when I was gonna leave work, I had to literally rock my car to get it into reverse to back out of my parking spot.

Where can I find a how-to to find the hole to drain the tranny fluid? And as for the redline, was that a brand of fluid?
Click to expand...
 
Alright. Thanks for all of the help. I will probably be changing my tranny fluid on my next day off.

~Ethan
 
i have the same problem wit reverse. i haven't seen any transmissions that go into reverse everytime. all i do is put it into reverse until you feel it engae a little bit and stop. put it back into neutral than right back into reverse. this works 99% of the time. theres tht one time i will have to put it in 1st let the clutch up enough to slip and it'll go into reverse
 
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