3rd gear, i think shes going slowly Options

[speedfeen]

well i am mechanically inclined BUT remember i do autobody not mechanical lol





SO heres the story


Your driving, your going faster than 50km/h and u go to shift into 3rd and it grinds bad.....you do it when your going slower it doesnt do that....and well lets just say that more than once i go to ds into 3rd and it doesnt wanna go in.......


syncro? transmission? i know its easier to guess at what it is instead of seeing it but what do you guys think it is? just because it will do it sometimes and not other times im thinkin it may be the syncro....


ideas..

[_mikeE]

Most likely the synchro, I have to change my synchros in my 2nd and 3rd gear as well, shifting is so choppy.
Also, have you changed out your tranny fluid too.
However, best bet is to bring your tranny into a tranmission shop, some will do a free inspection for you to find the issue.

The acura tl's have this similar problem as well, and their resolution is to change their tranny fluid particular from GM. Interesting but yeah.

This post has been edited by _mikeE: Feb 27, 2008 - 2:58 PM

[speedfeen]

wholly fast freakin reply

no actually while i think about it the tranny fluid hasnt been changed, get some and throw some lucas in it....wouldnt hurt any

[_mikeE]

Yea, I'm a pretty active member on this site.
I too need to change my tranny fluid. I'm thiknin bout using Quakerstate 100% synthetic.

[97lestyousay]

eh 3rd gear you don't need it I have been driving my corolla gts
without 3rd or 4th for over a year now.

[speedfeen]

tis true its not a gear that you absolutely need but i wanna drive a car where everything works lol

i wanna pour my money into this one..

[celicamike]

A lot of people on here who have had problems with their synchros, especially grinding into third gear, have had the problem solved by changing tranny fluid using Pennzoil syncromesh (spelling?). I had the same problem you did, and it went away when I replaced the gear oil with syncromesh. The stuff really works, which came as a surprise to me, because I've always been told that Pennzoil is crap.

[Batman722]

A lot of people on here who have had problems with their synchros, especially grinding into third gear, have had the problem solved by changing tranny fluid using Pennzoil syncromesh (spelling?). I had the same problem you did, and it went away when I replaced the gear oil with syncromesh. The stuff really works, which came as a surprise to me, because I've always been told that Pennzoil is crap.

agreed.

penziol syncromesh ftw.

[speedfeen]

is syncromesh universal? or does it come in grades like the rest of the fluid?

This post has been edited by speedfeen: Feb 27, 2008 - 5:09 PM

[Batman722]

[alltracman78]

wholly fast freakin reply

no actually while i think about it the tranny fluid hasnt been changed, get some and throw some lucas in it....wouldnt hurt any

Changing it's a good idea, but don't use Lucas, it will thicken your oil, to stop the synchros from grinding you want to thin it.
That's what the synchromesh will do, thin it.
The GM stuff Mike E is talking about is the same stuff, just in a different bottle and more expensive.
I would suggest you do half and half or less [no more than half synchromesh], thin is better for the synchros, but thick is better for the gears. Since you live in Canada, 75W 90 is best. The synchromesh will mix with gear oil fine.

It only comes in one grade, what you see in the pic.

However, I would also suggest you shift at a bit higher engine speed. The snychros job is to match gear speeds, but you can help it by shifting in the right engine speed range [sounds like you're shifting a bit to low].
Less work for the synchros [they're metal brakes in your trans] means they won't wear out or break as soon.

i wanna pour my money into this one..

I don't think I've ever heard this one before

[celicamike]

Changing it's a good idea, but don't use Lucas, it will thicken your oil, to stop the synchros from grinding you want to thin it.
That's what the synchromesh will do, thin it.
The GM stuff Mike E is talking about is the same stuff, just in a different bottle and more expensive.
I would suggest you do half and half or less [no more than half synchromesh], thin is better for the synchros, but thick is better for the gears. Since you live in Canada, 75W 90 is best. The synchromesh will mix with gear oil fine.

It only comes in one grade, what you see in the pic.

Yeah, I mixed syncromesh with the regular 75W90 gear oil when I did mine. It takes about 3 quarts to fill the gearbox, so I bought 2 quarts of syncromech and 1 quart of regular gear oil. I live in southern california though.



This post has been edited by celicamike: Feb 27, 2008 - 7:42 PM

[_mikeE]

Okay, i'im gonna change my tranny fluid and see if it still feels choppy when shifting into 2nd and 3rd gear at higher rpm's.
Also, around how many km's do you think I should change the fluids mixing 2 quarts of the pennzoil and 1 quart of regular 75W90

[TGC-Komodo]

What Mike says is true .. sort of.
The 3G Acura TLs have the infamous 3rd gear issue, as well as second. The gear will either grind in our out of gear... and as well as pop out of place and back into neutral.
What he has wrong is that it's not just "GM Synchromesh" that we use to resolve [not fix] the issue. It's GM Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid: Friction Modified. It's much better than ordinary GM Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid.
I'm not sure about 6GCs but on the 3G TL, the GM Syncromesh:FM works miracles.
It's not that expensive either. Not even 14 dollars Canadian. The regular Synchromesh is just about 11 or so.

[speedfeen]

Well we have had the car since i joined so less than one month and we are still trying to get everything else right so tranny fluid wasnt the first thing, and the higher i shift the worse the grinding gets, if i go low then it wont :S works weird, and it terrible when down shifting so i now entirely skip 3rd gear and brake a little bit more.....i am almost apt to not to even use 3rd gear the sound drives me crazy!

and yea dont mind putting some money into it of course till i get my fd lmao then its an arguement of what car the money goes to

i cant wait! lol


and thanks for the pic of the syncromesh!


My .02
not to be a suck hole but i love this site, its the first place that im actually taken seriously being a woman in the trade and on the site! AND that im not degraded and if i say something wrong i dont get completely flamed...Appreciate that!

[x_itchy_b_x]

I just changed out my fluid with Lucas oil and DAMN shifting is a pain!
but i'm more concerned with my gears than shifting so w/e.
i shift slow now, theres no need to shift hard and try and chirp gears lol.
Maybe ill try more syncromesh.

6gc is good people

[Rayme]

I used synchromesh (GM synchromesh, which is beleived to be the same as penzoil) in the transmission.

And thats 4 quarts of that stuff, not just half or 1 quart.

Greatest thing ever.. I drove 100 000 KM on it and the grinding never came back.

do it! In those cold NB winter, the tranny shifter BETTER as it gets colder, pretty awesome stuff...

too bad I can't use it in my wrx

This post has been edited by Rayme: Feb 28, 2008 - 12:08 PM

[_mikeE]

What?! 4 quart's?
I'm reading some ppl using 3, my buddy's TL using 2.3 quarts, and now you're using 4? Ah I hope my manual tells me how much I'll need.
Btw you used completely the GM fluid, you didn't mix with regular like the other member did?

[TGC-Komodo]

Well we have had the car since i joined so less than one month and we are still trying to get everything else right so tranny fluid wasnt the first thing, and the higher i shift the worse the grinding gets, if i go low then it wont :S works weird, and it terrible when down shifting so i now entirely skip 3rd gear and brake a little bit more.....i am almost apt to not to even use 3rd gear the sound drives me crazy!

and yea dont mind putting some money into it of course till i get my fd lmao then its an arguement of what car the money goes to

i cant wait! lol


and thanks for the pic of the syncromesh!


My .02
not to be a suck hole but i love this site, its the first place that im actually taken seriously being a woman in the trade and on the site! AND that im not degraded and if i say something wrong i dont get completely flamed...Appreciate that!

A woman driving manual... and who will eventually get an FD? Oh thats hot =o lol

I suggest someone with a 6GC try using the GM Synchromesh friction modified. It's better than the ordinary synchromesh. I can provide the part number for US and Canadian members if anyone is interested.

[speedfeen]

right here! me want me want!

thanks for the compliment


and no i dont care if im 100 and my bones are brittal i will never drive an auto.....if i cant shift cause my hip will break then....ill do it the paddle way

[TGC-Komodo]

right here! me want me want!

thanks for the compliment


and no i dont care if im 100 and my bones are brittal i will never drive an auto.....if i cant shift cause my hip will break then....ill do it the paddle way

Canadian Part # is: 10953509
American Part # is: 12377916

lol You'd be one hot granny if you are still driving manual--or paddle shifters. hahah

[TGC-Komodo]

Here's what you are looking for if you go with the Friction Modified Synchromesh route.

It may be semi-synthetic but it works miracles.
It's like having your gearbox made of butter and shifting with a knife!!!!!1111one
Just go to any GM related dealership.

This post has been edited by TGC-Komodo: Feb 28, 2008 - 2:19 PM

[speedfeen]

no thanks! il go to my parts guy he can get me everything cheaper than any place around here....


so you said you used 4 quarts? ill read through my haines book how much to put in. I dont use anything else, instead of gear lube i use this as a complete substitute?


bahahaha a hot granny....u crack me up!

feen

[DEATH]

He has an e-153 Tranny which is a little bigger and probably holds more fluid. You just fill it till it comes out of the side plug on a level surface. Intend to buy an extra quart just in case.

[Rayme]

I said 4 quart..cause I dont remember how much fluid the transmission take.

I had a 1990 celica (basicly same transmission and engine) and I didn't mix the oil, all there was in the transmission was that GM synchromesh stuff, and for the love of god, I couldn't get my 2nd gear to gring at all (it did take a couple days for the oil to "sink in" for whatever reason), and that car had it from like 160 000 KM to 260 000 KM, and when I sold it was was shifting like the first day I owned it! That was a 16 years old car at the time.

So what I'm saying, is either toyota or GM makes a hella product !

no thanks! il go to my parts guy he can get me everything cheaper than any place around here....


so you said you used 4 quarts? ill read through my haines book how much to put in. I dont use anything else, instead of gear lube i use this as a complete substitute?


bahahaha a hot granny....u crack me up!

feen

This post has been edited by Rayme: Feb 28, 2008 - 4:58 PM

[speedfeen]

wouldnt it be better to go by the specs in the haines manual?

[Rayme]

Go buy the spec for the amount in liters yes.

edit : damn your replied quick lol

wouldnt it be better to go by the specs in the haines manual?

This post has been edited by Rayme: Feb 28, 2008 - 4:59 PM

[alltracman78]

Well we have had the car since i joined so less than one month and we are still trying to get everything else right so tranny fluid wasnt the first thing, and the higher i shift the worse the grinding gets, if i go low then it wont :S works weird, and it terrible when down shifting so i now entirely skip 3rd gear and brake a little bit more.....i am almost apt to not to even use 3rd gear the sound drives me crazy!

Synchromesh might help, you'll probably need more of it, not less in this case [just an educated guess]. Less thick oil isn't going to kill your gears right away, it's a long term thing [could be 100,000 miles or more], so it's not the end of the world if you end up using just the synchromesh.

When you downshift blip the gas a bit right before you put it in gear, to help match engine speed and input shaft speed.

not to be a suck hole but i love this site, its the first place that im actually taken seriously being a woman in the trade and on the site! AND that im not degraded and if i say something wrong i dont get completely flamed...Appreciate that!

This and Celicatech tend to be pretty good like that, and Alltrac.net to some extent unlike most forums on the web....

...
What he has wrong is that it's not just "GM Synchromesh" that we use to resolve [not fix] the issue. It's GM Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid: Friction Modified. It's much better than ordinary GM Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid.
I'm not sure about 6GCs but on the 3G TL, the GM Syncromesh:FM works miracles.
It's not that expensive either. Not even 14 dollars Canadian. The regular Synchromesh is just about 11 or so.

I'd never heard of this particular type, good to know.

What?! 4 quart's?
I'm reading some ppl using 3, my buddy's TL using 2.3 quarts, and now you're using 4? Ah I hope my manual tells me how much I'll need.
Btw you used completely the GM fluid, you didn't mix with regular like the other member did?

Different transmissions take different amounts of oil.....

wouldnt it be better to go by the specs in the haines manual?

Haynes is usually junk IMO.
If you can, get the Toyota factory manual[s].
They are MUCH MUCH better.
If you're a tech by trade you should definitely appreciate this, especially the wiring manual. It alone is worth the price of all the books IMO.

[laff09]

right here! me want me want!

thanks for the compliment


and no i dont care if im 100 and my bones are brittal i will never drive an auto.....if i cant shift cause my hip will break then....ill do it the paddle way

+1 for paddle shifting the groceries home in a minivan. lol

[Ugglan]

speedfeen: did you change your tranny fliud? what did you use, did you get rid of the grinding?

i have the same problem and thinking about changing the fluids but I'm not sure what to use, just synchromech or mix it...

[_mikeE]

Ugghhh im pretty pissed...I just had my tranny fluid changed, but instead i used pennzoil synthetic, and my tranny was very smooth and working perfect for only one day--the next day it went right back to normal....sigh...what do you guys think might be the problem...synchros? or that synthetic is just too thin and i should've used the synchromesh.