Occasional grind in 3rd gear Options

[GotToyota]

Occasionally while driving, my transmission whenever going into 3rd gear. I know the tranny was replaced earlier before I bought the car, but what could the grind mean? I'm going to try to put Synchromesh transmission fluid and see if that could fix it, but what else could it be?

-Matt

[Special_Edy]

This is why everyone recommends Pennzoil Syncromesh, specifically because it SEEMS to improve 3rd gear grind which appears to be the weakest link in our transmission. As the temperature drops the viscosity increases. I bet you cant even pour 75W-90 out of the bottle when its below freezing outside, so imagine how much worse a higher viscosity is.
A possible solution would be to fill your transmission with a lower viscosity in winter, and then switch back to 75W-90 in spring/summer. Viscosity is relative to ambient temperature(10W-30 motor oil is 200+ weight at room temperature but 30 at operating temp), and the syncronizers are designed for a very specific thickness. So by all means try a thinner fluid next winter and see if it solves the issue. The fact that the issue only occurs when its cold means your fluid is too thick.

And @ ILoveMySilly97, it is 2.7 quarts for the GT. Basically if you park it on a level surface you can fill it till it starts spilling out of the fill plug hole. The only way to overfill is if it is parked on a hill or you have the front end jacked up. They sell a hand pump that screws onto the bottle at the autoparts store, it is absolutely a must.

This post has been edited by Special_Edy: Jan 28, 2013 - 2:05 PM

[mkernz22]

This is why everyone recommends Pennzoil Syncromesh, specifically because it SEEMS to improve 3rd gear grind which appears to be the weakest link in our transmission. As the temperature drops the viscosity increases. I bet you cant even pour 75W-90 out of the bottle when its below freezing outside, so imagine how much worse a higher viscosity is.
A possible solution would be to fill your transmission with a lower viscosity in winter, and then switch back to 75W-90 in spring/summer. Viscosity is relative to ambient temperature(10W-30 motor oil is 200+ weight at room temperature but 30 at operating temp), and the syncronizers are designed for a very specific thickness. So by all means try a thinner fluid next winter and see if it solves the issue. The fact that the issue only occurs when its cold means your fluid is too thick.

And @ ILoveMySilly97, it is 2.7 quarts for the GT. Basically if you park it on a level surface you can fill it till it starts spilling out of the fill plug hole. The only way to overfill is if it is parked on a hill or you have the front end jacked up. They sell a hand pump that screws onto the bottle at the autoparts store, it is absolutely a must.

Mine does it once it warms up though....
It shifts better when it's colder and still thick.