blackandwhite

iTrader: (3)

I have a VG 5spd. I am having trouble going in first and second gear sometimes. But the other gears work fine. Any suggestions?

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

are you having a hard time using the clutch ,is the car stalling or is the shifter not going into those gears?

blackandwhite

iTrader: (3)

It is not stalling, it's like I can't get the stick to move left of nuetral to even get to 1 or 2. It is intermittant, but it is starting to happen more often. Also, when I can get it to go, it seems to be harder to put into gear than normal.

Bman

Gee, this sounds similar to an intermittent problem I have with my shifting into 1st and reverse. If I push the clutch all the way to the floor it's sometimes hard or impossible to get it in these gears. But if I let up about 1/8-1/4 inch off the floor it gets much easier. Otherwise it shifts perfectly, consistently.

I posted about this problem a couple weeks ago and got pearls of wisdom like "make sure you come to a complete stop before shifting into reverse", air in the hydraulic clutch, and "try double clutching".

On the other hand, someone suggested some kind of strange problem with the alignment of the engine/transmission mounts, which might be weird enough, but I haven't followed up on it. I've just decided to live with it for now until I get more pressing things looked at first. Good luck and let us know if you find out what it is.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

He works at a tranny shop. He said it sounds like something is
going wrong but He said he doesnt like making guesses without looking at it. And it would be better to find out what it is by taking
it to someone who can look at it that way you dont make it worse.

flyry110

YO BMAN!

i have that too, but i've always just lifted a little. i've driven other cars like that, i think it's just the gear not matching up correctly. i have a new prob! last night when phil was in my car, 4th gear got really sinny and hard to find. WTF! also, mine still whines. . .

blackandwhite

iTrader: (3)

Sounds just like a tranny shop response. "We can't tell you what's wrong without looking at it." Then when they look at it..."We think it may be a few things, but we have to pull the tranny to know for sure" $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

BS.

I went to a tranny shop recently, because my tranny was making some really bad sounds. They told me that I probably needed a new clutch but , they'd "have to open it up to see" about $600 parts and labor was their quote.

$600 was too much for me so I had it towed home as a precaution (free with my auto insurance). Then I picked up the Chilton Manual. I looked in the tranny troubleshooting section. The first thing I saw was "Check manual transaxle fluid". I looked under the car, and did not see any leaks. I rode the clutch (to reduce the noise) to get the car to the Jiffy Lube across the street. They checked the gear oil, and it was completely empty. They filled it, and when I took it back out on the road the noise was still there, until the fluid got warm, and it went away completely and has not returned.

In additon, I have a friend that has a Galant, that had auto tranny problems. Here when to 3 different places that gave him esimates of $1200-$1500 for a rebuild. Then he took it to another guy, and he flushed and filled his fluid and he was good as new for $60.

I ask questions to people on this board because they are knowledgeable, and they have no alterior financial motives to exagerate the extent of repair needed.

Bman

Yay (I think...)! So I'm not just going crazy! At least now I know I'm not alone. I might go as far as put a shim of some kind under the pedal to stop it early someday. Forgot to mention someone (Czar?) said in another post somewhere (maybe the bbs) that shifting into 4th, then reverse helps. I've done this a couple times and it does seem to help. I've also experimented with going 3rd, then 1st, working with that theory.
With 215k KM (134k mi) on my tranny, it whines a bit too. Only really noticable under deceleration. It was like that when I got my car weeks ago and the AA inspector said it was due to the milage and I should just keep tabs on it.

I hear that! That's sure why I asked here first instead of asking a shop, because often all they do tell you is "bring it in". If you press them, they will grudgingly give you vague ideas about what could be wrong, but in business there's a principle that if you just bring the customer in he's more likely to just buy right there and then. Misdiagnosis is another pitfall, like with your fluid problem. If they think you have no clue going in, they might try and say "you need a new clutch", or "you need to rebuild your tranny". No disrespect to honest mechanics out there who just might be cautious, but it's shenanigans like that that leads to a lot of mistrust.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

but its hard to tell whats wrong by hearing about it sometimes.
personally i would have checked the fluid before i brought it to the shop but as mechanics they should have too. but a good mechanic won't tell you something is wrong if they dont really know thell tell you they have to look at it. I talked to my friend again and he said if its making a grinding noise when you try to put it into 1 and 2 it may be the clutch or the syncros (dont know if its spelled right).

blackandwhite

iTrader: (3)

It is not making grinding noise. It just doesn't go sometimes.

Bman

Same here.

sublunary

iTrader: (2)

everytime i can't shift into reverse all i have to do is let the clutch out and push it back in and that solves it. i don't know why but it works. someone told me something about it resets the clutch but i don't think they really knew anything

sublunary

iTrader: (2)

also the cold weather can compound problems and i have noticed my clutch sticking a bit more lately

Agamemnon

Did you just get this car, or have you had no problem with it until lately?

You know, when I first got my Max, I find it very difficult to shift into 1st, sometimes into 2nd too. The lever just won't move into those gears. But now I hardly ever have any problem with it! I guess it just need a special way of moving and maneuvering the shift lever, you can't just shove it like on other cars. I just got used to it.

Nismo87SE

He doesn't drive a VG 5spd anymore . Good archiving.