renatonetmail

Still kinda often I can't get it to 1st gear. When it shift smooth i feel in my hand two strokes...kinda like "engage" and "lock" (<--- i came out with those two words just to illustrate) ...well... when it doesnt want to shift it stays on the first stroke...like i never finish the throw to "lock".

Solution 1: Shift into second or third and back into 1st
Solution 2: Clutch press and depress again.

Any input on this?

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

Our tranny's 1st gears are hard to get into even if your car is rolling pretty slow (say 5mph), i cant get into it at that speed, I have to come to either a full stop or to ALMOST full stop and revmatch it to go in 1st gear. I may be wrong but I think 1st gear (similarly to reverse gear) has a lock-out. I guess to prevent any damage to the drivetrain in case u try to go to 3rd too fast and end up goin back into 1st (reverse usually wont let you shift into it unless you're full stopped, I tried doin it at a slow roll (2-3mph) and it'll grind if I do it.
EDIT= your 1st solution seems to work for me. Sometimes even at full stop if wont go into 1st gear (usually when it still cold, doesn't happen to me onces its all warmed up), so yea I go into 2nd and up to 1st and it goes in no problem like that

renatonetmail

that's is just crazy... how about the shifting linkage...maybe is that? I was reading in the troubleshooting section on Haynes about the problem going into specifically 1st gear and they point at the linkage. hmmmm?? *confused*. I've been never a fan of "something to get used to" idea. how come it never happens when cold.

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

Our manual trannies shifting sucks. Sometimes at a light, it's difficult to engage 1st without double clutching. This was noted on some "new car" reviews.

BTW, you really aren't supposed to shift (back) into 1st unless the car is stopped. There is no synchro, iirc. Second gear is just fine as long as you don't WOT it.

sryth

Chunger is right: It seems a common complaint that 1st gear is often hard to go in w/o the 2-1 "trick" or cycling the clutch. 1st gear has no syncros, and it's not advised to go into 1st while moving.

blkmaxx97

Amsoil

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

I use Redline MT90 as well and at first, I thought something was wrong with my tranny. Found out later that this is pretty common. The way I go around this is:

1) Pull the shifter towards you while shifting to 1st. That usually works everytime

2) As you hold the shifter towards first, SLOWLY let go of the clutch until the shifter finally goes into 1st. I rarely have to do this.

3) Sometimes at a light I'll forget about step one and since people are so damn eager to go as soon as the light turns green, step 2 is no good. So, I double clutch it then shift to 1st.

This is the only thing I don't like about our 5-speed. I wonder if the 5th and 6th gens have this issue?

JSMEXUSA

I have exactly the same problem; it is so hard to put it in first gear. I tought it was only my and my transmission. Used to have a 89 accord and was extremelly easy to shift into any gear. One more of the bad thing about our manual cars.

vortechpower

iTrader: (1)

I dont have this problem

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Its not necessarily bad. Its a safety mechanism on the tranny. And it really depends on how you shift. The 1st gear lockout mechanism prevents anyone from shifting to 1st while going above a certain speed. My 89 Toyota Celica didn't have this feature and I'll admit, I have abused that tranny and destroyed it at 140k miles. At first the synchros went, then I lost 1st gear, then 2nd gear, and its all over.

It has happened to me many times when I'm sitting at a red light, and when it turns green, I can't put the shifter in 1st. That's when method #1 works. One thing I just remembered, the carpet in my maxima is one of those generic ones. And sometimes, the carpet on the driverside had slid up so far that it got under the pedals. Then you try to depress the clutch and wonder why the shifter isn't going in easily. That's because the clutch pedal isn't down all the way because the edge of the carpet got under the pedal.

1FSTMAX

iTrader: (29)

same here.. my trans shifts smoothly with MT90, and a stillen sts..

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

Then, it must be a boosted max thing. Are you guys running race clutches?

1FSTMAX

iTrader: (29)

im not boosted... ...

Im running a ACT street clutch..

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

My bad, I thought you were. So you never had that issue mentioned even before the ACT clutch went in?

1FSTMAX

iTrader: (29)

nope.........

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

How about before you started using Redline?

1FSTMAX

iTrader: (29)

same with redline oil, just a little smoother...

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

When I switched to Redline, shifting was really smooth. Didn't even get the notchy feel. But after a little while, it came back. Last year when the cv boots had split, I took it to a buddy's shop. The tranny did loose some fluid while pulling the axles out for the boot job. He probably added a half a quart of regular TF because I forgot to get some Redline. Its been a year since and I have always wondered if it was wrong to mix a little bit of regular TF with the Redline already in the tranny.

1FSTMAX

iTrader: (29)

my trans has been smooth since it was put in.. even my original trans was smooth as well, i could get into 1st gear at low speed without double clutching, or jamming into gear..

DR-Max

iTrader: (3)

That should worry you a bit since there might not be a lockout mechanism for your 1st gear....who knows. I'm not saying there isn't either but I know mine does because I definitely can't shift to 1st unless im going below 5mph.

renatonetmail

I think I have OEM clutch... which would be the better option to replace? is the cluctch replacement a DIY task? how much does it cost in a private shop ?

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

The ACT will not affect it any.... I have the ACT and it still does it.. Alfonso and vortechpower may be luckier than most...