I've had this manual transmission installed for about a thousand miles now. The problem is that it will not let me downshift into 1st gear unless I am at a COMPLETE stop. Before my old tranny went out I was able to do this with no problem at low speeds. I also have this problem when downshifting into second unless Im going REAL slow. After about a half hour of driving it though, it seems to loosen up and let me get into those gears at low speeds. Anybody know what is going on here? The only good thing to come out of this is that I actually have to come to a COMPLETE stop at stop signs now in order to get back into 1st gear lol. This way I can't get any tickets for just slowing down and slowly coasting through stop signs.

 

maybe your gear oil just needed time to warm up

 

The same problem exists with 2nd? Cuz if it's not impossible to shift to 2nd, I'd say use that iinstead. Personally, I only use 1st when starting from a dead stop. Aside from that, I'll downshift to 2nd to coast a little. 1st is just a little too sensitive for my liking.

 

i wouldnt downshift to 1st unless im back to a stop... puts a lot of stress on the trans. Downshifting into second shouldnt be a prob. Maybe its just your gear oil.. throw in some GL-4 Redline in there. And remember always rev-match when downshifting.

 

What kind of gear oil are you using? I trust it's not GL5.

There is absolutely no need to downshift to 1st gear before coming to a stop as MaximA StyLeZ states above.

 

10 charac

 

I had it filled with whatever the transmission shop used. I hope they used GL-4. I guess that I need to find that out.

 

And just to explain a little more, when Im coming to a stop, I normally hold the clutch in and shift to 1st just to get ready to get going again after I stop. It won't let me do that now until I stop. I guess it's just a little inconvenience. But say if you were coming to a stoplight that is red but is about to turn green and maybe you were going to race the guy in the next lane, I couldn't slam it in first to get going again. I know that is kind of hypothetical and Im 25 and really don't race anymore lol. But you see what Im saying.....I should be able to get into 1st at real low speeds say less than 10 mph.

 

That is probably the first gear lock-out. My brother cannot down**** his Lude unless he is under 20 MPH and like 2K RPM

 

Our first gear is normally like that. Maybe the problem actually was the old transmission letting you do that in the first place. I would also replace the gear oil to redline.

 

Seems pretty late to reply but, if your going about 10 or very slow/ slower then you should be able to shift into 1st. If not then try releasing the clutch just a little bit while pushing the shifter(not FORCING) into 1st. After some practice youll find that gap to slide it into 1st. Not quiet releasing the clutch, not even touching the surface of the plate...youll feel it.

 

GL-5 gear oil is not gonna cause that. It is not good for our soft metal parts, but it is not gonna cause a severe shifting problem.

 

My tranny does the same. I can normally get it into 1st while rolling under 25MPH, but it has to be pushed pretty hard. I really don't do it because our 1st gear has so much torque, it is kinda rough when I let the clutch out. Like someone else said, it was probably your old tranny acting up and letting you do it so easily.

 

try rev matching...

 

Check your tranny fluid level, you could be low.