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Shifter Stiff when cold

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Old 12-12-2005, 08:48 PM
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Shifter Stiff when cold

Just wondering if everyone gets this with their five speeds. When i wiggle it in neutral its like its in a thick almost frozen liquid, prolly transmission fluid of course.
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Old 12-12-2005, 08:55 PM
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Yup I get that to, it's totally normal. Also, I beleive nissan recommends changing the transaxle fluid at a ridiculous interval, like 30k, that way you only need to change it once and the next time it will get changed when you rebuild the dif. bearings.
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Old 12-12-2005, 10:07 PM
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i guess i should take care of that sometime soon i have no idea when the last time the fluid has been changed
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Old 12-12-2005, 10:36 PM
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I have been using the Redline MT90 for my manual tranny. I'm not sure how it holds up in extreme freezing winters but in southern California, it holds up just fine thru our winters.
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Old 12-13-2005, 12:47 AM
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Originally Posted by DR-Max
I have been using the Redline MT90 for my manual tranny. I'm not sure how it holds up in extreme freezing winters but in southern California, it holds up just fine thru our winters.
East coast winters bite.
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Old 12-13-2005, 02:01 AM
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its normal just warm your car up and you should be fine
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Old 12-13-2005, 03:31 AM
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Originally Posted by DR-Max
I have been using the Redline MT90 for my manual tranny. I'm not sure how it holds up in extreme freezing winters but in southern California, it holds up just fine thru our winters.
It's fine down to 0F, and I'm sure colder than that too. Fortunately I wouldn't know
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Old 12-13-2005, 04:34 AM
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I use Redline in my 5 spd. Its held up against the cold just fine and I've seen many days below zero.
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Old 12-13-2005, 05:05 AM
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Switch to synthetic it will take the stiffness out, especially in cold weather.
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Old 12-13-2005, 06:15 AM
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i have redline and it still gets stiff in chicago
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Old 12-13-2005, 06:53 AM
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my shifter gets stiff too....it was -1F this morning...let the car warm up for like 10 min and take it easy for the first few shifts and u will be ok
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Old 12-13-2005, 11:46 AM
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warming the car up does nothing for transmission wise. The engine can be completly warmed up and the shifter is still stiff.
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Old 12-13-2005, 11:48 AM
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oh contrar mofrar.....maybe its jsut my superhuman strength but my shifter was way stiffer jsut putting it into neutral when starting the car than it was when i actually left 15 min later
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Old 12-13-2005, 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by sachmo
warming the car up does nothing for transmission wise. The engine can be completly warmed up and the shifter is still stiff.
Hopefully your transmission doesn't have flakes of metal floating around in there - I've seen shifter rods badly pitted from the shards of metal getting stuck at the shift rod seal. That would certainly make shifting a lot harder.

Dave
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Old 12-13-2005, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by sachmo
warming the car up does nothing for transmission wise. The engine can be completly warmed up and the shifter is still stiff.

The input shaft and all gears on it are still turning around when the engine is running in nuetral so it should make a little difference.
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Old 12-13-2005, 01:10 PM
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How many quarts does it take to fill - 5?

Where is a good place to find Redline MT90 online?

Thanks!
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Old 12-13-2005, 05:46 PM
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4.5 qts.

Pretty normal to feel like rowing butter when it's cold out. Should loosen up when the car heats up.

I like GM Synchromesh fluid myself. Redline MT90 felt too notchy--better after adding some friction modifier but I shouldn't have to do that.
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Old 12-14-2005, 07:18 AM
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Redline MT90 is the way to go. Beleive it or not, its your leather that is frozen and preventing it from moving freely side to side.. warm it up, turn the heat up all the way and aim it downwards. It should feel better. As far as the notch shifting, like i said, mt90 is the way to go. Im going for it myself
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Old 12-14-2005, 11:01 AM
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Or you could PM me or Talkinghorse for a great price (dealer cost) on Amsoil fully synthetic gear oil.

I'm using it and it's treating me very well, even on the coldest PA mornings.
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Old 12-14-2005, 11:32 AM
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Get MT90. I just switched and everything is butter smooth .
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Old 12-18-2005, 09:02 AM
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Originally Posted by 96mAx2fast
Redline MT90 is the way to go. Beleive it or not, its your leather that is frozen and preventing it from moving freely side to side..
I can pop my broken shifter trim off and back on in about 3 seconds flat (makes a good hiding spot!) and it's pretty cold outside right now, so I'm going to go put that theory to the test.
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Old 12-18-2005, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by KRRZ350
so I'm going to go put that theory to the test.
No way is that the problem. I wouldn't even bother...
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Old 12-19-2005, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Mishmosh
No way is that the problem. I wouldn't even bother...

You don't think that's the same thing I said?? I was like, jeeze, this guy is a complete moron, only I wanted to wait till after I checked that out for myself. No lie, the shifter is deffinitly way looser, side to side anyways, maybe not going into gear, but side to side on a cold morning it's not stiff at all when you pop the trim off and hold the leather over the ****. Give it a try before you bash either of us.
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