Does everyones Max not let you shift into first gear when downshifting from second at a stop. Just thought I'd ask, because sometimes it seems to let me, sometimes I have to come to a complete stop first. Also, sometimes the shifter feels like it hits a rubber bump stop instead of easily going into gear. It has been somewhat cold lately, so I'm not sure if maybe the boushings are just stiff.

 

it will do that if you're going too fast to downshift into the first gear...slow down!!!

 

i used to downshift into first gear (1st gear is 43mph and under) until i realized how bad it was for the car...just use your breaks...if you want to downshift safely into 1st gear and you are going 20 or so mph, step on the gas a little so you don't get a huge jump...if we ever meet up, i'll show you what i'm talking about

 

Nah, sounds standard.

I have not found it to be much of a problem since there is more than enough power on tap to slow to 5 MPH in 2nd (+- 500 RPM) and take off. Not to mention it saves 2 shifts (1 into 1st one out of 1st).

Speaking of shifts. Do you always go through the 1-2-3-4-5? I find myself using non sequential shifting alot. I'll do a 2-5 or a 2-4-5 when in town and a 2-3-5 getting on the highway.

what about you?

 

Usually to get more aggressive acceleration I find I shift down to 3rd rather than 4th (speed allowing of course). But only going down, going up I tend to sequential shift 1-2-3-4-5.

rm

 

You may be driving too fast.Try downshifting to first at a lower speed.

 

I'm not going that fast. Plus, I have the clutch pushed in and I'm coasting to the light. However, it won't go into first so I have accelerate in 2nd while I'm still rolling. I was just wondering if this is normal behavior for a Maxima 5-speed. I've driven lots of different cars and some allow you to shift into first while rolling with the clutch pushed in, but some make you come to almost a complete stop before you can shift into first.

 

4th gen maxs do the same thing. I just switched my manual tranny fluid to Redline and poof, that problem is gone. This thing now shift like butter. Even my wife (who once didn't realize the car was out of alignment and had the sterring wheel half cocked to continue in a straight line) told me the car is much smoother shifting. Where I live it rarely gets over 90 so I used 3 qts of MTL (70-80wt) and 2 qts of MT 90 (75-90wt). Works great and shift like butter even below zero. Also, I can put the car in 1st even while rolling now (used to have to double clutch). If you don;t want Redline, try Mobil 1 fluid)

 

Yes the Redline fluid works wonders! I would also want to check and make sure the clutch is disengaging all the way. If not it will be hard to get into first. Do you have any resistance into reverse gear?

Mark

 

No, it shifts easily into reverse, but I don't use it that often. I'll pay closer attention to see if I notice any difficulty shifting into reverse. I'm going to look into the Redline. Thanks guys!

 

If you really need to downshift into first, you should be going pretty slow, probably under 10 MPH. You may need to muscle it in a bit. I find that I usually slow down in second, and then from second to neutral when coming to a traffic light. Not much need to downshift to first most of the time.

 

Try double clutching. It seems to help quite a bit. Why, I don't know. My car is nearly impossible to get into 1st when it's cold out and even 2nd gear is kind of a pain. After about 5 minutes, the tranny warms up and all is fine.

BTW, there's really no point going into 1st anywhere above 5mph. There's enough torque to pull you. It is extremely rare that I ever go into 1st above 15mph. Usually it's only to show off to my friends.


Dave

 

How do you double clutch? Sorry if it's a dumb question coz I am new to 5sp.

 

<B> downshifting causes more wear and tear on your drivetrain...Unless you're in a racing environment, downshifting is really unnecessary...look at it this way:

Brake pads, all around = $80?
Brake Discs, all around = $200?
Fluid = $10

New Tranny = $3000?
Rebuilt Tranny = $2000?


You make the decision. I toss it in neutral and brake. If i'm in a hurry, i downshift. </b>

 

I didn't mean downshifting. I meant, as I'm coming to a stop light in 2nd or 3rd, I push in the clutch as I'm breaking and as I roll to the light it changes green so I try to put it in 1st, but the transmission or whatever lock-out device prevents this. So, I have to put it into 2nd and lug the engine, unless I stab the gas to bring the RPMS up before I disengage the clutch completely. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I should have described my senerio not used downshifting which I rarely due unless coming into a turn which I want to power out of. Thanks for the help everyone! I was just concerned that something might be bent in the shift gate, but figured the car just won't allow me to shift that low at like 10-20. I never release the clutch until I'm going slow enough for 1st.

 

I have the same issues when driving the 98' max 5spd. I was coming to a stop sign at like 10 mph, tried to sick it in first and it just wouldn't go in easily but this was 5 min after startin git up in the cold, so I'm pretty sure that's what it was. (It snows a lot in Ontario!)

 

What you are feeling is the syncromesh and thick oil not allowing you to engage gears with a large speed difference.
The output gears are spinning at running speed, the input gears are spinning at some speed less than what would be needed for first. The poor synchromesh then tries to make a match by speeding up the whole input cluster, shaft and clutch. Synthetic oil makes this easier, in any case it is wear on the synchros, which are usually the first part of a transmission to fail. Speeding up the the gears to the equivalent of your road speed in first before moving the lever by double clutching would eliminate the problem.
Let out the clutch in neutral, blip the throttle - when revs are up depress clutch and shift to lower gear.

Dave

 

DON'T DOWNSHIFT!
If the car is still moving, it should be in second when the light changes and you start again, even at low speeds. Third may also be fine if you haven't dropped below 15 mph. The only time you should be in first is starting from a dead stop.

BTW - for those if you fighting the snow, it is frequently easier to start from a dead stop in second if you are on ice or slick (not deep) snow...

[Edited by MI2KSE on 01-26-2001 at 08:01 AM]

 

shifting into 1st while the car is still rolling is a bad thing. the only time I shift into 1st is when I'm at a dead stop. If my car is rolling just a little I use 2nd. sure its not the fastest pickup but figure this, if the tranny won't let U put it in 1st then its not meant to be, go to the next gear. Most stick shifts are that way, if the gear is too small it won't let U shift into it.

 

Thanks! I guess it's just operator error. I'll give the double clutch a try or else just keep luging second. Just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong except my not being used to the car yet. Thanks again.

 

wdave is right. I think that this is pretty normal for all manual tranny cars. If you feel like you must gear down into 1st, give a good blip of the throttle to match revs. You should be able to gear down every time by doing this. In fact, I almost always try to match revs. I used to gear down into first while moving alot with another car, but it is hell on the tranny. Did I mention I had multiple clutch/tranny rebuilds on that car with less than 50K on it the odometer?