Mostly everyone knows of the 3rd gear "crunch" problem in our 6mt transmissions. Well I just want to know who here has NOT experienced anything of that nature, and if so, whats the mileage?

Update: one of my posts on page 5 has video footage of the 3rd gear grind

 

I don't find this to be a PROBLEM.

It does it, I deal with it.

I've had several other cars that did this as well.
Long term problem???....time will tell.

gr

 

yea thats why I used "occurrence" instead of "problem" except in the first line. Im just looking to see how widespread it is

 

I don't think mine does it, I'm at 91,500 miles

 

i'm at 83,000 no crunch here.

 

The point that the tranny grinds into the third gear is that the sinchronizer is not good and you will need to get a new tranny installed. You can drive with this no problem but it will get worse over time. I started getting this problem when my 03 had about 28K miles and i got new tranny at 33K and now i have 40k and no problems yet. Nissan covers this issue under the 60k mile warrenty. So let them take care of it while you have warrenty. If you dont then just keep on driveing. It has verry little wear to your gears and will take a long time for something to happened. Nissan says that the new tranys that they put in have alot better sinchronizers. Good luck

 

Dimashka...you said "grinds". Thats different than when it "crunches". A grind is a REALLY loud noise that people outside the car can hear. Most often my passengers cannot even hear the crunch into 3rd. Do you mean to say that the crunch will develop into grinding over time?

And from what I gather, the crunch problem is something with the gearbox. Grinding is with the tranny.

 

wrong. please stop saying this. Yes it is a grind you are hearing. It is because the 3rd gear synchros are not doing their job correctly. The sound you are hearing is the teeth of the collar grinding against the gear. There's no such thing as a 'crunch'

 

I've experienced this occassionally. I never thought much of it, assuming I didn't mash on the clutch far enough. Although I've noticed that even when I do mash on the clutch it still occurs.

One thing I do notice is that when downshifting from 2nd into 1st, if I'm going to fast I can't move into first and if I force it I get a crunch/grind noise...so I just don't do it until I'm practically crawling.

 

I'm at 51k miles and I have never experienced the 3rd gear crunch.

I always thought that was some sort of safety mechanism. At first, I thought there was something wrong with my tranny. But then my cousin with a Subaru STi told me he can't shift into first if the car is moving at all. So, I decided that it was something that was built in to the car.

 

i had the occasional crunch since 5K miles on the odo
now at 53K will go in soon to get it fixed before power train warranty runs out

 

i have it...is there anything we can really do about this...obviously alot of people have a problem with it. could we take it to nissan????

 

me too...im at 51k so Im trying to keep my mileage low and under 60k. Man if this happens after 60k I am screwed. thats going to be thousands out of my pocket.

 

I don't know what you guys are talking about. I don't have any more trouble shifting into 3rd than I do any other gear. Sometimes it gets really friggin notchy if it's cold, and maybe that's the "crunch" I keep hearing about, but mine has the potential to do that in any shift at any time when it's cold. On the other hand, sometimes it shifts like butter all the way through.

 

we will have to meet up and i will show u what we are toaling about ^^^^

 

No problems at 65K. Except for the damn oil burning issue.

 

wow, didn't realize anyone from CT was actually on these forums. I'm down.

 

did u buy the car used? If so, maybe your tranny was already replaced or maybe your one of the lucky few. It has nothing to do with being cold out, it happens regardless and only in 3rd gear. whats your mileage?

 

i just bought (lastnight) a fully loaded 02 SE 6speed and i havent noticed any crunching
sometimes its hard to get it in gear, but im not used to the tranny quite just yet.

42000k

 

I don't know what this crunch is either. I find the shifts on this car to be "notchy" when compared to other cars, and sometimes shifting into 3rd (also happens going into second), the shifter will hesitate for a second before going into the gear. I don't know if this is the so-called "crunch" or not. I don't think so.

 

Car has 76,300 miles, bought used at 72, 800 miles.

 

44k im not having any problems with the my tranny. maybe a fluid change is in order for some of you....


btw about the oil burning....how bad is urs?

 

CT holding it down. **** ur from farmington im from plainville we are rite next to eachother

 

y arnt either of u on ctmaximas.org.......CHECK US OUT

 

how much did you pay for it? i'm looking into a local 02 SE 6sp

 

no thats not what Im talking about. It has nothing to do w/ hesitation. When you put it in 3rd, you feel a small "crunch" and you can hear it too...I cant explain it but mostly everyone knows what Im talking about.

 

my mechanic had a 97 SE with a 3.5swap and the 6speed swap. The tranny was brand new when he put it in and he said from day 1 it would always make that crunch-like sound. So I dont know...lots of mixed feedback here

 

I'm at about 89,500 and I have never had this problem and I am hard on my car to say the least, You guy's that are having this problem do you "no lift shift" often? I also have a short throw linkage that may help?

 

^ Im thinking about getting bushings and a short shifter...Im hoping that helps

 

never had a problem with 3rd in my 03 6spd

 

i walked off the lot with it for 17,4

original price before taxes and such was 15.9


p.s.
when can i search and make a new topic?
i need to search about headlight moisture and cant search .. says im not allowed ... rather odd

 

your still a new member. You need a certain number of posts before you can make your own thread. I believe its 15, but Im not too sure.

Back to the thread...

 

well i just thought about this....a few weeks ago i was taking out my stock airbox and while it was out u can get a good look at the whole tranny. the main spot that was blocked was where the shifter cables went to the shift fork ends.

man for my car having 44k on it i could move the cables like crazy. now, i know that would cause any sort of "wierd" shifting. i know first hand because i used to have a 1g talon, it used to feel crunchy going into gears sometimes, but then i checked it out and my shifter busings were toast. got a pair of aftermarket bushings and it was like brand new.

i would suggest that for anyone but also i would find out about kits for the shifter assembly. they have pieces that go under the whole assembly and to where they connect to the actually shifter.

im going to find some and order them for my car and see, i dont have any griding or crunching problems but i think it would clear up some of the sloppyness. also i think good gear old for the tranny helps. BG Syncoshift FTW!!!

 

thats what I thought...so new bushings would fix the problem correct? Or lessen it to a degree?

 

I burn about a quart every 2 months.

To the other point, new Energy Suspension shifter bushings will not help the "crunch". They relieve any slop you have in your shifter action. A very cheap and worthwhile upgrade.

 

no. the bushings cleared up the notchiness. there is a VAST difference between a notchy shifter and a grinding gear. A bushing will do nothing to help the internals of your transmission, which is where the problem lies....

 

please everyone read this for the correct information:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

It has nothing to do with the shifter assmebly. It is caused by the synchros not matching the gear speed correctly with the collar. It IS a gear grind just not a very severe one.

 

Yes, I agree with you 100% about the slop in the shifter action but, just from personal experience with my dsm, if the cable ends are bad enough they will drastically decrees the transmission's shifting capability. But from what LA03MAX said i would now think could be fluid related, or could it be a factory defect? Maybe some fresh gear oil is needed? BG?

 

Heh, nice. Guess I'm not the only one in this damn state that appreciates the Max

 

I think it is easy to determine if you are having fluid related problems. If you're feeling the "Crunch" in every shift or at least in different gear shifts, this is probably a good initial thought. If you are ONLY getting it for third gear, you probably just have the notorious weak 3rd gear synchro. Fluid related problems would cause problems in all the gears.