Well I have had my 5 spd for a little over one year, more recently whenever I race many times I get lock out of 3rd gear. Shifting for 1st to 2nd is okay but I go from 2nd to 3rd, I always hit the gate(even with the clutch pedal all the to the floor). I was wondering if this is something that is experienced by other people or just me, also this happens to my friend when he drives my car too, we're both decent drivers. thanx.

 

It happens to me during the 3-4 shift.

 

It happens to me in the 3-4 shift too. You just need to find which way to position your hand the best to make it smooth. My 2-3 shift is very quick...

I'm going to get a B&M short shifter pretty soon and I'm thinking it will definitely help with my throws. Maybe that's something you should look into?

 

i have a pacesetter sts. I'll probably need to shift slower...

 

i believe the problem is that during power shifts, people tend to pull the shifter towards them, causing a miss-shift or hitting the gate. try turning your hand over upside-down on your 3-4 shift. I found that this helps to not pull the shifter towards you as much. It sounds crazy I know, but it helped me to not miss-shift nearly as much.... Either that or get an automatic.

 

Yup i def **** my 3-4 shift and its cause i pull it towards me, just have to concentrate :-)

 

Weird....I occasionally have trouble with 3-4 too (& that was before the days of the Pacesetter). I'm guessing it's less than 1% of all my shifts into 4th. Anyone know why that may be?? 4th's gate can't be any narrower than any other gear right?

 

I find 4th the absolute easiest gear to get into.

 

same here...4th is by far the easiest of all gears

for the 3-4 shift, try gripping the shift **** from the top, but tilt your hand so that your fingers point to the passenger side floor...that way when you shift, you won't pull the shifter towards yourself and hit that gate.

either that, or your synchros is a little messed and locking you out of gear.

 

are u trying to center the shifter before shifting into 3rd?

 

getting into 3rd gear is the hardest for me...

then again I think I should switch to redline mt90 soon to make that problem go away.

 

Mine is a useless reply.

I have an a automatic, and this thread has made me nostalgiac for a standard transmission... my right arm feels so... useless now.

 

i have missed 3rd a few times now that i think of it. other gears are great

 

3rd to 4th is smooth but YES, going into 3rd i have the most trouble with ... oddly enough, sometimes when not trying it goes in smoother than ever.

 

Yeh man, I was really worried the other day because I just bought the car. I have a really hard time nailing 3rd most of the time, the downshift is fine...I would really appreciate anyone's advice on shifting into 3rd from 2nd on a power shift.

 

instead of taking it to the center when u go to shift just shift with a more upward row from second that works for me

 

3rd doesn't seem too bad to get in to for me...sometimes i actually push right and miss 2nd...4th is the easiest and quickest shift for me

 

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Do you guys grab the shift **** when you shift? The way to shift and not miss any gears is to use an open palm. If you push the shifter properly, the springs will take care of the shifting for you. From 2-3, just push straight up with the base of your palm. The springs that center the shifter will center it as it comes out of 2 and a straight forward push will get it into 3. For 3-4, just use last couple digits of your fingers and pull straight back. The springs will keep it centered coming out of 3 and get you into 4th.

 

Ya'll are trying to lead the shifter, most people that miss gears are trying to aim the shifter into gear, don't do this, just let it fall into gear. Do what Gambit said, it works.

 

Exactly right.

 

yup

 

There is no "gate". The tension that you feel if you try to move the shifter outside of the normal shifting pattern is actually the tranny internals resisting the unexpected movement.

If you push up to 2nd to 3rd, and you "hit the gate" between 1 and 3, what you are actually doing is trying to actuate 1 and 3 at the same time which is not supposed to be possible. The 1-2 and 3-4 yokes try to move at the same time and the yoke rod interlock prevents this from happening. If that interlock fails, then you will sucessfully engage both 1st and 3rd, causing your tranny input/intermediate shafts to bind.

Just something to think about when you are banging around those gears and the shifter is fighting back... If you are 'hitting the gate' then you are atually binding up the shifter mechanism and you need to learn how to shift quickly and smoothly, or just concentrate on smoothly.

+1 on Gambit - That's exactly correct.

 

When I miss gears its always the third that I miss. Except for the last time I raced you and missed second (you know, the time I blew my engine). Let me drive your car and see if anything is wrong .

 

You could if you come out more often... I even got my miss shift on camera last Sat when I raced, you can here it in the background.

 

I find it a bit "notchy", but I don't get any kind of lock-out. Do you mean that you simply cannot get it into gear for a moment? How many miles do you have on your Maxima? Perhaps it's the synchro. If you go from 2nd, then directly to 4th, can you ease into 3rd from there?

I'm having a similar situation with 1st gear. If I'm rolling forward above 3mph, it feels locked and will grind slightly if I push it all the way through (so, if I'm not at a dead stop I often just give a little extra gas in 2nd and avoid it altogether).

 

Thank you. That really helped me man. I heard about something called a "pistol grip" that sounds similar to what you're saying...

 

thats a safety feature nissan doesnt want u to downshift into first unless u are at a stop our trans are built that way, hard to put in first if ur going +2,3 mph

 

Actually, it doesn't feel like an intentional block. It's only just a little more resistance than other gears. But I distinctly remember it being effortless when the car was new. I'd heard this is typical of an older tranny, especially as 1st gear is used the most. And it may be different from 95-96 to 97-99. I'd heard the transmission was improved in the 2nd half of the 4th gen (several of the car reviews for the 95-96 models dissed the car for its shifting, with comments like "I felt I was learning how to shift all over again").

 

I know what you mean by resistance going into 1st when the car is rolling, I think thats normal but what its happening to me is sometimes shifting from 2nd to 3rd, I actually get stop by something that feels like a gate. I'm thinking that its something to do with the snycros and my clutch (my clutch is slipping slightly, barely noticable), I'm planning on upgrading to a ACT street clutch and a Fidanza flywheel in a few months.

 

How is this possible if you are trying to shift as quickly as possible? Wouldn't you just end up in first gear or hit the "gate" in between 1 and 3? I see how it would work if you allow the springs enough time to move the shifter over, but otherwise I don't think it would work. I do grab and aim and if I am not concentrating on where I am aiming I miss.

 

Hence I said shifting slower... I used to have trouble with 3-4 but I realize that I was pulling the shifter which I fixed. These last few days I haven't mis-shifted so hopefully it'll eventually go away.

 

Actually, I tried today and it worked. I put my thumb and pointer finger in the loser(L to the forehead) position and shifted as quick as I could. Me likey!

 

All of my upshifts are as fast as my 1-2 shift. Although 3rd does act stupid sometimes.

 

Funny, I never have problems shifting into 3rd. I use the base of my palm to push the shifter ****. 4th is the only gear where I occasionally have a little trouble.

I've now started shifting into that gear by having my fingers point to the right slightly and that seems to work well. Thx to whoever suggested that!