I know, another shifting thread.....When your eyes stop rolling please read.

I've been driving a manual for, well basically since '02 when i bought my 99 max. I JUST traded that in for an '03 6spd SE/TE/HLSD Max and never has it been so glaringly obvious that, either i really don't know how to drive a stick, or the shifting in this car leaves a lot to desire..

After reading about 100 threads about "notchy" shifting, grinding, clunking, crunching, short throws, tranny fluids, bushings, RPM's, shift points, Rev matching, etc, etc, etc.. and after testing all these theories in my car, i've discovered that:

1. The notchy shifting is normal for this car and i've come to get used to it and actually like the feedback it gives me so that i know exactly when i've left a gear and exactly where i've entered the next.

2. The "crunching" (not grinding) into 3rd is a common issue and may be resolved by changing the tranny fluid (I live in Cold Weather NH so i've found that Redline MTL is going to be the best).

3. Sometimes i can't get into 2nd from 1st or 1st from 2nd and have to fully release and then depress the clutch, rev match and try again before it works...all other gears (except for the 3rd gear issue) are perfectly smooth. Hopefully this will be taken care of by the trany fluid change..

4. I honestly think the above 3 issues are NOT due to operator error. That said, i could probably stand to use some tips on driving this car. I failed to mention this at first so people didn't label this thread as a complete n00b thread, but my 99 was traded in at 175k and the clutch was COMPLETELY GONE. Like, GONE GONE. I do NOT want this to happen to my brand new baby, (6spd HLSD Tranny's and New Clutches are NOT CHEAP!) so please help me find the way to shifting Bliss!



My very basic questions are this:

1. Should shifting a 6spd any different than shifting a 5spd?

2. What, if any, of the aforementioned shifting problems can be attributed to bad driving?

3. What, if anything, can be done to improve the quality of shifting, short of replacing the tranny (I don't think my tranny needs replacing, just some luv..that's all)

4. Where can i go to learn how to properly shift this car? Websites, etc..?


That's pretty much it. Before i bought my car i said that my first mod was going to be a RSB and a STS...but from what i've found, the STS mod isn't a true Short Throw for this car. Should I wait for there to be a better mod, or would i be holding my breath? (PS - i'm not going to do the DIY STS Mod i've seen on here, i don't feel comfortable drilling into my car......yet


I hope this thread can offer people like me some insight into their 6spds and even get some of you vets in on debating proper shift techniques on the 6spd.....cuz it's just oh so much fun...!!!

 

do the STS...it feels so much shorter and more precise. it does make it a little more notchier but it's a nice feel.

to answer your questions:
1. Nope
2. maybe? but we dont' know how you shift..everyone drives differently.
3. replace the tranny fluid as you said...I have yet to do this but I should do it before winter comes.
4. you probably know how to drive it already...but again...we don't know how you drive. Post up videos or something of your driving..maybe we can critique it.

 

MT-90 helped my 1-2 shifts in that it did iron out the stickiness a fair bit. It also did make shifting smoother in general, and has remained that way for a while now (but I forget how many miles its been).

I would also grease the shifter assembly and bushings with white lithium grease (aerosol form, not paste form). That has helped significantly.

IMO, polyurethane bushings helped, but that's also personal preference. My thoughts are here if you're interested:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=455387

 

the tranny/shifter/clutch sucks on these cars. when i bought mine i thought i didnt know how to drive a stick.
the STS, bushings, and redline tranny fluid helped a lot. just takes some getting used to...it isnt like any other MT ive ever driven

 

Yeah it's definitely not like any other car i've ever driven either... I remember all 3 of you from the other shifting threads around, especially you Sooner who said you were gunna sell your car cuz you really didn't like it that much.

Well, i'm going to get the tranny fluid flushed and filled up w/ Redline MTL and see if that helps. After that i'll put in some new greasy bushings to see if tha thelps.

It doesn't look like the 2 piece STS mod actually shortens the shift lever. I drove a car once that the stick was like 5 inches tall, which made for a really cool shift feel. Is there something that can be done to this lever? Should i get out my hacksaw? I was under the impression that the STS mod would take care of this, but i guess with the type of linkage we got, it doesn't.

Puppet, you didn't mention in your thread how long that mod took you...this would be my first mod (i've done all the maintenance on cars before)...can you rate it on a difficulty level? Should i call in the .orger's help with this?

Thanks everyone so far.. I can't wait to get out of work every day to go drive it around...

 

+1 on the lithium grease, STS and poly bushings. Im currently running Amsoil tranny fluid, which is nice, but I think I felt more of a difference with the other stuff. Shifting into 2nd is a bit stiff on cold mornings, even after letting the car warm up a bit, so I usually shift to 3rd instead of forcing it into 2nd. And as far as the "crunching"....half the time its bad, and the other half it seems fine....

 

The 2 piece STS shortens the throw length, not the shift rod length. AFAIK, hct67 cut his shift rod and then retapped it so that he could screw the shift **** back on. He was also able to retain his reverse lockout somehow.

While a short shift rod is cool and all, IMO it wouldn't be very comfortable for daily driving because of how high the arm rest is on this car. I like to use the arm rest, so a shorter shift rod would place the **** too far down.

By changing the length/leverage, you might also make shifting more difficult (theoretically, but the difference may be marginal), but that can be fixed by getting a weighted shift ****.

You can do it yourself. I forget how long it took, but it wasn't very long and was very easy. The hardest part was pressing the greasy bushings back into the linkage. That sucked. But bear in mind that I have an intake so my stock airbox was already removed.

Difficulty level: 2 (only because it was hard for me to get the new shifter bushings in)

 

As far as websites for shifting, try http://www.standardshift.com/ because I didn't have anyone to teach me when I got my I30. I just watched the videos, read the various techniques on the forum and went from there. Hope that helps.

 

hey man. I have an 03 6m/t as well and I experienced the same notchiness as you (I still do but not as much). So I switched over to Amsoil manual transmission gear fluid and getting into 3rd gear has gotten much better.

But maybe its not all b/c of the fluid. I also changed the way I shift from 2-3. Before I would always move the shifter straight up from 2-3 (I had a 2001 prelude before and it really spoiled me hahaha). Now, I move the shifter up and slightly a little more to the right and then up into 3rd. You will be surprised how much smoother it will go in. I suggest you try that before swapping out your fluid. Try it out when you read this and let me know if Im right

 

You guys rule.

Puppet -

Thansk for the great insight on shortening the rod length. I'll have to reevaluate to see if that's something i really want. But i know i want to shorten the throw length so i'm waiting hear back from Brian Catts on how much the STS+Bushing package will cost me. I'm also going to be ripping out the stock intake so i'll wait until after i do that to give me some more room in there. All good stuff.. thank you!

WWJD -

thanks for that link. Exactly what i've been looking for.... Vroom!


SILVERMXX -

I'll try that after work tonight and post here to let you know how that works. I wonder why it would though? Cuz the neutral position should offer a straight line into 3rd/4th and if you have to move it to the right a bit then something's off no? Do you have to do the same thing when downshifting to 3rd or shifting from 3rd to 4th?

I am going to replace the Tranny Fluid and my research has told me that Redline MTL is best for cold weather. I live in New Hampshire and it gets effin cold up here...I don't trust what the crappy dealership "topped" my car off with. I'm expecting it won't change dramatically....but i'll have the peace of mind it's done.

Thanks again everyone!

 

I think you may have misunderstood. I was only referring to the 2-3 shift. Instead of moving it straight up into 3rd, move it up from 2nd and then when its in the neutral position, move it SLIGHTLY towards the right and then up into 3rd.

Other than that, 3-4 is straight down like any other car and downshifting from 4-3 is straight as well. The vq35 tranny takes time to master.

Also when its cold I have a rough time getting into 2nd but after 5 min of driving everything is smootthhhh

 

I purchased the two piece STS to get the shorter throw and for whatever reason, the grind into 3rd went away. I had the fluid changed and the shifting into 2nd during the cold months, 30 degrees and below is still usually impossible for me too. I purchased my 02 Maxima with 27K miles so I don't know how it was new but the last two winters, as same as the rest.

 

mine doesnt want to go in to 2nd when the car is cold. but after driving for a few minutes, the fluid warms up and going in to 2nd is fine. i just use 1st and 3rd while it warms up. i figure that also good for the engine while its cold (no high RPM driving)

 

naww..i gotcha mate... I'll give it a whirl and see if that helps any. Funny, but from watching those vids i think i actually found that i sit too far back. I know i'm getting the clutch all the way in so that's not the prob, but maybe it'll make shifting a bit easier if i sit closer...


Crappy thing about all these probs is that they don't happen all the time. It's not ALWAYS when it's cold, or just starting, or at X,000 RPMs or when up/down shifting to/from X gear... The 1st-2nd is pretty consistent and the 3rd gear crunch is 50% of the time most noticeably at lower RPM's...

Anyways, i'll try some of this stuff and keep everyone posted...

thanks again,
peace

 

that site has some good info..very nice videos

 

narrator whats your car's mileage?

 

53k. Just bought it last week. I want to get all this sorted out before the warranty is up at 60k just in case there is a problem w/ the Tranny. From what i've read though, there are no recalls/TSB's relating to this issue...

...which is very surprising.

 

To smooth out the notchiness, slow down your shifting... just ever so slightly. That's why letting the shifter center during your 2-3 shift makes it smoother, it slows down your shift. Remember, it's a cable-driven shifter, having it 1mm to the left or right doesn't make any difference whatsoever. When shifting, just apply firm steady pressure, and don't force it.

 

thats true. The 00-01 Maximas did not have the cable-driven shifter and thats why owners never complained about notchiness...b/c there was none for those years. Maybe your right about the shifter not making a difference 1mm to the right or left, but from personal experience I can tell you it works for me and thats the only reason I mentioned it.

 

As for the 'crunchiness' into third gear I have come to the conclusion that it is all in the operator of the car. after having my car for 1 month I came to realize I was shifting into third wrong. I felt a slight crunch; but when I learned how to properly shift it never happened again. Also for the part of not being able to get into 1st and 2nd I have no idea what you are talking about. Hate to break it to you but it seems like you just don't know how to drive a manual car all that well. Yea sure you have been driving for 4 years or so; but some people just can't do it properly where as me (been driving a manual car for 2 months) have mastered it in a short amount of time and I am natural at it I guess. I recommend energy suspension shifter bushing kit, free short throw shifter, and energy suspension motor mounts.

 

hail to the king who has been driving a manual car for 2 months and has mastrered it

you have been driving a manual car for only 2 months so take it from the people who have been driving manual longer, that it IS weather related. How else can you explain hard shifting when it is cold outside and after a few minutes it gets better?

I do agree with you when you say the 3rd gear problem rests with the operator of the car. I no longer get the crunch anymore, well maybe once in a blue moon

 

I have previously owned a 4th gen 5spd maxima...and have upgraded to a 5.5 gen 6spd max as well...the difference between the two shifters are pretty obvious...it's not just you...so no need to question about it...our shifters just don't feel precise or comfortable in stock form...even modded with poly bushings, MT-90, etc...it still far from other quality gearboxes (Honda RSX 6spd for ex..)

 

the best six speed i have driven is supra. It has stock getrag six speed. evn though getrag made six speeds for 3000gt but nothing matched supra's shifting.

 

S2000 has an amazing shifter...

 

who said I was the king of shifting? not I for sure. And where I live it has gotten down to 30 degrees in the morning when I wake up and the shifting is slightly harder at worst. When I bought the car the next day I changed the gear oil over to mobil 1. Even if it got to 0 degrees outside I think the transmission will warm up after several shifts. but that is a whole other topic.

 

I agree with Steven88 on this one. I've been driving for 18 years and have never owned an automatic. I sell cars for a living and have driven nearly every car out there at one time or another.

My 200,000 mile 4th gen shifted better than my 02. The Honda/Acura shifters feel way better IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ******* on the Maxima. I love the car. It's just that, to me, the shifting is the weakest part of the car. If I could get it to shift like an RSX I'd be in heaven. I don't think a front wheel drive car will ever shift as well as a Supra or S2000. On a rear drive car like those the stick goes directly into the tranny without all that linkage.

The 3rd gear grind is common with the 6-speed because of a poor syncro design. It's not just user error. It's a real problem with some of the trannys. Mine would grind bad on a quick high RPM shift. They fixed the problem in 04 with a different syncro design. I swapped in a 6th gen HLSD tranny and it shifts better overall with no 3rd gear grind at all. Its still not as good as it should be but it is better. Also, it's nice to be able to wind out 2nd and slide right into third with no drama.

 

Which Red Line transmission fluid should I look into, MT90 or MTL? I have MT90 in my 98' now it's time to change the fluid in my AE before it gets cold.

Andrei

 

The Honda/Acura and BMW shifters feel way better...like buttah!

I think the consensus fluid on the .org for the 6spd is Red Line MT90 (others correct me if I'm wrong). Replacing the tranny fluid is on my list of things to do...

 

i just completed my lowered shifter and i loooove it. with regards to the notchiness... personally i feel it helps a LoT~. my shifting feels much more firm and smooth. before my shortened rod, i always felt like the gear box left/entered gears easily... but there was a wall in the middle you had to 'push' through, thus creating the "notchy" feel. by shortening the leverage, indeed you have to use a little more muscle to get the car in and out of gears, but this makes the "notch" less noticeable, and in my opinion, much more preferable. (note: i've already installed gen2 STS, white lithium grease, redline mt-90, es shifter bushings and a heavier shift ****.) ALSO, the throws are slightly but noticeably shorter.

and maybe i'm just a big guy with long arms, but my armrest height vs. my shifter height is no problem at all. i can see how this would make an already annoying cupholder placement, more annoying. but this is a problem i'm willing to deal with.

reverse gate: seeing as how nobody is answering my other post..
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=498385
i already removed my reverse gate completely. so far, this hasn't posed a problem at all. getting into reverse is more convenient (i know, i know... lifting the gate wasn't the hardest thing in the world, but it's one less thing i have to do). also, i'm not worried about shifting into reverse accidentally at all. 5th to 6th is no problem, even without the gate. and even if i were to go all the way to the right, my tranny would not let me in. (but trust me, if you went from 5th to reverse... you'd know even before it gets in gear). the ONLY problem i see is 4th to 5th. i'm finding myself take a litttle bit more time finding 5th, and not passing 5th on the right side. but since 4th-5th is normally not an aggressive shift, i'm not worried. i'm still considering putting some sort of 'pressure' on the right side to remedy this problem, but i'm still brainstorming. any ideas in my other post would be great. (sorry for hijacking this thread)

 

So you're saying that all the 5.5 6MT owners who have posted here in agreement can't drive a stick shift, but somehow you have figured it out? I don't think so. Like Derrick said, the 3rd gear crunch is a synchro issue. The 1-2 stickiness exists in many 6MTs and seems to be remedied by getting rid of the Nissan tranny fluid. Even then, it still happens at low temps occassionally. Maybe you got lucky in that your car doesn't have these issues, but I highly doubt that it is operator error.

 

Thanks for the review. I'm sure your experience will be useful to others looking into doing this.

 

Does M1 even make a GL-4 spec gear oil for our cars? Not that I am aware of.

In regards to the thread topic, I have been driving only manual transmissions for 14 years and have found the Maxima 6-speed to be the most challenging that I have encountered. With that said, it is to the point now for me that with the exception of an occasionally rough 1-2 shift, I don't have any problems. I still don't "like" the shifter, but I have gotten used to it. And I probably see colder weather than almost anyone on this site.

 

As a nissan tech, I can verify that all the Nissan 6 spd transmissions have very notchy shifting. I have probably driven dozens of different 6 spd 5.5 gen Maxima's and the trannys all seem notchy, several have a lot of difficulty down shifting from 3-2 or 2-1. We have gotten cold condition complaints since they were introduced as well as the 3rd gear crunch. I've replace a couple with main bearing noise as well but they were admittedly abused and race (honesty gets you much farther with me).

Knowing the problems with the shifting I decided to try a cure that I used on my Mirage (mitsu trannies make the nissan 6 spds look good). After buying my '02 Max I changed to nissan's 75w-140 full synthetic used in the Titan rear ends. It does take a minute or two of warming up the car on cold Colorado mornings to get it into first but after thats its all good. Don't we all let our cars warm up before driving???

Its not cheap by any means but I frequently make redline shifts and high rpm down shifts with ease. You would really have to be abusing the transmission to break this stuff down and over heat it.

 

isn't 75w-140 overkill for our trannies?

 

Tried it tonight. If I don't go from gear to gear in one motion I didn't get the normal 3rd crunch.

Maybe I don't try hard enough to engage the syncros, but 1st seems to get locked out mighty quick for me. Getting to second never seems to be an issue though.

My largest issue is the 1-2 shift. I have a hard time being smooth with it. I know everyone talks about their redline romps, but where do the rest of you normally shift in day to day traffic? Where do you usually like to keep the rpms at?

 

Who manufactures this product? I have heard rumors that BG does, can you confirm this?

 

he said nissan
http://www.yournissanparts.com/catal...03062&detail=1

 

I'm sure 75w 140 is overkill...thats why I like it. My Mirage has 238K on the original tranny and was starting to sound like a dog box. With a bump in hp from 259 whp to 412 whp, I decided to try the Nissan 75w 140 and it completely cured all my tranny woes...well, till I snapped a shift fork running slicks.

I'm honestly not sure who produces it but I was under the impression it was made by BG and sold as a nissan product. BG syncroshift is some good stuff too and cost less than the Nissan syn 75w 140.

 

TurboMirage can you please answer a few questions?

I have a 2003 Max 6m/t as well and I have NEVER gotten a grind going from 2-3 but I do get occasional crunches. You mentioned that you replaced transmissions that made noises going into 3rd. Were these noises that of crunches or actual grinding? So would you consider this crunch to be normal thing? Thanks for taking the time out to address my questions.

 

I currently have a max auto but have driven stick for 12 years in Hondas.

I test drove a brand new Max 5 spd many years ago (5th gen I think) and it was a horrific experience.

From what I remember, the car itself was smooth and powerful, idled quietly, and the power band was fantastic through all the gears. Barely noticed it was even running!

However.. the clutch and shifter were horrible. The clutch had no feel to it and felt like it was on a rubberband. the throws were long and notchy and not at all what I was used to. I got back to the dealership and thought there was no way I would buy a stick in this car.

Granted.. Honda 5spds are some of the smoothest around--so I guess I was pampered and accustomed to that. Dont think there is something wrong with you if you have issues with Nissans trannys and clutches---you are not alone!!!!