Over the last 10 days or so...I have been having a lot of trouble getting my car to go into 3rd gear. I have a 99 non-vlsd 5spd with around 112K miles on the assumed original tranny/clutch.

It was always a minor problem from when I first bought the car and I used to believe that it was my fault for pulling the clutch too early. Over the last 10 days I have grinded really badly while trying to get into 3rd gear. It is almost like i need to slam it in and if I dont then I need to spend 2-3 secs on a shift. Is it just me or do other 5spds have this problem.

I am just looking for some input as to any precautionary measures other than a rebuild to help stop or slow down the need for a rebuild. The gear oil was changed when I bought the car 4K miles ago...so that shouldnt be any issue. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

sounds like bad third gear syncro..../???? cheaper gear oil made it worse....???/

 

Well obviously the syncro is pretty messed up now...it has been grinded up pretty good. I am just wondering if I should get under the car and take a look to see if there are metal shavings in the gear oil. I am just hoping that it does not get any worse...and I do not need a rebuild.

I doubt cheap gear oil was the case...as long as it was changed at proper intervals it shouldnt make any difference.

 

Crunchy shifting is sometimes alleviated by using a different oil. Try Redline MT-90.

Other than that though it's wear on the internal components causing the problem. Rebuild is your only true answer.

 

In the mean time - double clutch your 3rd gear shifts. You should notice much less grinding once you get good at it.

 

That is exactly what I was gonna recomend.

Our 5spds are notorious for a few things and a 3rd gear crunch is one of them. Another is the input shaft bearing - and I hear mine, so ... time for a rebuild I would double clutch like Neal said and when you get tired of doing that, we can have a rebuild party hehehe

I have been told that the 04 and ^ tranys don't have this curnch issue, and it's also a 6spd then ... so you have that extra gear for the hi-way. As it is, we pull around 3300 RPMs @ 80 mph and with a 6spd, I think (someone w/ a 6spd correct me if I am wrong plz) it'll pull around 2200 - 2300. I would love to do the swap, but a rebuild with an Altima 5th gear (bit taller) is the rout I think I am gonna have to take. I only have 94k on the clock, but as I said, my IPSB is goin and eventually I will need a new clutch, so I'll do em both together.

G'luck, sorry your grindin, your supposed to do that on the dance floor, not while driving!

 

I have someone who can rebuild for me at a good price and I know he will do good work. It is just that I am going to run the tranny until I loose a gear and it gets to the point where I cannot drive the car efficiently.

Or when my clutch eventually goes, I can just have a rebuild while the tranny is dropped. We will see...I am just looking to see how many people have this problem and what they have done/are doing to stop/make it better. I am going to look into double clutching now....

 

I have bad 3rd gear crunch. I told myself I would double clutch it from now on. I did it for a day and said, " f*&^ it" and kept just waiting in the gate or dealing with it. I have gotten pretty good at waiting in the gate ... much faster then double clutching will ever be.

Do you have notchy 2nd gear shift? I have it pretty bad, but I know that I have given that synchro hell so it may just be me.

Anyone know if the 04+ tranny will be slower on a stock 4th gen since there is more parasitic loss?

Pros for 6spd (04+) : More aggresive final drive (i think), taller 1st gear for better traction, shorter 2nd gear, better gas mileage

Can people confirm the above.

Cons: More parasitic drivetrain loss.


Again, will the aggresive FD ratio offset the parasitic loss and does this apply to the 02-03 6Spd as well or will the 3.5 or a few mods be required to get some torque in there to maintain the same acceleration?


Oh last thing, when you 5Spd owners are casual driving, do you always seem to fall behind the slush-box tranny drivers off the line. Unless I take off like a bat, or short shift the hell out of the car, I ALWAYS seem to be behind normal speed traffic.

 

Well I know that if you were to put in the 6spd it is a completly different type of transmission and as much as I would like to do it, it would be too expensive. Now if I dropped a VQ35 in i think that it is less complicated, but as a 17 year old, I am not ready to dump 3-4K into my car for a 3rd gear crunching.

I am also seriously considering getting a STS to help shorten the length to go for the following reasons:
1. Easier to double clutch
2. Less travel between each gear (3" compared to 1.75" on each throw I think)
3. Inexpensive mod

How many of you people have done a STS and have done it with ease? I know there are many brands such as Pacesetter and B&M but will this help reduce my problem at all? I was driving my father's stock 07 civic and the **** is like 2 inches compared to our 6" stick...

 

The stock shifter height is short enough that your hand can easily move faster than the tranny can synchronize, regardless of whether you're double-clutching.

Short shifters are only useful when you're shifting for speed, and that usually only applies to non-synchronized transmissions.

Just double-clutch and don't rush it. With some practice you'll comfortably double-clutch as quickly as the average driver can make a single shift.

Dave

 

You guys with crunchy gears, keep in mind that rebuilding to fix it will involve more than just a synchro. To truly make a difference in shift quality you'll need to change a couple of gears and clutch sleeve assembly. Your only source for these hard parts is nissan at around $200/ea, so the rebuild bill will jump far into 4 figures fast.

As for the parasitic losses of a 6 spd vs. a 5 spd, these will be very small.

 

Nice reply dgeesaman. Off the top of my head, I remember people used to rant about how a VQ30 wouldn't quite push a 6Spd the same as a 5Spd. As for the rebuild, I am well aware that I should plan on replacing nearly every gear, synchro, and probably everything related to the differencial bearing problem. This is the reason I have put it off for so long.

You have rebuilt a bunch of them haven't you?

 

Yes I've rebuilt a bunch of 4th gen 5 speeds. It's the only kind of tranny I work on.

The 6spd probably has a different total ratio than the 5spd - it so it would not be the same thing as parasitic loss - it would simply be a mechanical advantage thing. I'd have to look up the specs to see if that's the case. It's possible that the larger rotating mass of the heavier-duty 6 spd tranny will slow acceleration some, but that can be offset by using a light flywheel.

Dave

 

This just popped in my mind ... is 3rd gear synchro failure / grinding have any correlation ( spelling ) with the diffy bearing failure?

 

No.

Dave