Hi all.

My problem is that my car will sometimes be very resistant
to shifting into first from neutral. It will even bedifficult to
shift into second too, but if I shift into third, I can then shift
into first as I want.
I have heard of various transmission gremlins being fixed,
after long periods of dealer denial, by lubricating some
transmission shaft. Is that my problem, or do I have syncro
problems?
thanks,
Joe

 

It seems most manual cars have this problem (although to varying degrees).

In my Integra Type-R, sometimes I would get locked out of first totally. To get into 1st gear, I would have to go into 3rd gear first and then going into 1st gear would be no problem.

With my BMW M3, sometimes going into 1st gear is tough, but if I really force it, it'll go in. If I go into 3rd gear first and then try 1st gear again, it'll go in no problem.

Sometimes I think the gears get misaligned, so going into 3rd gear first must line them up perfectly.

I don't think there's any problem with your transmission at all.

Cheers,
KJ

 

Joe,

From what i've been told...this is normal. I too have the same issues. I posted a thread on this about a month ago and I believe the overall consensus was that it was normal.

 

Joe - I don't have any problem at all shifting into any gear, from any gear, including heel-toeing to 1st at 15-20 mph.

 

thanks dock. I know there's something wrong, and I'd
very much like to be able to change trouble-free into
first from neutral or second.
Joe

 

Joe - Is your car still under warranty?

 

not officially. (August '00), but it's got 7500 miles on it...

 

I hope you get it all worked out.

 

This is normal in manual transmission cars. As stated above, your gears are just not perfectly lined up. By putting the car into another gear it will adjust the gears a bit so going into first in no longer an issue. I have had this in every manual car I have ever driven (Porsche, BMW, Corvette, etc). I would not worry about it.

 

If it was normal , all Porsches would do it.
Mine does not.
Maybe I'm not normal.

 

The Porsche race shop I ask, said it's either a bit of residual
stick of the clutch, or syncro damage.

 

No problem here shifting to any gear. Hope your dealer takes a positive attitude towards investigation and warranty repair if necessary at that low mileage. Good luck.

 

There is a technical service bulletin on a lack of lubrication between the splines on the transmission input shaft and clutch disk. This causes the clutch to drag, or not stop spinning, so gear engagment is difficult. Also as KJM3 said it might be a normal misalignment of the gear teeth. I don't know how to check for clutch drag since all gears are synchronized including reverse. It seems like a dragging clutch would prematurely wear all the syncronizers.

 

Joe,

Let us know what you find out. I believe your problem is more severe than mine, as a simple shift to 2nd back to 1st will solve my issues most if not all the time.

 

Joe, I sent a couple of guys my service invoice when I had a similar problem with my new 2003 Turbo. PM me your fax and I'll send you the same. This was discussed a week ago in detail and many people had the same problem, it is not normal and sounds like synchro wear caused by a manufacturer's defect like mine. MSINDI had the problem after only a couple hundred miles. Let me know I'll help as much as I can.

Lou