It seems very difficult to shift into any gear from a stop. I have to force it into first about 50% of the time from a dead stop, it just feels wrong. I changed the fluid to syncromesh today, it didn't help at all. THe old fluid was fine, pretty clean and bright red. The car only has 40k on it. Any Ideas?
Thanks guys!!

 

sure you have enough fluid in it?

could just be your synchros are going bad.

 

plenty of fluid... It was real bad after I put in the syncromesh, noticeably worse..
I'm going to drain tomorrow and refill it with dextron III. Nothing like wasting money right?
So if the syncros are going bad, It will be difficult to put into first from a stop?
Its kinda strange, it feels almost like the clutch is not completely disengaged. I have to press the clutch all the way to floor, literally aganst the floor, and if I let up about 1.5-2 inches the clutch starts to grab and the car will move.
Is there any adjustment for the clutch engagement?

 

no stock adjustment for the clutch...

gotta go with a mcloed unit for that

 

Sounds like synchros, mine does it too but not quite as bad as you describe.
I am going to wait till its worse then pull the tranny and take it to a shop for synchro replacement.

I have heard that anyhting other than dexron 3 causes problems.

 

I highly doubt all the synchros went bad at the same time. It definitely sounds like a clutch issue to me.

There's a very simple way to check. Turn the engine off, push the clutch to the floor. Attempt to shift into first gear. The first shift may be difficult because the dog teeth on the synchros are slightly out of alignment. After the first shift, the input shaft will turn a little and these teeth with align themselves. Then take it out of gear, and shift into first gear again. If on the second time it is still difficult, then it's not the synchros and it's not the clutch. If it is easy however, then it is either the clutch or the synchros (and my bet would be on the clutch).

Also, if it is the clutch that's not fully disengaging then driving the car and attempting to shift will greatly accelerate the wear on the synchros, and pretty soon it will be both parts causing the problem.

 

yeah, its real hard to put into any gear at a stop.. After I put it into gear the first time, it goes in real easy like It should, untill I put it into neutral and take my foot off the clutch, then I have to start the whole process over again to get it into gear.
Man, I bought a standard to avoid all the problems that automatics had. The car has a warranty on it, should I take it back or what?

 

I changed it back to DEX III tonight and my problem is solved. I guess the syncromesh just doesn't do well in these trannys, (or mine in particular).
Anybody want me to send them some slightly used syncromesh? It has less than 100 miles on it?

 

You can do quick check for clutch disengagement. Park the car on a slight incline. With the car in gear, the it should start to roll when you push the clutch pedal to the floor. As you release the clutch, it will start to engage with the flywheel and pressure plate and the car will stop. If it doesn't roll freely with the pedal to the floor, looks like you have clutch problems.

Could be broken springs on the disc, worn pilot bearing in the crank, bent trans input shaft, loose trans or bell housing bolts (causing misalignment), or bad master or slave cylinder.

Chris