About a month ago I started getting a grind when making the 2-3 shift. It doesn’t happen 100% of the time, but I would say the frequency is greater than 80%. Additionally, if I double clutch when making the 2-3 shift no grind occurs. This screams to me “worn out synchros”.
HOWEVER, this is significant because I had my car mechanic rebuild my transmission 14,000 miles and 1 1/2 years ago. Kicker here is that when they rebuilt it, they reused the gears and synchros because they said they were in fantastic shape. I wasn’t given the option to replace any of that during the rebuild, they informed me after the fact.
So while I considered flushing the transmission with new fluid to see if I could get the grind to go away, I decided instead that I should just take it to the shop and have them look at it - that way they can’t claim I messed with anything. They flushed the fluid - said it looked pretty dark and that could have been caused by 'break-in" of new components. Sure, I’ll buy that. They said the grind went away but when I picked the car up yesterday…yeah, still grinded.
So I took the car back to them this morning and went on a test drive and showed the service manager that it still grinds. I’ve known the guy for years and he claimed it wasn’t doing that when he drove it the previous day. I believe him, but still, doesn’t really matter at this point. We went back to the shop and they put an additive into the transmission fluid and thought it reduced the grind but really it didn’t.
So at this point they would like to have the car for a few days and try out various fluid/lubricants to see if they can get it to go away. If that doesn’t work they said there’s a chance it has to do with possibly a worn out shift linkage. And if THAT doesn’t work it’s probably a worn out synchro.
I’m okay paying a bit for the diagnosis and labor at the moment, but if the actual problem is the synchro then obviously the transmission has to be opened up again. I’m willing to pay for the synchro parts but that’s it, labor needs to be comp’ed. I’ve got good history with the shop and have given them good business so I’m hoping they’ll be reasonable. If they’re not however, I’m worried that I’m kind of screwed :jerkoff:. In which case I’ll just have to double clutch the 2-3 shift into the foreseeable future.
Any thoughts, comments, advice, suggestions? :loser:
Maybe gear selector too, on my Y-1 the synchros were ok shape but the selector was damaged a bit on a few teeth causing noise in 2-3 so I replaced with synchro-tech 2-3 synchro kit with selector for like 220$ I think. after rebuild I have yet to swap trannys cause I went hydro and yea like the Hassport mounts and shit I have but I’m swapping back before winter just got my clutch so all should be good and I also re-used my old synchros in the other gears I guess all was good too
My mechanic got the grind to go away by doing the following procedure (though I found out shortly after picking up the car that this only gave temporary relief).
While parked and in neutral place your left foot on the brake. Put right foot on the accelerator and increase engine speed to around 3,000 rpm. Then slowly push the gear shifter towards the 3rd gear gate, but not hard enough to force it into gear. The shifter makes a slight grind noise, after which, while still applying a minor force to the gear shifter, you can feel the transmission pre-load somehow. The car shifts forward ever so slightly. Do this for roughly 2 minutes.
After which the car shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear no problem for 15-20 minutes (of in town driving). Then it starts to do it again. My mechanic said this is being caused by improper lubrication between a few internal components, and when he returned my car to me he had thought that the above process unstuck and fixed the issue. However after I reported back to him that it still grinds he’s now possibly concerned that the improper lubrication may have led to a worn groove in the affected metal components.
Frankly at this point I’m just…not sure wtf to think.
Well that’s a problem because I don’t possess the mechanical acumen for that. And my mechanic isn’t going to cover that expense until he’s convinced. And I cannot afford to pay for two four figure repair bills in less than 2 years.
Looks like the cars gods have been looking down favorably upon me. My mechanic has gotten to the point where he’s convinced that the only way to repair my shifting problem is to open up the transmission again and (probably) replace most, if not all components related to 3rd gear.
They’re doing this free of charge for me, as I’m a loyal customer and, while outside of warranty period, this shouldn’t have happened.:rockon:
If I went through the trouble to pull and split my tranny, I would replace every wear item. Bearings, synchros, snap rings selectors, seals and any damaged gears. Also resurface flywheel, install new clutch and throw out bearing. That is one of those jobs you only want to do once! I have been putting off pulling and rebuilding my Y1 too long . I have the Synchretec carbon rebuild kit, but I’ve been too lazy to get started. Story of my life. Glad your shop made good for you hope you tip the mechanic!
Hey 2ndjenn I hear ya shoot my y1 sat for like 8 months lol with the kit but I paid a buddy who does trannys around here now it sits,but yes def seals and axle
seals they sell a full rebuild kit or you can order why ya need to replace, but I agree you should do it all once
I need to amend a previous statement of mine. While the shop didn’t replace the gears when they did my transmission rebuild 20 months ago, they did replace all the synchros. I’m not sure why I thought otherwise, hell I have a box full of all the parts they replaced (asked for it) haha.
Anyway, got the car back last week after being at the shop from 12/27 - 1/11. The drivetrain feels better than ever! Shop wants to check the fluid in 3-4 months to make sure there’s no repeat of what happened this time around.
Have you tried gm synchromesh friction modified? Not a solution, but the best manual transmission fluid to use imo. I should actually help smooth things out once flushed and replaced.