Kinda out of the blue, lately my 1st and 3rd gear shifts have gotten pretty rough. First gear isnt a huge problem, but when coming to a complete stop and putting it in 1st, sometimes its rough and makes some noise and isnt so smooth. For the most part its only when I downshift from 4th to a high RPM in 3rd, I really have to bang it in there hard once or even twice before it goes. Not smooth at all and not nearly how it used to be. But there is no grinding when that happens. However, occassionally when upshifting to from 2nd to 3rd I really have to force it and sometimes it will grind. I have taken very good care of the tranny, and rarely, if ever, misshifted the car in the past, and definitely not enough to cause damage. But recently it seems something is wrong and it happens more frequently. I dont powershift at all and always take my foot off the gas when shifting. I know I do have clutch problems so Im wondering what you guys think? The fact is happens in 2 gears makes me think(and hope) its just a clutch problem. Im sure you all know that smooth shifting is a HUGE part of the "feel" of a car and one of the nicest characteristics of the ITR. Having to bang 3rd like that and having a sketchy 1st sometimes really takes away from the driving experience. I know its not easy to diagnose, but what do you guys think?

 

" I know I do have clutch problems"

there ya go.

 

Mine is 1st and 5th. It would grind 1st, shifting to 5th after 4000rpms is rough and not smooth as all the other gears.

 

Hmmmm....never had these problems. How many miles on the clutch and tranny?

The only thing that I have noticed is that sometimes when I first start up my car, or I come to a complete stop, the shifter doesn't want to go all the way in to reverse or 1st. I usually have to step the clutch in and then let it out and then step on the clutch again and then the shifter goes in fine.

Is this a problem?? Or is it normal for all you guys too?

The one time that I didn't get it all the way in to first, and started to let the clutch out, the tranny grinded pretty bad.

I don't remember this happening as often before, either that or I am paying closer attention now than before.

 

Anyone know if not being able to get the car into gear while cold is normal?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmspoonitr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone know if not being able to get the car into gear while cold is normal?</TD></TR></TABLE>

no.. weather shoul'ndt affect temperature of your drivetrain, unless you're roaming south/north pole..

my first gear isn't perfect, i think its best to come to complete stop before shifting into first if your trasmission is still easy to shift - easier said than done

reverse has no syncros so it shoudn't be easy to shift at all times

 

try replacing the tranny fluid and see if that helps at all.

 

Stock ITR clutch?

 

tranny problems will happen in certain gears
Clutch problems will grind all the time (ever gear)

 

Sounds kinda like the problems I had a few weeks ago that I diagnosed to be the clutch and was 100% correct. my stock clutch had broken off some metal around the springs which tore up the friction material a bit and wore down other metal parts of the cluch.

If it is really tough to get into gears, and has been fine up until recently, I really think it must be the clutch.

When I had my 2000 Civic Si, my syncros were grinding and it was a much different experience then when the clutch went out in the ITR. When the syncros went out the car still shifted fairly smooth, but it just chunked into or scratched into certain gears.

Does the clutch chatter or feel like the car is stuttering at all upon engagement??

-Larkin

 

yeah I get crazy clutch chatter. but I think thats mostly because Im running the CM flywheel with a 6 puck half ceramic/half metalic clutch. I know the clutch is shot. Actually it may just be the pressure plate or throwout bearing but something isnt right with the clutch, I know that much. And Im thinking that if it is the synchros or tranny, then it would happen on a constant basis each time I went into that particular gear, which is not the case. Im praying its the clutch, but unfortunately I have a big tuning session this weekend so I have no extra money right now to get the clutch taken care of. Once I get the EMS squared away, I will work the clutch. I guess its all part of the game.

 

my friends 2001 tranny grinded 1st and 3rd...but after like 2-3 months of driving on it he said everygear grinds, but 3rd grinded the most.

this past weekend i took apart the tranny to see why it was grinding...everything was in perfect condition other than the rounded off sychro's due to the grinding.

I'm guessing his clutch was just going out or his linkage was in a rutt.

or maybe its his short shifter...does ITR's come with polished shifters stock? he swears its not a short shifter but it looks aluminum to me since its polished.

 

b4 changing the clutch i would try the good old GM Synchromesh trick works plenty of time. For many ppsl. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=549469

 

sounds like synchro's to me. I guess you'll find out soon, since you need to replace the clutch right? I would recommend you drop the tranny, only after you have $300-400 to spend in case it is the clutch, inspect the clutch... and if everything is good, get your tranny rebuilt.

Who installed the 6 puck?

I've had a few tranny's rebuilt by a friend at a local acura, usually ends up in the $300-$350 range for parts and labor on synchros.

good luck

 

my legend has the same problem. it is the synchronizers. i am getting a new transmission because in the end it will cost about the same, if not more to get my tranny redone...so why not get one with barely any miles on it

 

Thanks for the heads up on the GM Synchromesh. I will have to give that a shot this weekend. Dont have the cash right now to fix the problem so hopefully the GM stuff will help.

 

just make sure you get the right one


there are two different kinds


me...I just stick with Honda MTF....and change it often

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dan GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just make sure you get the right one


there are two different kinds


me...I just stick with Honda MTF....and change it often</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks Ill keep that in mind. Ive tried Honda MTF and Redline, both felt the same so Im gonna try something new and this GM stuff is getting a lot of praise.

 

my reverse screws up sometimes but besides that nothing big.