can't shift into second gear when cold

[RichMason]

Second post of the morning. Shifting problems...I can't shift into second gear when the car is cold. I changed the fluid with Swepco but no improvement. when the car is warm, I still feel notchiness into second and third so I suspect I may have some worn synchros anyway. Is there any adjustment in the shift linkage that may help? If it is the synchros, where would people recommend I buy a rebuilt transmission?

Thanks,

[robm-951]

I don't know if swepco is a synthetic or not, but switching to one should help. I would recommend you try something like redline if swepco is dino based.

Rob

[1.2gees]

You want to have a type of fluid that allows a good amount of friction for the synchros to work correctly. You may want to try friction modifiers, but if you have a limited slip diff, it may cause some chatter.
Ahmet

[TheCooler]

Happens to me too so I kinda bite my lip and push it a little harder into 2nd.

[rammstein]

From what I've been told Swepco is pretty thick stuff. Perhaps for the cold climate maybe some Mobil 1 might work better as it is thinner and may be more effective.

[Z-man]

Swepco synthetic oil helped alot for my car!

For cold starts, the first few times I shift through the gears, I simply skip 2nd gear- going from 1st to 3rd. Less wear and tear on the clutch & syncros. Once the car warms up, I do the normal 1-2-3-4-5 shifting.

Just my $0.42,
-Z.

[pearldrum]

It's better to skip second for the first few shifts in the cold?

[Trevor]

I thought skipping gears was harder on the pinion gear and put extra stress on other parts?

[Z-man]

pearl & Trevor:
I'm speaking of a gentle shift into 3rd, not a harsh one. Remember, it's still cold, and the car hasn't warmned up yet! I certainly hope no one is trying smokey burnouts before the car's up to operating temps!!!

-Z.

[Trevor]

I hope no one is trying smokey burnouts it this car period!

[rammstein]

I sometimes double-clutch when its very cold. This seems to help ease things. I'll have to try the 1st to 3rd shift next time.

[bulachip]

My honda accord has trouble getting into any gear when it is cold enough, should I change the trans fluid to something syenthetic??

[Zero10]

I almost always double clutch. Especially in the cold =)
The guys at Partsource reccomend I put 5W30 in the tranny, that sounds stupid. Perhaps 15W50?
That might loosen the transmission up a bit, but I would worry about warm protection.

[bryanthompson]

how exactly do you double clutch? I tried one day and it didn't work out for me. It ended up just being a really jumpy shift.

[Z-man]

Double clutching also help in the 1-2 shift in the cold. But it will be a slower shift, which should not be a concern with a cold car. Here's the process:

1. Car in 1st, accellerate.
2. Push in clutch, slide gear lever to the neutral plane.
3. Release clutch with car in neutral. (No need to touch throttle at this point)
4. Push in clutch, slide gear lever to 2nd gear.
5. Releas clutch and apply throttle as necessary.

HTH,
-Z-man.

[very~worn~944]

I changed fluild and now my car is more....clunky when I shift. Also I have a limited slip with no additive....Am I KILLING it?

[RichMason]

Same think happened to me with the recent Swepco fluid change. I bought some Mobil 1 yesterday that I'll install this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out. I also contacted Amsoil yesterday and the recommend a synthetic 75W90 that they sell.

[1.2gees]

Originally posted by very~worn~944
I changed fluild and now my car is more....clunky when I shift. Also I have a limited slip with no additive....Am I KILLING it?

Killing what the synchros or the diff (neither would be my guess), what fluid did you switch from and to? Viscosities? What exactly is your question here?
Ahmet

[Zero10]

Umm... depending on the gear oil, you may need additives for the LSD unit.

For what it's worth, I put Amsoil Series 2000 70W90 into my transaxle about a month ago. It felt like a whole new transmission. Right up until about -35C. After that, it seems to get REALLY stiff really fast, but I suppose most gear oils would.
The nice thing about the Amsoil, is it's lifetime transaxle fluid, or at least they say so. I will change it every 5 years instead of 2, just to keep it fresh.

On a side note, when I bought the car, I drained out some of the worst looking fluid EVER from the transaxle, it was dark brown, like used motor oil, and stank so bad of burnt oil that you could smell it from the other end of the garage (at a bay rental place, it was 10 bays wide, and the manager came from his office and asked me what the hell was wrong with my tranny fluid). So I put in el-cheapo Motomaster Synthetic 70W90 just to clean it out, and it shifted better, but was still rough, and as soon as it hit freezing, it was VERY stiff and would barely shift. So, the Amsoil is about 100x better than the Motomaster was.

[very~worn~944]

Yea sorry about that lack of detail....I am not sure what it had in it before cause it came with the car...it WAS blue though...like that helps. I had access to a free 55 gallon drum or so of valvoline 80-90W. I don't remember any details about the stuff except it was free and I put new fluid in...ran the car through all the gears for about 5 minutes...drained it and put more free fluid in. Why? slight metal shavings were being flushed out cause I had nothing better to do. the question is whether or not I am destroying the LSD by not having any special additives for it like I have heard recommended before. Are their clutches in the factory LSD unit? Before it was very hard to turn one wheel without the other, and around parking lots and stuff it would chirp over the slightest change in surface. Now it is quite easier to turn one side without the other, and the parking issues are gone. The question is could their be too much slip in my LSD now that I changed the fluid, and can this slip damage anything...thanks