Tuff to shift gears.

[240Zdragon72]

Driving home this morning I noticed my 5-speed tranny getting harder to shift into gear. I like to engine brake (down shift to slow down) and when I would go from 3rd to 2nd it took me 4 times to get it into gear. I then slowed the car in neutral. On top of that, when I wanted to go I could not get it into 1st right away like I always could. This is the first time I have had any trouble with the transmission.

[jmortensen]

That could also be a clutch master/slave going out. If you can get someone to step on the clutch while you look under the car and see if the fork is moving. Transmissions don't usually go from fine to bad in one day.

[240Zdragon72]

Thats funny, because I changed the clutch master, slave, and installed a steel line back in Feb. Would the pedal need adjusting?

[jmortensen]

I would think if the pedal needed adjusting you'd know it. Like the clutch wouldn't disengage until your foot was an inch from the floor. But the clutch pedal doesn't suddenly go out of adjustment. If this thing was driving fine one day and not the next, then these are my guesses in order from most likely to least likely.

1. If it was driving fine and now suddenly it doesn't want to shift that says to me that the engine and transmission can't disengage from each other. So you're pushing in the clutch and the clutch isn't getting fully depressed, like the master or slave went bad.

2. Do you have a stiff clutch in the car? One thing I've seen a couple times is the shift fork split. So when that happens the fork doesn't move because the pivot doesn't work anymore. That's usually a problem with a really heavy pressure plate though.

3. Another problem I have seen in Toyota trucks with pilot bearings instead of the pilot bushings we have in Z's is that the bearing goes bad then the clutch works, but the input shaft on the transmission wants to keep going the same speed as the engine. Never seen a pilot bushing have that problem though, but maybe it's possible.

I just don't see all the synchros in the transmission going bad all at once.

[240Zdragon72]

I really don't think it has to do with the clutch. I can have the pedal 3/4 down and it be disengaged. The clutch, from what I know of, is stock, and I don't know how many miles are on it. On the other hand, with the pedal to the floor, can the clutch still be engaged even though the car does not move (slippage)? I will have to adjust the pedal a couple of turns to see if it still acts up. I have a gut feeling that it might be the pedal.

What if it is the syncros in 1st and 2nd? I really don't know how old the trans is. I still have the old 4-speed, I might install it and see if it does the same thing. One thing at a time I suppose.

[speedyblue]

When my syncros started wearing out, I didn't really notice it until one night, I dropped it back from 3rd to 2nd and it ground. I hadn't noticed any problems before, but after that, I was always looking for it at gearchanges, so I noticed it was a bit rougher.

Did it grate when you tried to change down, or just not go in? Generally I have noticed if you miss the change the first time, it's harder the second time.

Now I get to practice fun stuff like blipping the throttle while braking and change down gears to get a smooth change.

[240Zdragon72]

Yup, it grinded! It scared the hell out of me, too. So, I guess I'm looking at replacement parts for my 5-speed? I'll have to install my 4-speed untill I get it fixed. Thank guys.

[jmortensen]

One more time. Synchros don't usually go out all at once. If it got notchy, then started to grind I'd say synchros. But if you drove it one day and it was fine and the next day it was grinding, probably not synchros.

If the clutch doesn't disengage that would also cause it to grind. Does it grind into reverse when you're stopped? That would be a good test of the clutch not disengaging.

[280z]

i had this same problem a while ago. it was the clutch pedal that had become loose. it just took a little adjusting and it was back to normal.

[240Zdragon72]

I have a gut feeling that it might be the pedal.

Yes, I do have a hard time getting it into reverse. How can the clutch still be engaged and the car not move? It just seems weird to me. I'll make adjustments to the pedal in the morning and keep you guys updated. Thanks again jmortensen, speedyblue and 280z.

[speedyblue]

Yes, I do have a hard time getting it into reverse. How can the clutch still be engaged and the car not move?

The clutch can just drag slightly. Not enough to move the car, but just enough to spin the gears in the box, making it difficult to get gears. Mine sometimes doesn't like reverse, but if I let the clutch out and re-engage it, it goes into gear fine.

[Sean240Z]

I always shift into 1st gear prior to selecting reverse and this tends to eliminate the grinding while shifting into reverse.

Cheers,