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YOUR RESEARCHHard shifting into first
Reported or suspected cause
less leverage
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Reported cause
The reason it is more difficult with a properly installed short shifter is due to less leverage.
Leading evidence: 'less leverage' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'less leverage' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Install short shifter is due' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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The reason it is more difficult with a properly installed short shifter is due to less leverage.
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Suspected cause
It is harder to shift when the car is cold and the problem is worse if you have a short shift kit installed.
Recommend putting the trans in first gear at 30 mph
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Suggestion
I wouldnt recommend putting the trans in first gear at 30 MPH, that to me is well......
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Suggestion
I would recommend to have a fluid change done if it persists.
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Suggestion · Original poster
To use another egg analogy, line three eggs up on the kitchen counter so they're all touching each other - push gently on the first one, and they all start to move.
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Boy, the transmission doesn't like shifting into first unless you're at a 100% stand still... Of course it was 12 degrees this morning.
Is that synchro wear, or "just the way it is because it's damn cold"?
It is always stiffer to downshift when the transmission fluid is cold. Howwver, you should still be able to get it into gear, just needs more effort. Unless you parked your car overnight outside in the 12 degree temps, you fluid is not anywhere near that cold, anyway.
On a warmed up car, you should be able to downshift into 1st gear while rolling at any speed leass than 30 mph. Often, the problem is not the transmission but the driver who is afraid to use additional force and properly train the box to accept a shift.
A bit stiffer in the cold weather. Even when you get the engine warm, you'll need to start moving the stick to loosen up the cold stuff. Wait 'til -10 below, you may have to use 2 hands.
I always try to put any car in first gear right before coming to a stop. This should be the closet to "syncronizing" the engine speed and input shaft speed together requiring less syncronizer effort. Any higher speeds will require more effort from the syncro, the reason it is virtually impossible to put a car at highway speeds into first.
The reason it is harder to downshift with a cold transmission is because of the drag the fluid has on the speed of the shaft. When you push down the clutch, everything stops much faster so deliberate rev matching is more important.
The reason it is more difficult with a properly installed short shifter is due to less leverage.
If it is only while the transmission is cold, then it is normal. If it is after the car is warned up, it sounds like the 1st synchro may be going bad. It can also be due to contaminants in old fluid. I would recommend to have a fluid change done if it persists.
Yep, I have the short shift kit, and double clutching does help. My garage is detached and unheated... So the temp of the car is usually just a few degrees warmer than the outside temp.
Rev match/double clutch.
You can rev match without double clutching, but double clutching is even easier on your transmission. When it's cold it'll, of course, be harder to get into gear, but that shouldn't last too long before it warms up. Rev matching is very important and not enough people do it. ANY time you downshift, you should have the engine spinning at the appropriate speed and don't just let the synchros spin the engine up for you. This will wear them out and before long you'll HAVE to rev match, especially in the lower gears, in order to downshift. Rev matching is a faster, funner way to drive, and is better for your car, so there's no downside.
If you know how to rev match, you dont even need the clutch to shift gears. I would pop the throttle and the split second I let off, I would put it into neutral, then gradually push to the next gear. Dont know about modern big rigs but the older ones dont even have syncros. It is an art to rev match to make the next gear without grinding.
Anyone who downshifts without using using of the clutch on an otherwise working system, is a fool. And, anyone who says they can do such an idiotic thing consistantly on everyday driving without destroying the transmission is misguided.
Such people should be driving a TIP.
1999porsche911
+1!!
Take the time to learn! It's well worth it in the end...take it from someone who was an aggrevated case to teach. Now I pride myself on smooth, rev-matched shifts and happy clutches and trannys!
Guess you never tried this if you think it is idiotic. You will find it easily goes into gear if done properly while upshifting, big rigs do it all the time. I wouldnt recommend putting the trans in first gear at 30 MPH, that to me is well......
Who is talking about upshifting. We are talking about DOWNshifting. Like I said, it cannot be done in NORMAL daily driving (big rig or not) without damaging the transmisson. All it take is one little miss and you need a syncro.
BTW, I have had a CDL Class A license for 29 years.
Tippy is right - if done properly, I don't see how it can do damage to the transmission.
Years ago, in my Fiat 124 spyder, the clutch cable broke. I drove it for a week without the clutch (waiting for the part). Turn the engine off, put it in first, then start the engine and drive off! For both up shifting and down shifting, you hold the gear lever at the right spot in the gate and apply VERY LITTLE pressure (I really mean very little - like less than it would take to brake an egg), and when your revs match up perfectly, it just 'snicks' into gear.
If done right, I don't see how it can damage the transmission - it take so little force I don't see how anything COULD get damaged. Of course, if done improperly you will damage something... To use another egg analogy, line three eggs up on the kitchen counter so they're all touching each other - push gently on the first one, and they all start to move. Instead, if you hauled back and bitch-slapped the first egg, they'd all brake.
Its because whether you feel it or not, you are putting a lot of stess on the syncros. The sycros are trying to adust the speed of the engine, instead of the small part of the gear train they usually work on. The engine, will of course, always win. It may not feel like much, but it will wear on them a lot more. and like 1999 said, one misstep and you have destroyed the syncro. In a way, a syncros job is to match the engaging gear to the speed of the road driven part of the transmission.. or die trying.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm
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