2nd gear popping out during auto-x

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

My 2nd gear popped out a few times during an auto-x today. Each time I was at red line and then went hard on the brakes. Went back for the gas an I was out of gear?!? Tried to replicate it on the ride home and couldn't. Saw the shift knob rock forward when I did it though. Any chance that my R-comps provide enough braking force that it would cause the heavy stock shift knob to pull the car out of gear?

 

[Fiji Mazda3]

I've got a friend with an 08.5 who's going in next week for the same problem. I'll let you know once he gets it looked at.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

I've got a friend with an 08.5 who's going in next week for the same problem. I'll let you know once he gets it looked at.

Let me know ASAP! I need this fixed by middle of next week!

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

I've got a friend with an 08.5 who's going in next week for the same problem. I'll let you know once he gets it looked at.

Just did a little testing of my own on a quick drive..... When the motor has any load at all on it is much harder to try and pull the car out of gear without the clutch. When you are breaking and off the gas the motor rocks forward even with new mounts and takes the load off that gear allowing you to pull it out of gear with very little effort. This along with the heavy shift knob pulling the stick forward contributes to the car popping out of gear when breaking down from high rpm's.

I tried braking hard from a run up to 7k for times with the knob and was able to get it to pop out once. This was only with my street tires and my R-comps I was on earlier today allow for a lot more breaking force which made the occurrence much more likely. I then removed the shift knob and used just the screw to get into second and tried the same thing four times. I saw the stick bounce around and move but it never popped out of gear.

Solutions for the problem that I will try:
Lighter/No shift knob- This is the cheapest way to do it but not the most effective
Stiffer motor mounts- I already have an aftermarket rear mount but it is only a street bushing so the motor still rocks a little. This will be my last resort if nothing else works
Upgrade transmission mount-stiffen up the drivetrain. Not sure how effective this will be in solving this problem
Short throw shifter- The new shifter may have a stiffer feel to it and the lower rod would mean that the heavier weight would have to exert more force to move it (thank you physics class). This will be my first path I will take to solve my problem since I find it very likely to fix the problem and even if it doesn't I would at least get something out of the deal.

 

[hugador]

An Engine Torque Damper could help as well. PG sells them. Sorry no link i'm on my PS3.

 

[eg6motion]

An Engine Torque Damper could help as well. PG sells them. Sorry no link i'm on my PS3.

+1
I just pulled mine off my car and wow, the engine feels like it's barely attached. Def recommend one for Auto-X. Can be adjusted for how harsh you want it and can even be removed in under 1 minute (damper itself, not brackets) if you want to only run it during Auto-x

 

[bacarl]

Guessing you have a stock shifter? I got the problem during autox after I installed Cobb's shifter (never happened stock, but I run stock tires).

I sawzall'd approx 1/3 of the mass from the shifter weight and haven't had the problem since. I would have gotten a Cobb weight but couldn't justify spending 25-30 bucks for a small chunk of metal, so I just recreated what they did.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

Guessing you have a stock shifter? I got the problem during autox after I installed Cobb's shifter (never happened stock, but I run stock tires).

I sawzall'd approx 1/3 of the mass from the shifter weight and haven't had the problem since. I would have gotten a Cobb weight but couldn't justify spending 25-30 bucks for a small chunk of metal, so I just recreated what they did.

I would like a pic of what you sawed off if that possible. Thanks.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

+1
I just pulled mine off my car and wow, the engine feels like it's barely attached. Def recommend one for Auto-X. Can be adjusted for how harsh you want it and can even be removed in under 1 minute (damper itself, not brackets) if you want to only run it during Auto-x

Could I see where this is mounted please? Pic?

 

[bf360]

mine started at that, then went to a blown syncro, then went to a blown 2nd gear, just got it fixed by the dealer

 

[bacarl]

I would like a pic of what you sawed off if that possible. Thanks.

Aw crap, I just swapped my SRI back to stock last night, would have been the perfect opportunity to snap pics.

Here, try this beautiful visual aid. I found this pic online - compares stock weight to Cobb weight. I added the red lines/arrows to show approximately where I cut and removed material.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

Aw crap, I just swapped my SRI back to stock last night, would have been the perfect opportunity to snap pics.

Here, try this beautiful visual aid. I found this pic online - compares stock weight to Cobb weight. I added the red lines/arrows to show approximately where I cut and removed material.

I wish I could find a Cobb weight. I hate cutting into stock pieces. Always want to be able to go back to stock no matter how much work that might take.

 

[bacarl]

^Me too.

I just put a WTB post up in the Marketplace and found someone who had their stock one laying around. Cost me $15 shipped instead of 30+ and now I have a spare sitting on my workbench.

 

[Cisco240]

mine started at that, then went to a blown syncro, then went to a blown 2nd gear, just got it fixed by the dealer

I seem to be in the same boat as you.
Mine started popping out of 2nd gear from a 3rd to 2nd downshift, then just got worse as time went on & then no more 2nd gear.
Gotta find time to take care to dealer to get it taken care of.

 

[rigor]

i misted a few 2nd gear shifts kinda ground going in and caused it to pop out when down shifted and start to acellerate pop at 17000 miles wasted the sinkro they had it a month would not replace they patched it 5500 for the tranny they did a good job but parts on back order long wait

 

[GoFast]

I wish I could find a Cobb weight. I hate cutting into stock pieces. Always want to be able to go back to stock no matter how much work that might take.

An easier solution to this is to just remove the weight all together. Run without it and see if your problem goes away.

From there you can decide if you are going to get the cobb counter weight or just leave the weight off all together. I chose the latter and havent looked back since. I also havent missed a 2-3 shift since either.