harsh gear shifts

[foxdurden]

I have a stock 2007 ms3 gt with almost 10k miles on it. Recently i've noticed some resistence going from 1st to 2nd gears at low rpm-around 3k to 4k rpm. I always depress the clutch fully during shift but i feel some resistence on the shifter going into 2nd. I can feel some slight grinding and the shifter doesn't want to smoothly fall into 2nd gear like it use to up until recently. can it be the clutch is wearing down already? the probelm is only into 2nd gear. all other gear shifts are smooth as far as i can tell. it's only from 1st to 2nd and never from 3rd to 2nd. anyone else ever have this problem? thanks

 

[BlackCherry06]

Replace your trans fluid with Redline MT-90. It'll smooth that right out. My 1-2 shift used to fight me until I got the factory fill out.

 

[Sacrilicious]

i would definitely just take this back to the dealership and have them fix it under warranty. although the redline may help things, the fact that this is happening at all is not a good sign, so just have mazda fix it at the source! =d

 

[clos561]

I have a stock 2007 ms3 gt with almost 10k miles on it. Recently i've noticed some resistence going from 1st to 2nd gears at low rpm-around 3k to 4k rpm. I always depress the clutch fully during shift but i feel some resistence on the shifter going into 2nd. I can feel some slight grinding and the shifter doesn't want to smoothly fall into 2nd gear like it use to up until recently. can it be the clutch is wearing down already? the probelm is only into 2nd gear. all other gear shifts are smooth as far as i can tell. it's only from 1st to 2nd and never from 3rd to 2nd. anyone else ever have this problem? thanks

is the engine still cold when this happens?

 

[happy and angry]

It could be because of the cold weather, depending on where you live. Engine oil gets pumped around the second you start the car, and only takes about 30 seconds to get worked around all the various parts, maybe another 2 or 3 minutes to get up to a decent operating temperature.

Tranny fluid, on the other hand, doesn't heat up and start lubing gears well until the vehicle has been moving for a bit. Does it do this constantly, or only for the first five or so minutes you're behind the wheel?

 

[clos561]

thats what i was thinking, because my gears a gay at first until the fluid gets warm

 

[foxdurden]

I am going to take it to the dealership and have it looked at. It might be the cold weather, cheap stock tranny fluid or a synchro gone bad. as a temp fix i've been shifting from 1st to 3rd then to 2nd before engaging the clutch & been having no grinding.

 

[jengajoe]

When it's cold I have a hard time getting it out of 1st until it warms up after about 5 to 10 mins of driving. I find it shifts better if you pause the shift lever in neutral for almost 1 second before shifting into the next gear.

 

[nig3]

mt-90 nga.....

 

[hanzo040107]

I am going to take it to the dealership and have it looked at. It might be the cold weather, cheap stock tranny fluid or a synchro gone bad. as a temp fix i've been shifting from 1st to 3rd then to 2nd before engaging the clutch & been having no grinding.

Let m know how it turns out. I kinda have the same problem & I live in Hawaii. I been doing the 1st to 3rd thing or I notice if you shift super early or let it get up ther first then it doesn't do it. I don't like going into 2nd at a really low RPM & having no power for a lil & revving it then shifting kills my mileage. Maybe there is a problem with a batch of MS3's or just a bug or something.

 

[amascio]

Well, my solution was a 50/50 mix of Redline MTL and MT90. Redline assures me that the two are totally miccible. Straightened my shifting right out. For the first mile I take it easy and then she's good to go. I got the idea either here or at www.bobistheoilguy.com - I don't remember which off hand.

If you think about it, MTL is a 70/80 weight oil that is a low 70 when cold and a middle 80 hot. Those specs are not too far off from what Mazda recommends. Mixed 50:50 with MT90 it gets even better. I haven't had the first bad reaction like posi trac noise or anything - just smoother shifting.

I've been using MTL in my 330ci practically since new and at 100k the trans shifts like a new one.

The next oil change I do, I'm going to try straight MTL and see what the car thinks. If it doesn't like the straight stuff, I'll drain it and go 50:50 again. If it likes it, I think I'll run the straight MTL and do an oil analysis at around 5k miles or so to see how it's doing.

Let's face it guys, the reason to have a manual transmission is to have the car run harder than it would with an automatic trannie. If it doesn't, whats the point? And if you think I'm worrying about wearing the transmission out earlier than it would wear out if it had 75w/90 in it, I look at it like this ; with thicker oil I eventually wear out the 1-2 synchros with all the cold grinding going on. And I don't enjoy the car at all. With the MTL, the trannie may wear out a little quicker but I have had the joy of a sweet shifting box in the process. Either way may wind up damaging the trannie, but one way you enjoy the car, the other way you're hating shifting it all the time.

Let me close with this; personally, I don't think the straight MTL will cause the transmission any harm at all - hell, the cheap factory fill trannie oil Mazda puts in the cars new will probably shear down to a 70w80 within 10k miles.

That thought coupled with the fact that the owner's manual doesn't even list an oil change interval for the trannie tells me you may be ahead of the game with MTL as an oil and regular changes instead of a trannie with sheared down oil that is full of contaminents.

At any rate, this spring I plan to do the straight MTL thing and I'll get back here with how it goes. I'll take on the job of being the ginea pig! Cheers and Merry Christmas!

 

[foxdurden]

i took the car to the dealership & they said the tranny's fine. i'm gonna change the tranny fluid to redline w/ my next oil change