Shifting Problem

[shanamichi]

Hi guys, I drive a 03 5 spd p5. When I first bought the car, I realized sometimes I have trouble shifting it into reverse. As I drive the car more, I found that whenever there is traffic, my car gets harder to shift into first and second the longer I stay in traffic and eventually it won't budge unless I double clutch, then it will roughly gets into first. When this happens, I hear loud clunks when I try to shift into any gear. The last thing is whenever this happens, when i try to put it in reverse, it will grind and won't get into reverse. I took it to a mechanic before and left it there for the weekend for him to test drive it, but he said he didn't realize the problem I had and he just said sometimes its hard to get into first (my thought is that he didn't had to go through traffic so it didn't happen to him). I do find that every single time this problem happens, I have my a/c on and I am in heavy traffic. Do you guys think a/c and traffic can cause these kind of problem? What do you guys think is the problem?

Sorry for this long post. Really need help, thanks.

 

[Brian_K]

you could try changing your transmission fluid and shifter linkage bushings.

 

[shanamichi]

Hey Brian, hmm, i thought about that too, but i just can't think of why this happens. Cuz it drives perfectly fine with no problem when theres no traffic, so I am really confused. My mechanic said to tow it to his shop next time it does that, but then I can drive it to his shop but the car will become fine again once i get to his shop cuz i wont be having heavy traffic on the way to his shop. Also, after the car is off for a while and the problem will go away when i turn it back on.

 

[Flav]

could be your front motor mount
take a look @ your mounts, see if they're torn to s***.

 

[shanamichi]

Hi Flav, I checked the front engine mount. It is not torn and it looks pretty new.

 

[Flav]

Maybe tranny mount??
I had a similar problem where sometimes it was hard to go into first, and rarely reverse. So I replaced the front and did a tranny flush, now it's better. Not perfect but a whole lot better!
I highly doubt it's ur shifter bushings since u hear some grinding..
If it's not any of ur mounts it's probably something expensive.

 

[yangsui]

Here's a crazy thought: maybe your brake fluid is low. Our cars use the same fluid for both brakes and clutch. Maybe the repeated braking of stop and go traffic draws just enough brake fluid to prevent the clutch from disengaging completely. If the clutch is still slightly engaged even when you have the pedal to the floor, shifting will be difficult.

Sounds really dumb. I actually feel kind of stupid typing this but it's a simple check. Just look under the hood. If the brake fluid is low, top it up and see what happens.

 

[shanamichi]

@Flav

can I check the tranny mounts by just looking? or do I need to jack up the car or something?

@yangsui

Hi, I checked my brake/clutch fluid before, its pretty full

 

[Rage87]

Happens to me too when its hot out and I'm in stop and go traffic. Just pump the clutch a little when you get a chance and it'll help. As for the reverse, it's more susceptible to this notchy and poor engagement of gears because its not a synchronized gear like the rest. You may have to just barely lift your foot off the clutch to allow for reverse to engage.

 

[shanamichi]

@rage87

Hi, does your reverse grind when u try to put it in reverse when that happens?

 

[Rage87]

Now it only grinds if I'm not paying attention. That wasn't always the case. You gotta really feather off the clutch and allow for a little movement, then it'll clunk into reverse. I've driven another P5 in traffic and it was the same way.

 

[shanamichi]

when you are in stop and go traffic, your shifter also get stiffer the longer u stay in traffic? Were you able to get the stiffness of the shifter back to normal by using the clutch when still in traffic? Because no matter how many times i use the clutch i can't get it to reduce the stiffness unless I turn off the car and wait a bit before driving it again.

 

[Rage87]

It never completely goes away in stop and go traffic. 1st to 3rd in either direction can get pretty darn notchy when trying to engage gears. I pump the clutch and it helps some. This happens even after I switched to Pennzoil Synchromesh tranny fluid. I do recommend switching to that stuff or something like it though.

 

[nilsonov]

anyone get any resolution to this problem. I'm inthe same boat and it's gettting worse!

 

[Red Demon]

Maybe the clutch slave cylinder is going bad??

 

[goodfornothing]

I have the same problem, it's a b**** to get in 1st sometimes when it's hot but not reverse. I agree with Red Demon though.

Just changed the tranny fluid a while ago, it's nice and a bit smoother, but I still have to muscle in the shifter to first sometimes and it gets annoying. Is your clutch pedal squeaky? If so, it could be your master or slave cylinder (or both), I'm going to replace them myself soon. When the car is off, I can easy throw the gear shifter into each gear, even reverse, so I'm thinking it's a clutch problem of it not engaging enough. Look into it and let me know, I'll probably replace my cylinders in a few weeks.

 

[shootz]

I think it might have to do w/ the rear mount... I've had a problem w/ the mounts and I have all upgraded mounts, except the rear one. The last two I upgraded were the front and driver/tranny mount. Those helped a bunch, but my rear one is stock w/ 150k on it... and I've seen how torn up it is. It's not doing anything for me, except taking up space. I've got inserts and a new mount for it ready to go in, but I couldn't get it out last time I worked on it. Now that I know how to take out the IM, I am fine for space back there and I can get some air tools in there.

Oh, BTW, I've done the tranny fluid, brake fluid, changed out the clutch line and adjusted the shifter too. I did think about it possibly being a slave cylender thing, but I've never checked that.

When the car is off, I can easy throw the gear shifter into each gear, even reverse, so I'm thinking it's a clutch problem of it not engaging enough.

I notice the same thing... and I have an ACT street clutch w/ PP... a bit tougher to engage than I would like, but whatever... I'm not getting a new clutch until I need it for sure. That's $450 that I don't want to spend soon.

 

[shanamichi]

Hi guys, its been a while since this post. Some updates is that. I finalized the problem, and it is being that, whenever i turn on my a/c for a while, the shifter gets stiffer. It is a lot better when its raining out side or when its cooler but when its like a hot summer day with the a/c on for a while it happens. I kinda got used to it now, but then I would still like to know the likely cause of that. Also, my clutch doesn't squeak, mounts are all pretty new, and under any other conditions other than hot and a/c on (main reason is having a/c on), the car is completely fine when shifting.

 

[Stickman]

I had a similar problem last yr. The Hotter it got, the harder it was to shift. Sometimes I thought I was going to bend the shift rod. Turned out to be an almost frozed rear transmission linkage bushing(behind cat converter). A tranny shop cranked on it for about 20 minutes trying to free it. Lots of Liquid Wrench and a long pipe attached to wrench. Thought they were going to break linkage. Once freed, it has since shifted like when it was new. Never even had to replace the bushing.
Worth a try, you seem to have checked all the other important possibilities.

 

[nilsonov]

Stickman, what does that transmission linkage and bushing look like? any chance you can get a pic of that transmission linkage bushing?