isays

Hi, seached the forums for a bit and didnt really get an answer.

Last night there was suddenly resistance shifting into and out of 2nd, 4th and 6th gear.

I was downshifting to a stoplight, going pretty quickly and practicing rev-matching. I never had a really bad shift that jerked the car around or anything. When I pulled away from the light I noticed that there was a bit of resistance when I shifted into the even gears.

I'm driving an 04 GT 6speed, I've noticed no strange sounds, clutch is firm and feels (and sounds) normal, car seems to be running fine, no lights on the dashboard, everything is normal... exept that it takes a bit more force than usual to put it into 2nd, 4th or 6th.
Its summer now, so its not a cold-related thing.

I'm going to take it into the garage on monday, but does anyone else have any idea what could be doing this?


Thanks

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Try a transmission fluid change? If you don't know when it was last changed, chances are, it needs it again. Easy fluid change. Jack up the car, pop the fill plug, then drain plug, let drain (into a pan of course), clean the metal off the drain plug (it's a magnet), make sure there aren't any actual metal pieces like ball bearings or springs or anything. If there are, it's a sign of internal damage rather than just wear. Then replace plugs, set car back on the ground, go inside, remove shifter and boot, pour exactly 2 quarts in via the newly exposed hole (and not anything else like dirt, french fries, etc... ). Replace shifter and boot, and you are good to go.

As for the fluid, go with either Eunos (sp?) or Redline MT90. The only 2 fluids proven to work correctly all the time. Several other fluids aren't very safe, with numerous reports of syncro failure shortly after changing to them.

shadycrew31

iTrader: (6)

I never knew you could fill it from the top thats awesome. Ive been dicking around with the fill plug forever... i have a slow leak from the sensor on the cat side of the trans. it needs a 27mm open box I think lol.

isays

transmission fluid in a manual transmission? Does the RX-8 stock manual transmission use gear oil?


Also, i've noticed that around the cup holders and shifter can get a bit warm when im driving around the city, shifting gears a lot... if that makes any difference.

DarkBrew

I believe that does not apply to the series 2 (can someone confirm?)

This works well on series 1


The syncros depend on having the right friction modifiers in the oil to enable proper operation.

jasonrxeight

of course the transmission has oil it in, so does your differential.

isays

i guess what i meant is that something that you'd generally change, or do you have to take apart the trasmission to do that? i never hear of anyone changing their transmission fluid on a manual, so i thought that RIWWP may have thought I was driving an automatic.



however, back on topic...
is low gear-oil sound like the culprit, or would something else be causing this problem?

ken-x8

Gear oil in the transmission and differential are supposed to get changed. There's a drain plug and a filler plug, no disassembly required. I think it's called for every 30k or 35k miles on the 8. It's probably the most ignored maintenance item on most cars.

Gear oil can be low if there's a leak. You can check the level by removing the filler plug on the side of the transmission and sticking your finger in. Checking that used to be a standard part of the ritual of an oil change...not sure if anyone does that ever since "oil change and lube" became "oil change."

Ken

isays

Add to the list of symptoms a whirring noise, like a quiet metal-on-metal rubbing, when i'm in any gear (and nutral) and the clutch isn't in. Also, especially in the lower gears, the shifter and surrounding area heats up quite quickly.

Doesn't seem to be much in the higher gears though. Bad in city driving.

Friend suggested maybe throwout bearing could be the cause too? I got my clutch replaced maybe 20,000 KM ago, but I'm pretty rough on it.

Could either of those still be the culprit?

jasonrxeight

normal just change your transmission fluid first see if it gets better.
when clutch is out, you hear gear rollover sound which is normal.

FastFreddy61

Just in case you misinterpreted "Transmission fluid", yes, auto's use transmission fluid, manual's(most) use gear oil,and some people refer to gear oil as trans fluid because its used in manual transmission's.

isays

its not the normal whirr that you get as the transmission changes gears. This is a quiet scraping (sounded kinda like the brakes at first) of metal on metal. It happens when the transmission is turning (either in nutral with the clutch out, or when the car is rolling).
The sound and the heat are worst when I'm in 1st, 2nd and 3rd (or at least when im going at city speeds).

I'm going to get the gear oil changed regardless, since I don't know when the last time it was changed is. But there haven't been any leaks and I haven't smelled any gear oil, and the sound can be related to TOB as well, which has me worried.