I need to know if this happens to anyone else. Starting yesterday when I shift into 5th gear I can hear a very noticable "POP". It only happens in 5th gear. So today I started up the car and with the clutch fully depressed I tried to move the stick to 5th, but it wouldn't go. It will go into any other gear but not 5th. I went to lunch and the pop continued, and when I got back I tried to shift into every gear while sitting still and every gear would go except 5th

Can anyone else duplicate my problem? I am very busy this week but I am going to try and schedule an appointment with the dealer early next week.

 

NOPE…. Can’t say I ever had THAT happen to me.

Shawn S

 

might be a broken shift fork. When you first heard the "pop" were you shifting hard?

 

I think I was shifting hard, but it was still smooth. No grinding or anything like that.

 

never had that happen to me......sorry

 

haven't had that problem either. Sometimes when my car is cold it doesn't like going into 2nd, but that's my only issue and it's easy to solve by letting the car fully warm up.

 

This is what I was afraid of

Well I will see what the dealer says

 

That does sound strange. I have never had anything like that happen to me. I did have to have my syncros for second and third replaced after only 5000 miles. The dealer said they simply wore out and he couldn’t find any signs of abuse. I think you definitely have something wrong. You should take it directly to the dealer, get a loaner to rag for a while, and let them handle it. Unless you drive 50000 miles a year, you must still be under warranty. You shouldn’t have a problem with the dealer since you can readily duplicate the problem. Don’t let those bastards give you any crap. If anyone does, go to the next guy up in the chain of command.

Jim

 

Sunday I wasn't able to get my car into first w/o really slamming it in there hard. I had the same problem with reverse before, it would go in part of the way, but not enough for the gear to catch.

I never took it to the dealer, but maybe I will add it to the list of things for them to look at during the next visit.

 

Yea sometimes I have the reverse problem too but thats typical of all manual transmissions. The easy solution for that is too first put the stick in first gear then reverse and it should then drop right into gear

Thanks for the info jproy, and believe me I never let the dealership give me any crap. Although I must admit my dealer is pretty good about pleasing their customers.

 

Not being able to put it into reverse is normal at a stand still, sometimes. This is because it is not synchronized like the forward gears. Sometimes you have to hold a light push on the stick into reverse and slowly let off the clutch and it will pop into reverse, or you can put it into first gear and it should pop right into reverse. This some times happens in first although very rarely. If it does happen in first just do the same thing as above very slowly and it will pop into gear. If you do it to fast it will grind. If you have a manual transmission problem that you cannot readily duplicate, most dealers won’t touch it unless they actually experience the problem.

Jim

 

I have heard this "pop" sometimes also, but never had problmes getting the car in gear. I know colder weather makes the car a little bit stiff to shift untill the fluid warms up.

 

yeah with the car stationary and engine running the gears should all engage normally. Never had this happen yet either. I am still getting the "shuddering" / "lumpy shift" every once in a while if Im not paying too much attention. On the positve side though I have noticed that the clutch does not like to be pushed in too far down.... and since I am in the habit of going all the way down with eavery shift this is something that I need to learn to adjust.

 

Check if the clutch-line is obstructing the motion of the shift-counterweight!!

 

I always go all the way to the floor on every shift. If you don't arn't you wearing on the clutch a little more?

 

Well I managed to get an appointment for wednesday so I will let you guys know then

 

I have read many of the test drivers say "it has short engagement point" or " clutch is quick to catch" stuff like that and i think it's part of the design. Its really designed for quick, taught shifting if you time it just right Seems like when I go too far down with the clutch pedal it creates too much of the 'rpm-boost' that everyone mentions when shifting

 

Well I got a call from service tech this morning saying that they were able to dupicate the problem. He said that the noise was coming from the shift boot. He said that when the stick when into fifth gear the boot was getting pinched between the stick and gate. He said that they put a peice of felt tape in there and it has stopped the noise. No charge of course.

I thinked him for verifing that nothing was actually wrong with the car. Plus I got my car washed

 

That's good to hear, nothing wrong with the car.

 

 

Love the feeling when it is a simple fix or nothing is wrong at all.