3rd Gear Issues ....

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Old 04-15-2011 | 01:09 PM
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3rd Gear Issues ....

Ok guys new here with issues.....my third doesn't want to go into gear sometimes and its starting to get annoying....I tried to ignore it but it happens frequently now....I called the dealer today to make appointment....so is the syncromesh fluid a true fix?...can the dealer fix the syncros ......what to do?.........I recently had the dealer reflash my Ecuador and I still got some pinging going on....wtf
Old 04-15-2011 | 01:14 PM
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Gm syncromesh fixed my third gear problems.

anyway, you should read some of the thousands and thousands of threads like this very one that you started. you'll find out that some had very good luck at the dealer, and some came back with broken parts. The dealer has non trained monkeys tearing into your transmission. Sometimes they are very good, and fix those syncros without any problems, other times Reverse gets fucked up.

but you'll find that 100% of the people that put in the gm magic juice, had 100% results.
Old 04-15-2011 | 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by lowchef
Ok guys new here with issues.....my third doesn't want to go into gear sometimes and its starting to get annoying....I tried to ignore it but it happens frequently now....I called the dealer today to make appointment....so is the syncromesh fluid a true fix?...can the dealer fix the syncros ......what to do?.........I recently had the dealer reflash my Ecuador and I still got some pinging going on....wtf
Your "Ecuador"? Have to ask.. what is that? I'm going to assume you mean ECU. This is Virginia and we understand ECU.

As for your problem with 3rd gear, listen to justnspace. Most people have had acceptable results with dealer service centers fixing their trannys but a fair amount have only experience more problems. Going with the GMSFM fluid (part #12377916) has nearly a 100% positive claim on fixing things. Your call.

Last edited by SouthernBoy; 04-15-2011 at 02:16 PM.
Old 04-15-2011 | 02:18 PM
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Yea my bad I'm typing from my Droid autofill put Ecuador instead of ecu...lol
Old 04-16-2011 | 01:09 AM
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Do the GMSFM fluid replacement. It works. /thread
Old 04-16-2011 | 06:58 AM
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Originally Posted by lowchef
Yea my bad I'm typing from my Droid autofill put Ecuador instead of ecu...lol
We're cool.

Any other gears causing concerns? Just for the record, if you're not already doing this you should consider double clutching your downshifts. The third gear set synchronizers are problematic and anything you can do to ward off a trip to the shop is helpful. I have never experienced any of the reported tranny problems with my '04 manual. This could be due to the techniques I employ when operating a manual transmission, the fact that I started using GMSFM fluid at 15,500 miles (I now have 83,200 miles on it), or perhaps my late build '04 was one of the lucky TL's and received a decent transmission. I don't know. But mine is excellent and has never done any of the things others have reported.

Let us know how it goes with you.
Old 04-16-2011 | 10:10 AM
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So with 8000 posts on here saying the Syncromesh works, you just needed to hear from 8001?
OK, it works!!!!
Replace it already.......
Old 04-16-2011 | 10:15 AM
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One thing though is that if you truely do have bad synchros at this point then they need to be fixed first. Hopefully your car is still under warranty and if it is I would have the 3rd gear TSB performed THEN when you get the car back I would do the GM synchromesh fluid. If the synchros are worn then a different fluid might "cover" the problem for a while and make it seem better, but the real issue is still there.
If your 3rd gear issue is super minor like maybe once a week it pops out of gear, or sometimes it feels somewhat harsh then I would try the fluid first. However if your grinding going into gear almost daily then there is tranny issues.

james
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:04 PM
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Is flush/fill X3 needed before warranty claim on 3rd gear?

If I'm running the original fluid (previous owner never changed; car is @43k miles), do you guys recommend the flush/fill I'm reading about in the forum posts BEFORE making the claim? (Still under power train warranty). Thanks for all your help. This community is awesome.
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:08 PM
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the 3x flush is only for automatics.
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:13 PM
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Where can I get this GMSFM fluid?
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:17 PM
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from any GM retailer.
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by justnspace
from any GM retailer.
Thanks!
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:29 PM
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justnspace, I'm a bit comfused, is the GMSFM for manuals, automatics or both trannys?
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:32 PM
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only for manual transmissions.
Old 07-26-2011 | 12:32 PM
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Thanks again!!
Old 07-26-2011 | 02:30 PM
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Smile

Originally Posted by justnspace
the 3x flush is only for automatics.
Justnspace, thanks! Now to call the dealer...
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