davec Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) I know it is common for these cars to have notchy gears, but mine is doing something weird that I don't experience with any other car I drive. When I roll up to lights I usually coast, slip the car into neutral and then depending on what the lights are going to do select the appropriate gear. When the car is moving relatively slowly, say 5mph or so, the car feels like it is stopping me going into gear (1st or 2nd). It isn't grinding or anything, it just feels like it is locked. When the car comes to pretty much a complete stop the car slides into gear smoothly with no problem. When moving slowly I can get into third fine, it is just 1st or 2nd that appears to be doing this weird locking thing. It was suggested maybe the clutch fluid needed changing and I tried pumping the clutch, but it didn't appear to make any difference to the low gear changes. Does anyone else experience this? Any ideas what it may be? I upgraded my tranny and diff oil to amsoil and redline to see if that made any difference. Gearbox feels smoother, but it is still doing this weird locking thing... Thanks in advance. Dave. Edit: Just thought I would add, drove the z to work this morning and changing up the gears is fine, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc and if the car is going at 10 mph then it is fine getting into 2nd. The car won't go in first at all unless the car is stopped (although it was only a 5 min drive to work and it is pretty cold - seems to improve when the gearbox heats up, but I haven't taken it on a long run for a while to check). It is a bit annoying having to come to a complete stop before engaging first gear. I know it is only a starting gear, but having it presetup in first before pulling off from a junction saves me about a second per junction. Edited March 15, 2013 by davec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Did you change the gearbox oil? i.e "tranny" If so I'd be changing it for the genuine Nissan gearbox oil with a bit of moly slip for good measure. A few people have not had good results using other makes of oil for whatever reason. If you he does a complete kit. Other than that they can be notchy and need a good push into gear but if it's only since the oil change its been doing it then it makes sense it's the oil thats the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Welcome to the Forum. Did mine with oil and molyslip from Alex and it improved it 100%. Yours may be a weak syncro problem, but I'm sure Alex will have the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davec Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Sorry, I was trying to be down with the kids, but by tranny oil I meant transmission/gearbox oil. I put in Amsoil which matches the specification: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60092-amsoil-synthetic-manual-transmission-transaxle-gear-lube-75w-90-api-gl-4.aspx GL4 so it doesn't damage the synchros and it says: "Recommended for synchronized manual transmissions and transaxles that require 75W-85, 75W-90 or 80W-90 viscosities" Nissan recommend a 75W-85 GL-4 so it ticks all the boxes on paper and seemed to be well recommended (from the research I did anyway). I got it while Opie had a deal on, but it still wasn't cheap, so I don't want to get rid unless I know it is definitely the oil. It has been doing it before the oil change though. The reason I changed the transmission oil was to see if it helped solve the problem and it hasn't. It kind of seems the clutch isn't disengaging from the engine properly until the car has fully stopped, but the clutch is less than a couple of years old and it isn't slipping or anything. It seems really odd. Cheers, Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davec Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Ok cool, I will PM Alex and see what he says. Thanks for your feedback, will let you know if I get it sorted. Cheers, Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) OK Sorry - I thought it had started after the oil change - always hard when writing a quick post to cover everything exactly. I have seen one similar problem and it was a weak slave cylinder - so the clutch is not fully disengaging. making 1st very stiff. Both the slave and master cylinders can go causing issues but earlier models do have week synchros and these can cause problems, usually 3rd and 5th start grinding when selected. Hope that helps Edited March 15, 2013 by Keyser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamdc2 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Not sure if im right in saying this but im sure going into first gear the way you described is always a little tough on most cars. My old Integra was the same, really stiff putting it into first when going slowly up to traffic lights. I found giving it a little blip of the throttle sorted it though. Btw the molyslip stuff is very good, really does help all round making it smooth. If blipping the throttle helps it go into first at slows speeds then I wouldnt worry about it. If it still refuses to go in at all then you may need to investigate further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cs2000 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 hope its not the same as mine, notchy from 1st to 2nd and then grinds when entering 5th. Im saving the pennies for a new gearbox, again, from Alex as nissan wanted £700 in parts + the cost of labour just for a box rebuild... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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