loosing secont gear when hot

[m44offroad]

I have a 1990 5mt and only when the car has been sitting in a parking lot all day with temps around 80 and I start driving in town intermittently the trans wont shift into second, i had it happen a couple times over the last couple weeks and last Thursday it did it the entire 35 mile home. when it happens there is no grinding it just feels like the shifter is getting jammed on a rubber block. can anyone think of what would cause this?

[93forestpearl]

That is common when the balk ring (the wear part of the synchronizer that wears) is worn. I noticed it on my old tranny twice. I had it rebuilt the first time, and it did it again on second gear after another 100k when hot. Both times it was when hot. My 6mt does the same thing when hot except it still shifts fine when not hammering on it due to the triple cone synchronizer.


Basically, the tranny is due for a refresh.

[m44offroad]

thanks for the reply, that wasn't really what i wanted to hear right now but its not much of a surprise either, guess its time to start looking for a used trans so i can rebuild the current one.

[rally370]

Yes 2nd gear can be a bitch on high mileage boxes. I had the same problem with my 100,000+ box until I swapped the oil for Coastal Synthetic blend 75/90 then all was well. Try changing the oil first.

[m44offroad]

I think I will try running the motul/ smurfblood cocktail and see how it does before ordering a trans, i was reading some stuff of a forester forum that was recommending it, at this point it cant hurt especially with 170k and I have no idea when the fluid was changed last (and i have put 40k on in the last 2 years). on a side note the stock shifter was so loose that there was really no feeling for what the trans was doing, a couple days ago i upgraded the shifter to the STI short throw and now i can feel its a little rough going into 2nd

[fishbone79]

Cocktails are usually bad news bears... I've had great luck with subaru's gear lube (although you have to buy a huge thing of it if you can't convince the tech to dispense it for you). The price is comparable.

[93forestpearl]

Our dealer here sells Extra-S by the quart. From what I've seen not many dealers do.

[m44offroad]

well its a little late now, I did do my research before doing the cocktail and opted for a 50/50 mix of Motul 75w90 and redline lightweight shockproof that was recommended by BAC5.2 here http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin ... faq-14804/ I'm on my 3rd day driving with the mix and thankfully the temps where in the 80s today and the trans had no problems at all.