Cold weather transmission issues

[tontod]

I have a 2002 Subaru Forester with MT. It was super cold, this morning, probably around 20 or so. The clutch was soft/squishy, it was very hard to put it in reverse, once I was done backing out, putting it in 1st was very difficult - even though I was completely stopped and the clutch was all the way in. It also took a bit of extra effort to move it from 1st to 2nd. A few minutes later at a stop light, I had a hard time moving it into 1st. After the car fully warmed up though, everything was fine, going into 1st wasnt an issue. Is this something I should be concerned about? It has ~81k miles on it, the clutch was replaced at 67k, just before I bought the car in April of this year.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Quite normal. My M3 is rather agricultural until it warms up when it's cold outside.

 

[exar333]

Either let your car run a while to warm-up, or get a block heater and plug your car in. Believe me, when it gets cold enough, any transmission will struggle.

 

[iamwiz82]

It's common, but 20F seems a bit warm for that kind of issue. What fluid is in the transmission?

 

[Vette73]

First thing is to check the fluid level and also change it to a higher quality/Syn trans fluid. I have found that can help in cold weather.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

I have a 2002 Subaru Forester with MT. It was super cold, this morning, probably around 20 or so. The clutch was soft/squishy, it was very hard to put it in reverse, once I was done backing out, putting it in 1st was very difficult - even though I was completely stopped and the clutch was all the way in. It also took a bit of extra effort to move it from 1st to 2nd. A few minutes later at a stop light, I had a hard time moving it into 1st. After the car fully warmed up though, everything was fine, going into 1st wasnt an issue. Is this something I should be concerned about? It has ~81k miles on it, the clutch was replaced at 67k, just before I bought the car in April of this year.

Just the cold making the gearbox oil thick...

 

[angry hampster]

My GTI has similar issues. Very difficult to get into reverse when it's less than 10*F outside. 2nd gear isn't possible without grinding for the first few minutes of running if it's that cold either.

 

[tontod]

The transmission fluid hasnt been changed since I bought it, might need to do it soon.

 

[ViviTheMage]

my A4 does this too, in -10 F , with windchill in the -30's, there's a lot of restriction in my 6 speed.

When it's warming up, I hold the clutch down and go through all the gears, haha. I only let it warm up for about 10-30 seconds before I take off, and I baby it until it's warm, even then...I never try to get above 3500rpms when shifting.

 

[Zenmervolt]

my A4 does this too, in -10 F , with windchill in the -30's, there's a lot of restriction in my 6 speed.

When it's warming up, I hold the clutch down and go through all the gears, haha. I only let it warm up for about 10-30 seconds before I take off, and I baby it until it's warm, even then...I never try to get above 3500rpms when shifting.

The transmission will warm up faster if you leave the clutch engaged and have the transmission in neutral. Even in neutral the input shaft is spinning as long as the clutch is engaged and that will warm up the fluid more than just cycling through the gears.

ZV

 

[Vette73]

The transmission fluid hasnt been changed since I bought it, might need to do it soon.

See if you can find a Syn version for your Trans. Most syns flow better in colder Temps and may help a bit.
Check the Stats from the maker to see what the flow rate is at lowwer temps.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f89/synthetic-gear-oil-use-62973/

For the transmission: 3 quarts of Redline Lightweight Shockproof, 1 quart of Motul Gear300 75W90

Rear diff: Motul Gear 300 75W90

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

In my old Maxima (which I assume did not use synthetic oils other than in the crankcase), my brakes, clutch and shifter were always really gluey when I first started the car in very cold weather. My BMW is somewhat better, presumably due to higher quality, synthetic oils, but it's still a little cranky first thing in the morning in sub-zero weather.

 

[exdeath]

Quite normal. My M3 is rather agricultural until it warms up when it's cold outside.

Getrag 6 speed?. Sounds the same as my Tremec T56 like a box of rocks. That and rear end clunks and all the usual baggage that accompanies big loose beefy components.

 

[exdeath]

OP sounds like if anything you have a clutch linkage problem and not a transmission problem. Clutch hydraulics and adjustment may be extremely close, and the change from the cold is just enough to to not disengage fully. If full disengage is already near the floor when it's working normally, the cold fluid would be just enough to push it that extra hair beyond the floor.

Check your fluid level in your clutch cylinder for starters.

Also actuation distance and pedal throw changes as the clutch wears and that can contribute to a poorly adjusted clutch pedal. ie: if the clutch is worn enough that the required throw distance to fully disengage it is greater than the available pedal travel.

In laymans terms there is a window of movement for the actual clutch and a window of movement of the pedal itself, and they must be aligned and centered on top of one another, otherwise you won't get full movement of the clutch with respect to the pedal and will have trouble getting it into gear.

The transmission itself being cold will just result in excessive noise and notchy clunky shifting until it warms up.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Just changed my trans fluid to Royal Purple about 2 weeks before it started getting really cold. No issues here

 

[DivideBYZero]

Getrag 6 speed?. Sounds the same as my Tremec T56 like a box of rocks. That and rear end clunks and all the usual baggage that accompanies big loose beefy components.

Yep. The M-Diff likes to clunk when cold, too. The Getrag is interesting in so much as the rougher you are with it, the smoother it is, but if you go easy when it's cold it's stiff and clunky.

 

[BW86]

If its pretty cold - less than 25F - I'll let my car warm up for about 2-3 minutes, and if its hard to get the car in gear, I'll gently put it in 2nd - 3rd - 4th then 1st and it usually goes in pretty easily.

 

[AMCRambler]

The Goat's tranny was like this for me this morning. When it's cold, getting it into second is usually a chore. I actually have to hold the shifter in as I come up on the clutch or it will pop back out. This morning though it was the coldest it's been yet this winter, 10 degress. The clutch pedal wasn't rebounding as quickly as it normally does. Felt like there was molasses in my clutch reservoir. Once it warmed up it was fine.

 

[exdeath]

Yep. The M-Diff likes to clunk when cold, too. The Getrag is interesting in so much as the rougher you are with it, the smoother it is, but if you go easy when it's cold it's stiff and clunky.

Hah yeah mine is like that too. If you're hard and fast on the shifts, it feels smooth and quick like an automatic with a shift kit, but if you are slow and gentle and give it any slack it clunks and bucks and makes all kinds of fuss. Grabby clutch + fast steep idle return curve + driveline slack + cold weather and slow shifting = people looking at you like your car is falling apart or thinking you are new to manual.

 

[XZeroII]

20 degrees is not very cold. Your car should be a little sluggish for the first minute or so but after that it should be just fine. Sounds like you need to get the clutch ajusted or the transmission fluid changed.

When you get it into gear, does the car seem extremely sluggish?

 

[tontod]

20 degrees is not very cold. Your car should be a little sluggish for the first minute or so but after that it should be just fine. Sounds like you need to get the clutch ajusted or the transmission fluid changed.

When you get it into gear, does the car seem extremely sluggish?

No, once in gear, the car does not seem sluggish. However, when the car is cold, seems like a hear some kind of a rattling noise from the engine. I recently got all the fluids changed, so shouldnt be low on oil, but I still need to check.

 

[Demo24]

I've noticed Subaru transmissions tend to hate the cold on the fluid that is supplied by them. I don't know where you live, but if it gets really cold for many months on end I would recommend changing viscosity as labeled in your manual.

Now, there is unlikely to be anything wrong with your clutch or transmission. Mine does the exact same thing when it's cold, and it takes it several miles to warm up. The trick is to double clutch on these transmissions because they only have 1 synchro on first gear, and none on reverse. This makes getting into these gears tricky, especially when cold.

So for reverse, if it does not go in then put it back in neutral let the clutch out for 2 seconds, clutch in, try reverse again. Also do this for first if you have trouble, don't force it. If you double clutch then it will go in much easier. Typically I find I have to be completely stopped to get it to go in at first. Sometimes a blip of the throttle in neutral will help also.

Also, try to leave it in neutral as much as possible with the clutch out. This will spin the oil inside the transmission and help lubricate and warm things up.

I think the transmission fluid is supposed to be replaced every 20-30k, so changing that might help also. However nothing is going to make a drastic change, so you just have to learn how to deal with it in the cold.

 

[amdhunter]

The transmission will warm up faster if you leave the clutch engaged and have the transmission in neutral. Even in neutral the input shaft is spinning as long as the clutch is engaged and that will warm up the fluid more than just cycling through the gears.

ZV

Damn, great tip there.

My transmission gets notchy going into 3rd on really cold days. I usually just avoid 3rd until the car gets rolling for about 5 minutes or so. My entire drive is local traffic and under 30MPH so it's not a big deal for me.

My friends RX8 feels like it is going through slush in the winter also.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Totally normal for Subaru transmissions. My 2000 Forester is the same.