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[BlancoNino]

So whenever I shift gears, there's not always a smooth transition into gear when I shift. A friend says it could be the cables in the clutch going bad, or just the clutch itself. Others say it could just need a transmission service and could be low on fluid. Others say it's completely normal to notice a little roughness shifting into gear (it's not grinding).

Well?

 

[I Saw OJ]

Could be the snycros going out. Is it hard to put in gear also?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Maybe you just don't know how to shift.

 

[RedArmy]

Mileage, Car model?

 

[Gilligansdingy]

Originally posted by: I Saw OJ
Could be the snycros going out. Is it hard to put in gear also?

 

[BlancoNino]

2004 Nissan Sentra 74,000 miles.

 

[Jahee]

Could be the gear linkage, my car had this problem, does it clunk loudly sometimes aswell? doesnt sound like the clutch, but yea as someone said is it hard to engage the gears sometimes?


Jeez u yanks do run up the mileage dont u! my 04 car has only got 24,000 on it

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: Jahee
Could be the gear linkage, my car had this problem, does it clunk loudly sometimes aswell? doesnt sound like the clutch, but yea as someone said is it hard to engage the gears sometimes?

Well sometimes it just doesn't want to go into gear and I have to re-pump the clutch. Shifting is smoother when I press really hard and fast on the clutch and shift immediatley.

 

[Gilligansdingy]

If your having to pump the clutch, its going to be a problem with your hydrolics.

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: Jahee
Could be the gear linkage, my car had this problem, does it clunk loudly sometimes aswell? doesnt sound like the clutch, but yea as someone said is it hard to engage the gears sometimes?

Well sometimes it just doesn't want to go into gear and I have to re-pump the clutch. Shifting is smoother when I press really hard and fast on the clutch and shift immediatley.

Hmm im not quite sure, just get it checked in the shop, its problably something minor, if its the gear linkage/syncros then expect about $400

 

[Gilligansdingy]

Originally posted by: Jahee

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: Jahee
Could be the gear linkage, my car had this problem, does it clunk loudly sometimes aswell? doesnt sound like the clutch, but yea as someone said is it hard to engage the gears sometimes?

Well sometimes it just doesn't want to go into gear and I have to re-pump the clutch. Shifting is smoother when I press really hard and fast on the clutch and shift immediatley.

Hmm im not quite sure, just get it checked in the shop, its problably something minor, if its the gear linkage/syncros then expect about $400

Yeah, $400 will not get your syncro replaced. Before taking it to the shop, open the hood and check the fluid level on the clutch master cylinder.

 

[Chrono]

I think it's driver error.

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: Gilligansdingy

Originally posted by: Jahee

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: Jahee
Could be the gear linkage, my car had this problem, does it clunk loudly sometimes aswell? doesnt sound like the clutch, but yea as someone said is it hard to engage the gears sometimes?

Well sometimes it just doesn't want to go into gear and I have to re-pump the clutch. Shifting is smoother when I press really hard and fast on the clutch and shift immediatley.

Hmm im not quite sure, just get it checked in the shop, its problably something minor, if its the gear linkage/syncros then expect about $400

Yeah, $400 will not get your syncro replaced. Before taking it to the shop, open the hood and check the fluid level on the clutch master cylinder.

Yea sorry i mean $400 for the linkages, not a clue about the syncros...

 

[BlancoNino]

Well, it's reccommended to get your transmission serviced at 70k miles...and my car hasn't had that done yet, so I'm going to go get that done (74k miles) right now. Is this a good start?

 

[BlancoNino]

Update, got it serviced and it's still rough shifting.

If I get the clutch replaced, do the hydrolics get replaced as well?

Is it possible to get my clutch replaced for less than 600 dollars? That's all I've got. I see clutches cost around 100-200 dollars so I can't figure it's going to take 50+ hours to put it in.

 

[Reckoner]

You might want to look into your technique

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
You might want to look into your technique

What is the proper technique? I've tried pressing the clutch in gently and waiting a second to shift. I've tried pressing it in very firmly and immediatley shifting. I've tried slowly putting it into gear. I've tried putting it into gear firmly and quickly. I've tried everything.

 

[Reckoner]

How fast do you find yourself releasing the clutch?

 

[Tommouse]

Try double clutching for a bit. If it seems smoother then, then it would point to your syncros. I have to double clutch my car into second when its cold for the first 2 miles until the gearbox warms up.

Also more information would be helpful. Is it every gear? Is it the engagement of the clutch thats rough? Actually getting into gear thats rough? And we are assuming manual right (had to ask, wasn't explicitly stated)?

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: Tommouse
Try double clutching for a bit. If it seems smoother then, then it would point to your syncros. I have to double clutch my car into second when its cold for the first 2 miles until the gearbox warms up.

Also more information would be helpful. Is it every gear? Is it the engagement of the clutch thats rough? Actually getting into gear thats rough? And we are assuming manual right (had to ask, wasn't explicitly stated)?

It's the act of putting the shifter into the position.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Tommouse
Try double clutching for a bit. If it seems smoother then, then it would point to your syncros. I have to double clutch my car into second when its cold for the first 2 miles until the gearbox warms up.

Not always. My 914 shifted poorly when I bought it, but double-clutching helped. The problem was not synchros, but rather that the clutch cable (the 914 uses a cable rather than hydraulics, some cars still do) was mal-adjusted and the clutch was dragging slightly. I adjusted the cable and the issue went away.

At 75,000 miles he's in the lower side of the clutch replacement interval (typically between 75,000 and 150,000 miles depending on driving style and the particular car), so it might even be that he's worn out the clutch. Strangely enough, one of the symptoms of a worn clutch is that it can fail to fully disengage, which will cause difficulty shifting, first noticed in the lower gears.

Honestly, the symptoms he describes sound more like a clutch that is out of adjustment or worn and is not completely releasing because of that or a shift linkage that has fallen out of adjustment.

EDIT: Wearing out the synchros in 2 years and 75,000 miles would take some pretty severe abuse on the transmission. I would very much doubt that the issue is the synchros.

ZV

 

[Tommouse]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: Tommouse
Try double clutching for a bit. If it seems smoother then, then it would point to your syncros. I have to double clutch my car into second when its cold for the first 2 miles until the gearbox warms up.

Also more information would be helpful. Is it every gear? Is it the engagement of the clutch thats rough? Actually getting into gear thats rough? And we are assuming manual right (had to ask, wasn't explicitly stated)?

It's the act of putting the shifter into the position.

Yea definitely try double clutching then

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Tommouse

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
It's the act of putting the shifter into the position.

Yea definitely try double clutching then

Even marginal synchros would allow easy shifting if he simply counted to two between shifts. (I.e. clutch pedal to the floor, count to two, change gears.) If that's not smooth, then it's something other than the synchros.

As I already said, he would have to be severely abusing his transmission to put noticeable wear on the synchros in only 75,000 miles.

ZV

 

[BlancoNino]

Okay, it ain't the synchros. Trust me. This seems like it's just the fact that it's not fulling engaging when putting it into the next gear. Sometimes it's smooth, sometimes it's not. Yes, 75k is about the time the clutch goes out, and maybe I should get it looked at.

Problem is, can I get a clutch replaced for relatively cheap? $1,000 sounds like way too much for replacing a factory clutch.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
Okay, it ain't the synchros. Trust me. This seems like it's just the fact that it's not fulling engaging when putting it into the next gear. Sometimes it's smooth, sometimes it's not. Yes, 75k is about the time the clutch goes out, and maybe I should get it looked at.

Problem is, can I get a clutch replaced for relatively cheap? $1,000 sounds like way too much for replacing a factory clutch.

Maybe as low as $800 if you shop around, but plan on 1000+