1st gear is blocked sometimes

[Blue94VR4]

Hi

My 6 speed transmission has developed the following problem. One third of the time when I am driving around, I cannot engage the first gear. The shift lever does not go in. It works fine if I do N-2-1. It unlocks the gear and then I can do N-1 with no problems. It almost feels like something is blocking the gear. However, after I unlock it with N-2-1, I can go into all gears (with clutch disengaged) with no problems with very little effort. Same problem sometimes occur when the engine is off. I have to wiggle the shift lever a bit to get it into the first. However, once I get it in the first time, all the over times are fine.

I also have somewhat similar problem but to a much lesser extend with the 3rd gear happing only when I am driving. What can this be? Adjustment problem or inner transmission issue? I recently replaced the clutch and slave cylinder, but the problem was there even before. It does feel a bit worse now though. I also switched to SS GB II oil recently, can it make the difference?

Any suggestions? I am going to take intake off and check the linkage over the weekend. It just puzzles me the once I unlock the 1st gear it's fine after that until I start dring and then come to a stop and have to go into 1st gear again.

Thanks,

[JackM]

When it blocks you out- try this:

While the engine is running push the clutch and put it into 1st. Does it give you problems the first time? Take it out of 1st and go back in (without taking your foot off of the pedal this whole time. Keep it to the floor). Does it feel easy then?

Now put it in N and let go of the clutch pedal. Push the pedal back down again and try going into 1st again. Does it feel hard to engage again the first time? If so, I would say your clutch is either dragging or over extending, or it could be the fluid is too slick not allowing enough friction for the synchro blocker to work correctly. Where is the 'friction zone' when you try to move forward? If it's pretty high up, then you could be over extending the PP causing issues. If that is the case push the clutch pedal down 3/4 of the way and do the same test. If it pops in easy, then you need to move the adjustment rod back in a few turns.

Jack

[Blue94VR4]

Originally Posted by JackM

When it blocks you out- try this:

While the engine is running push the clutch and put it into 1st. Does it give you problems the first time? Take it out of 1st and go back in (without taking your foot off of the pedal this whole time. Keep it to the floor). Does it feel easy then?

Now put it in N and let go of the clutch pedal. Push the pedal back down again and try going into 1st again. Does it feel hard to engage again the first time? If so, I would say your clutch is either dragging or over extending, or it could be the fluid is too slick not allowing enough friction for the synchro blocker to work correctly. Where is the 'friction zone' when you try to move forward? If it's pretty high up, then you could be over extending the PP causing issues. If that is the case push the clutch pedal down 3/4 of the way and do the same test. If it pops in easy, then you need to move the adjustment rod back in a few turns.

Jack

It's definitely yes and yes to your first comment. If I keep the pedal pressed, going back into 1st the second time is much much easier and the first time I try it's hard.

I'll try the second test later tonight. How can I check if my clutch it dragging? I'll check my friction zone too, but I think it's pretty high up. Let me double check.

Thanks!
Sergey

[JackM]

1) Have the car running with the e-brake off so it can roll.
2) Push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there.
3) Turn off your launch limiter in DSM link if equipped so the engine can hit 7K RPM.
4) Put the car into 1st gear.
5) Rev the engine up until you feel the car start to move forward.

If the car moves forward below 7200RPM, your clutch is dragging.

[Blue94VR4]

Alright, here is what I did today. I read your second reply too late, so I did not do all the things you've mentioned.

With engine off, I can engage all gears fine, with little effort. I can do it w/ or w/o clutch disengaged.

With engine idling, I have real hard time engaging 1st gear. Other gears are ok, but still not as easy as with engine off. Couple of time when I was trying to engage 1st gear I could feel my whole drivetrain engaging for a second.

At one point I engaged reverse and drove the car for a bit. However, when I disengaged the clutch, I had real hard time pushing the lever into neutral. It felt like the gear was still engaged.

Also, like i said earlier, it's only hard the first time with clutch out, the second time is fine. If I release the clutch and then press it again, it's back to square one.

Since everything is fine with engine off, I think I can rule out linkage issues, right? So it has to be the clutch. It's a new SPEC II clutch, installed instead of the old stock one. I installed new slave cyl as well and bled the lines. You mentioned 2 possible issues: dragging and overextending. Do you think they are still both possible, or, it sounds like dragging?

I am going to look through the manual for clutch adjustment. I know that I am supposed to turn something, but I am not sure what, which way, and by how much. Are there some specs I can follow?

Thanks a lot for your help!
Sergey

PS: I'll try your 7000RPM trick tomorrow
PSS: Oops, I wont be able to do it, since I am still breaking in new bearings. I am trying not to push above 3000-4000 for the first 200 miles. I'll try 4000 though.

[JackM]

I have some videos here on it:

Transmission Videos

It is mostly for DSMs, but the 3S is the same. It looks to me like it is dragging and you need to adjust the clutch pedal master rod out a bit under the dash.

Jack

[Blue94VR4]

Thanks for the link. I'll try that.

On a different note, is it possible to check if master cylinder is working properly? It's a 14 year old car after all

Sergey

[aberabee]

I don't think that would be it. Only because I have the exact same issue and happen to run itno this thread. My car does the same thing and I transplanded the whole engine and internal tranny part from my other stealth tt. My first gear is sometimes blocked and it will buzz when i downshift sometimes. It also sometimes does not want to fully stick in gear in the reverse. So... If you find out what it is let me know. And I will do the same

[Blue94VR4]

Jack,

I watched your video, it is very good. One question though about bleeder valve inside master clutch cylinder. Is this true for 3S as well? Does the same procedure with pushing slave cylinder to check valve operation work for 3S? Mine is 94VR4.

Thanks,
Sergey

PS: I am looking at the master clutch cyl description in the manual and I do not see anything that looks like a bleeder valve inside. Does it have one?

[drcustom]

Originally Posted by Blue94VR4

I am looking at the master clutch cyl description in the manual and I do not see anything that looks like a bleeder valve inside. Does it have one?

Jack will have to answer on the bleeder to be sure, but even if not I'd still follow the steps and at least adjust the rod a little and see if that helps - every time I've had this problem the clutch was dragging (either because of improper adjustment, air in the line, bad slave - pull back the boot and check for leaks, or bad master - check for leaks inside the car). 7/10 times it's just been an adjustment issue.