Trouble downshifting to 1st
 

I changed out my gear oil with redline and also did the diff. while i was at it. but recently im having troble shifting into 1st. i hear the winding noise and have a little resistance when going into first (which is normal) but some times it WILL NOT go into first unless i hold in the clutch and put it in second and then back to first it will go into gear. this mostly happens at a complete stop or when downshifting. not really annoying me or anything , as ive had this same problem with other cars ive had, but i was just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar. this problem didnt start until about 60k miles.

The same thing happened to me. I had to go back to regular Nissan fluid for it to resolve. The problem was worse when cold. One it warmed up, it got better.

I am assuming you don't have a racing transmission. Probably not a great idea to downshift into first that often. I never downshift to first unless I'm moving <5mph... Anything faster than that and you're likely to encounter difficultly getting the shift knob in gear, and doing it a lot could potentially damage something :ugh2:

Difficulty when completely stopped is different. Might want to have it looked at...

im not one to "have it looked at" i fix my own **** so dont get ripped off lol but no my tranny is stock. next time i change the gear oil ill go back to oem and see if that helps. i dont downshift to first often but when barely moving ill try to shift into first and its having some troble. havent tried to FORCE it to go, becuase ill prolly jack something up haha

I like the way you think :tup: I'm certainly no expert, but I'll clarify my thoughts a bit:

If you're having the problem trying to shift into first while moving, then that's probably something you can avoid altogether by just not doing it. Second gear should be sufficient unless maybe going uphill very slow. If you're sitting at a stoplight and you can't put it in first gear, that sounds like your synchros, which is something I would address sooner rather than later. How many miles are on the car?

sounds like OP isnt moving when he does this.... if you arnt then yea the gear oil "might" be the culprit. i used the factory tranny fluid when i did mine with no issues.

The issue is that there wasn't a problem before the fluid change- now there is.

Nothing to do with your gear oil for the symptom you are describing. Have you checked your linkage for wear?

Thank you :tiphat: I couldn't possibly understand how the gear oil could be the cause of these symptoms...

I had the same problem with royal purple. Went back to factory gear oil in the tranny and diff and also ester in the motor and the grinding went away.

Man, I never shift into first ever if I'm moving

I just don't like forcing it when there is that feeling of resistance

There is a big difference between resistance to get into gear like when the oil is cold and not going into gear such as having to put it into second in order to get it into first. The latter is not an oil issue.

Guys.... It's called first gear lockout. Many cars, ecoboxes included, that don't let u downshift to first until a certain (and very low) mph. And u should never be shifting into first while rolling anyways :facepalm:. After 10mph, 2nd gear has all the power u would ever need. Only shift into first at a complete stop.

I'm guessing what's happening, is you're trying to get ahead of yourself and throw it into first before fully stopped. Which combined with a car with a super finicky mt (i.e. 370z) then u will have problems. As stated a bunch of times before in this forum, u cannot rush or "force" this trans to do anything.

#sluggish_synchro_problems

There is nothing wrong with the mt in a 370Z for those that know how to use it. I'm in that category with many others in here. I agree with you that you will have a problem trying to down shift into first above a certain speed. I like to do this though in my vette and Z to lock up the rear wheels momentarily. But that's me and it's no worse than doing a burnout when it comes to wear and tear on the drivetrain.

:icon14:

Dude why are u doing that?? Why do u think car manufacturers make transmissions that don't allow that? just cuz its fun to do? If u shift into first at anything other than stop, u are driving a manual wrong.

Listen, i love the 370. Clearly, i bought one. but I'm also not delusional. If u think this MT couldn't use a little work (a corvette isn't exactly the industry standard in tranismissions either) then u are drinking the kool-aid a little too much. go drive ANY manual... try sticking it in first at 15mph then report back,


And burnouts don't kill synchros. jamming into first at speed does.