Cold Weather Transmission Peculiar - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

PMPB · 10-11-2013, 03:21 PM

With the recently pretty dang cold mornings, are any of you experiencing nasty transmission shifting?

Pretty much, no matter how slow/fast I shift, the tranmission first 5-10 minutes in the morning is so notchy it's to the point where i'd call it a 'mini-grind' in every single gear.

Pulling from 1st to 2nd, it's almost like I can feel each synchro catch and then a nice little thunk into gear that makes me wince.

Pretty much the same thing into the next 5 gears. It's almost like the cold transmission fluid glues all the synchros together so that they don't really do anything to mate moving parts.

Honestly, I'm not really sure how everything in there works.... but it doesn't feel nice until everything is warmed up. Before setting off in the morning, I let the engine idle until the revs come down.

Rossman · 10-11-2013, 05:20 PM

Yeah, it happens. I get the same shit in my 6speed Versa.

roddy · 10-11-2013, 07:35 PM

Changing the fluid helped mine a lot.

PMPB · 10-11-2013, 10:29 PM

Is there a fluid that SOC or your local dealership will accept as equivalent or better than the stock fill, in terms of maintaining the warranty?

Suberman · 10-12-2013, 09:52 AM

Only 1/2 shift exhibits a crunch on cold mornings on my car. Because this stops as soon as some heat gets into the transmission it can't be faulty synchros.

I'm waiting for further mileage accumulation before getting excited.

Some transmissions, particularly robustly built ones, can exhibit this for some time before the synchros bed in fully. The synchros are bronze and need to absorb oil into their working faces to operate properly. Ironically, the synchro may not work fully until the oil ages a bit.

Transmission lube is funny stuff, it must keep metal parts from sticking together under pressure but at the same time allow the synchros to stick together under certain pressure.

Some manual transmissions can take 10,000 or even 20,000 miles to fully bed in.

10-11-2013, 03:21 PM	#1
PMPB Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Drives: BRZ Sport-tech Location: Canada Posts: 347 Thanks: 77 Thanked 182 Times in 111 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Cold Weather Transmission Peculiar With the recently pretty dang cold mornings, are any of you experiencing nasty transmission shifting? Pretty much, no matter how slow/fast I shift, the tranmission first 5-10 minutes in the morning is so notchy it's to the point where i'd call it a 'mini-grind' in every single gear. Pulling from 1st to 2nd, it's almost like I can feel each synchro catch and then a nice little thunk into gear that makes me wince. Pretty much the same thing into the next 5 gears. It's almost like the cold transmission fluid glues all the synchros together so that they don't really do anything to mate moving parts. Honestly, I'm not really sure how everything in there works.... but it doesn't feel nice until everything is warmed up. Before setting off in the morning, I let the engine idle until the revs come down.

10-11-2013, 07:35 PM	#3
roddy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: '13 Ultramarine Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 2,243 Thanks: 1,476 Thanked 1,165 Times in 685 Posts Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Changing the fluid helped mine a lot. __________________ no man with a good car needs to be justified...

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10-11-2013, 05:20 PM	#2
Rossman Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: '22 BRZ, '17 BRZ (prev '13 FR-S) Location: Backwoods Ontario Posts: 366 Thanks: 44 Thanked 123 Times in 68 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Yeah, it happens. I get the same shit in my 6speed Versa.

10-11-2013, 10:29 PM	#4
PMPB Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Drives: BRZ Sport-tech Location: Canada Posts: 347 Thanks: 77 Thanked 182 Times in 111 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Is there a fluid that SOC or your local dealership will accept as equivalent or better than the stock fill, in terms of maintaining the warranty?

10-12-2013, 09:52 AM	#5
Suberman Banned Join Date: Jul 2013 Drives: Subaru BRZ Sport Tech Satin White Location: Calgary, Alberta,Canada Posts: 1,228 Thanks: 147 Thanked 320 Times in 225 Posts Mentioned: 10 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Only 1/2 shift exhibits a crunch on cold mornings on my car. Because this stops as soon as some heat gets into the transmission it can't be faulty synchros. I'm waiting for further mileage accumulation before getting excited. Some transmissions, particularly robustly built ones, can exhibit this for some time before the synchros bed in fully. The synchros are bronze and need to absorb oil into their working faces to operate properly. Ironically, the synchro may not work fully until the oil ages a bit. Transmission lube is funny stuff, it must keep metal parts from sticking together under pressure but at the same time allow the synchros to stick together under certain pressure. Some manual transmissions can take 10,000 or even 20,000 miles to fully bed in.

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