Transmission Problem

[Aqrab]

Same here notchy shifting into 3rd (noise)
Any fix for this ?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Aqrab

Same here notchy shifting into 3rd (noise)
Any fix for this ?

Depends on what the problem is.

Lots and lots of complaints about a rough transmission and it will be next to impossible to assess over the internet, no video or data log will show a problem (unless there is a terrible noise) so objectively speaking all people can do is assume either you are exaggerating or the transmission is totally broken, there is not much in between when it comes to transmissions.

If it's subjective (I mean your transmission is not broken), you shift style can greatly change how it feels, smooth deliberate shifting action while nailing the timing relating the appropriate flywheel rpm to transmission rpm will make this transmission feel like a freshly zambonied ice rink. Being sloppy will reward you with resistance, jerkiness and strange noises.

There's also a matter of perspective, what was your prior MT experience? A FWD car will have a cable actuated gear lever that will eliminate a lot of feedback from the transmission, whearas the 86's gear lever is rigidly attached to the transmission. In other words the roughness of the 86's transmission is amplified and may have existed in your last car but was numbed by the design.

My advice to transmission roughness complaints is to play with your technique and put some miles on the car, I'm at 40k miles and everything is smoother than it was at 20k or 6 miles. And sometimes even now when I'm out of sync the transmission will kick me in the face with a nice big "chunk".

Some people swear by changing the transmission fluid to Motul or Pentosin (although Pentosin seems to have garnered less followers recently), after switching to Motul at 30k I did feel (note: feel, not strongly objectively observe, it could be entirely placebo) that the transmission was smoother, but not smooth enough to try and convert everyone. I felt the improvement solely due to driving the car and adjusting to it as well as breaking it in was much greater.

Just my 2 cents.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Depends on what the problem is.

Lots and lots of complaints about a rough transmission and it will be next to impossible to assess over the internet, no video or data log will show a problem (unless there is a terrible noise) so objectively speaking all people can do is assume either you are exaggerating or the transmission is totally broken, there is not much in between when it comes to transmissions.

If it's subjective (I mean your transmission is not broken), you shift style can greatly change how it feels, smooth deliberate shifting action while nailing the timing relating the appropriate flywheel rpm to transmission rpm will make this transmission feel like a freshly zambonied ice rink. Being sloppy will reward you with resistance, jerkiness and strange noises.

There's also a matter of perspective, what was your prior MT experience? A FWD car will have a cable actuated gear lever that will eliminate a lot of feedback from the transmission, whearas the 86's gear lever is rigidly attached to the transmission. In other words the roughness of the 86's transmission is amplified and may have existed in your last car but was numbed by the design.

My advice to transmission roughness complaints is to play with your technique and put some miles on the car, I'm at 40k miles and everything is smoother than it was at 20k or 6 miles. And sometimes even now when I'm out of sync the transmission will kick me in the face with a nice big "chunk".

Some people swear by changing the transmission fluid to Motul or Pentosin (although Pentosin seems to have garnered less followers recently), after switching to Motul at 30k I did feel (note: feel, not strongly objectively observe, it could be entirely placebo) that the transmission was smoother, but not smooth enough to try and convert everyone. I felt the improvement solely due to driving the car and adjusting to it as well as breaking it in was much greater.

Just my 2 cents.

This^ This^ and This^
My son in law jumps in mine and try's to bully the shifter around like he does in his Mazda while complaining every minute about how bad it is and that it fights every shift (he attended the Vin Diesel school of shifting I think). He then rides and watches in awe as I gently push or pull it into every gear with the tips of my fingers or palm of my hand.
No matter how many times I tell him to do it right as soon as he is back in the seat he starts trying to force his will upon it and loses the battle. If he were on here he would probably be screaming about the "crappy" trannys they used.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

This^ This^ and This^
My son in law jumps in mine and try's to bully the shifter around like he does in his Mazda while complaining every minute about how bad it is and that it fights every shift (he attended the Vin Diesel school of shifting I think). He then rides and watches in awe as I gently push or pull it into every gear with the tips of my fingers or palm of my hand.
No matter how many times I tell him to do it right as soon as he is back in the seat he starts trying to force his will upon it and loses the battle. If he were on here he would probably be screaming about the "crappy" trannys they used.

That was one of the things I noticed while on my test drive. The salesman just handed me the keys and said "have fun". I was coming from a 2001 Mazda 626 and while it wasn't necessary to use a lot of force while shifting, you had to be firm on it. In the FRS, I did that for the first KM or so, then got a better feel and used less force and more finesse.

I'm hoping my car gets written off so I can buy another in a manual, given I have a work truck I commute in, so the FRS has literally become a weekend toy for me, and my ankle doesn't give me shit unless I'm in stop and go. That is rarely the case when I'm driving the car now.

[PickledRage]

I fought with this same issue for a while. I looked all over this forum for fixes and tips, and other sites as well. I kept seeing "check the warranty" and most of all "change to motul fluid", or "cold shifting is hard" but the one thing I found to work and I wish I could find the thread again to post here, it's all about learning how to drive the car. There is nothing wrong with the tranny. Fluid won't change anything much. And I know it will be hard for us "car guys" to swallow our pride and say we know how to drive, but seriously it's how you drive the car. I have had mine for a few months now and when I first got it I thought the same thing as everyone else on this thread and many others. But then I put sometime into learning the car and I found how to love it and drive it smoothly.

Here are some tips if you wish to try them.

1. let the car warm up when you get in. Wait till you here the revs drop and the oil and fluids kick in. Takes about a minute.

2. Drive a 1/4 mile or so down your street in first gear to get the fluid moving around and tranny warmed and ready to move.

3. Take first up to 4000-4500rpm before shifting into second every time. It's a high revving engine designed to be drifting or on the track at high revs.

4. Always shift every gear between 3500-4500rpms for a smoother shift.

5. Never down shift this car into first unless completely stopped, and never into second unless under 10-15mph while street driving. On track down shift when needed at higher revs to keep power up.

I know it sounds silly but this car is built like a racecar, and racecars do not drive like all your other street cars. Hopefully you get your car figured out and love it as much as I love mine, and no one buys a Camaro instead...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by PickledRage

I fought with this same issue for a while. I looked all over this forum for fixes and tips, and other sites as well. I kept seeing "check the warranty" and most of all "change to motul fluid", or "cold shifting is hard" but the one thing I found to work and I wish I could find the thread again to post here, it's all about learning how to drive the car. There is nothing wrong with the tranny. Fluid won't change anything much. And I know it will be hard for us "car guys" to swallow our pride and say we know how to drive, but seriously it's how you drive the car. I have had mine for a few months now and when I first got it I thought the same thing as everyone else on this thread and many others. But then I put sometime into learning the car and I found how to love it and drive it smoothly.

Here are some tips if you wish to try them.

1. let the car warm up when you get in. Wait till you here the revs drop and the oil and fluids kick in. Takes about a minute.

2. Drive a 1/4 mile or so down your street in first gear to get the fluid moving around and tranny warmed and ready to move.

3. Take first up to 4000-4500rpm before shifting into second every time. It's a high revving engine designed to be drifting or on the track at high revs.

4. Always shift every gear between 3500-4500rpms for a smoother shift.

5. Never down shift this car into first unless completely stopped, and never into second unless under 10-15mph while street driving. On track down shift when needed at higher revs to keep power up.

I know it sounds silly but this car is built like a racecar, and racecars do not drive like all your other street cars. Hopefully you get your car figured out and love it as much as I love mine, and no one buys a Camaro instead...

This is exactly what people need to do^^^^^
Do not take your driving tips from Vin Diesel. There is no need to hammer the shifter through the gears.
Loosen up your grip on that knob and guide it into place with your fingertips and base of your palm. I have never once felt mine was hard to shift under any conditions.

[ol_dirty_dmo]

Mine does that same exact thing. It's almost like its grinding into 2nd and notchy into third. I've read that these transmissions eat up the fluid and flake the metal off very easily. Ive been reading up on it and it said about every 20k to 25k miles you should get your gear oil changed and why not upgrade to better gear oil? I'm gonna do mine soon too. If y'all are super worried and it's still happening after a fluid flush, you have a 5 year/60k mile warranty. Tell them you think the solenoids are bad

[ol_dirty_dmo]

On a side note, for people who have switched the gear oil out, what weight did you use?? Thank you ahead of time!

[TheVoiceOfReason]

Originally Posted by ol_dirty_dmo

Mine does that same exact thing. It's almost like its grinding into 2nd and notchy into third. I've read that these transmissions eat up the fluid and flake the metal off very easily. Ive been reading up on it and it said about every 20k to 25k miles you should get your gear oil changed and why not upgrade to better gear oil? I'm gonna do mine soon too. If y'all are super worried and it's still happening after a fluid flush, you have a 5 year/60k mile warranty. Tell them you think the solenoids are bad

I've never heard anywhere that these transmissions "flake off metal." It's normal to have some metal on the magnet after break in.


There are no solenoids in an MT.