Problem getting into 1st gear...

[Pinoyspd17]

sup guys...

i have a TRD SS installed, 6spd....when i installed it, i made sure that the 4 bolts were all tightly screwed...

heres the problem: sometimes when i try to shift into 1st from neutral at a dead stop, it wont slip into 1st...

what i bin doin is shifting into 3rd to "align the teeth"..then back to neutral, then try again to shift into 1st.....50% of the time it then goes into 1st easily....if it doesnt, i just do the 3rd-neutral-1st thing again until it goes......kinda frustrating when yor holding up traffic at a stoplight...

anyone know what could be wrong?..

thanx guys...

[tool462]

I don't know what your problem is, but if it's just that the teeth aren't aligned, this may help that. Let the clutch out (in neutral) and give it a little bit of gas. Then push the clutch back in and try shifting into gear. Or when you are coming to a stop just put it back in 1st right away, instead of sitting in neutral at the light.

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by tool462
when you are coming to a stop just put it back in 1st right away, instead of sitting in neutral at the light. Do not do that! That's called "riding the clutch". It will lead to a "sqeaky" clutch, caused by a damaged throwout (aka release) bearing. I'm sure it isn't good for the rest of the hydraulic clutch system, either.

[Pinoyspd17]

sup

what do you suggest, blue bomber?.....or anyone else have a suggestion?...id rather not hold the clutch down while sittin at a stop, but thanx tool....

anyone else?..

[DLMyth]

At a stop I usually shift to second then first gear before I start to move. This way you are not going straight into first right away and it wont give you any problems either. Or you could try to double clutch to fix the problem...

[TRD StreetRacing]

Originally posted by Blue Bomber
Do not do that! That's called "riding the clutch". It will lead to a "sqeaky" clutch, caused by a damaged throwout (aka release) bearing. I'm sure it isn't good for the rest of the hydraulic clutch system, either.

wow...i didn't know that......it helps to be on this site:D ...thanx blue bomber

oh yeah by the way hows ur car?

-Mike J.

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by TRD StreetRacing


wow...i didn't know that......it helps to be on this site:D ...thanx blue bomber

oh yeah by the way hows ur car?

-Mike J. It doesn't look that bad as long as you look at it from the right angle. ;) I'm gonna take it to a few shops to get quotes for my insurance company. I really wish I could get under my hood so I could see if there was any internal damage. Just noticed today the temp control knob is kinda tight only when turning clockwise. My alignment is off, too. :( I had to bend back some of the quarter panel and cut part of the wheel well plastic this morning because they were scraping against the tire. :eek:

[tool462]

Originally posted by Blue Bomber
Do not do that! That's called "riding the clutch". It will lead to a "sqeaky" clutch, caused by a damaged throwout (aka release) bearing. I'm sure it isn't good for the rest of the hydraulic clutch system, either.

Interesting. Never heard that before. I always heard of "riding the clutch" as resting your foot on the clutch during normal driving so that it is never fully engaged. Oh well. Just gets me one step closer to breaking my clutch, so I have an excuse to get the TRD one. All the same, I think I'll change that bad habit. I can't imagine it's TOO bad though, since I've been doing that for about 30,000 miles on the celica and even longer on my previous vehicles.

It could be worse though. When I had my old Nissan pickup truck, I used to hold it in place on hills with just the clutch partway out and the gas going :D.

[ishido]

Originally posted by Blue Bomber
Do not do that! That's called "riding the clutch". It will lead to a "sqeaky" clutch, caused by a damaged throwout (aka release) bearing. I'm sure it isn't good for the rest of the hydraulic clutch system, either.

I agree w/ the other post. Riding the clutch is when your foot is on the clutch and you never let the clutch out or are letting the clutch ride in the friction zone far too often.

I don't understand how sitting at a stop light, with the gear in 1st will damage the throwout bearing.

So if this is what you'd consider "riding the clutch" then I don't see how it would be bad for the hydraulic system. The hydraulic system isn't doing anything extraordinary other than engage or disengage. Brakes are on a hydraulic system and they do just fine if you hold down the brake pedal. I also don't see where the "squeaky" clutch would come from.

I've always put the car in 1st at a stop, and usually hold the clutch COMPLETELY in (not letting the clutch in and out while waiting). I've never had any problems w/ this.


PinoySpd17: Do you have this problem when you first ride it around (10 min) or does it go away after things have warmed up? If your engine is cold and running at higher idle (2K), it may be a little tougher to go into 1st. It takes about 5 minutes (in the morning) before my 1st gear goes in smooth consistently. I usually slap the shifter back and forth a lil to toss up some of the tranny oil before starting everything. Just something I do... prolly just to make me feel better:rolleyes:

Funny thing is... the 6spd is the easiest car to put into Reverse compared to 5 speeds. ****, I'd sit there and go through all the damn gears just to get it in reverse in my Honda and Mazda. It took 3-20 seconds to get the damn thing in reverse.

[Blue Bomber]

That's what everyone says the main cause of the throwout bearing failure was (keeping the clutch disengaged for a prolonged period of time), and there have been many people with this problem.

[ishido]

This explains why it's hard to go into first sometimes from a dead stop:

http://www.waycoolinc.com/z3/essentials/fixit/heeltoe/shifting.htm

I did a search on "manual shifting"... this also answered why reverse can be a pain sometimes

[Pinoyspd17]

thanx for the advice guys..


this "not being able to go into 1st at a stoplight thing" happens randomly...the car is all warmed up and everything.....

its like it just gets locked out of 1st gear...it just wont go into the gate or something...

ive read that stuff in the link already...but i was just preferring not to hold the clutch disengaged the whole time im sitting at a stoplight (unless there really Is NO harm doing that)...

?

[mystery]

Pinoyspd17: If you can't get it in, double clutch (press the clutch in twice, then put it in gear) Anytime i haven't been able to put it into first this always solved the problem.

Blue Bomber: they are right Everyone i have talked to said "Riding the clutch" is when people rest their foot on the clutch rather than the floor or the dummy pedal.

It isn't enough to cause a lot of slippage, but even a little bit of contact can make the clutch slip (especialy if there isn't a lot of freeplay), and over time that can cause premature wear of the clutch.

Riding the clutch wold cause premature wear of the throwout bearing btw, because the clutch is always engaged - even if just a little.

[TaeMachine]

just get it checked out by the dealer.

i only 'align the teeth' going into reverse cuz that gear doesnt have synchros. if u have to do that for 1st, then it might be the synchros for that gear.