Hard To Get Into First Gear

[bank2me]

So the past couple of days my car has been somewhat hard to get into first. I mean I can still put it in but I kind of have to push it a little harder than the other gears. It seems like when rolling up to a stop light it is easy to put into first but at a dead stop it doesnt like to go into 1st. Any ideas?

[2drSE-i]

Has it been cold? My girlfriends car does the same thing with 2nd gear.

[Lil Mike]

yea you live pretty close to me, we have had some cold cold weather, does it get easier the longer you drive? it could be thick oil due to the cold.

[Hauntd ca3]

when your at a stop, slip it into neutral and pump the clutch a few times then try it.
my mums civ does the same thing and that seems to help

[cubert]

Has it been cold? My girlfriends car does the same thing with 2nd gear.


yea you live pretty close to me, we have had some cold cold weather, does it get easier the longer you drive? it could be thick oil due to the cold.


x3



Depending on what oil is in the trans and the temp, it will make a difference. I had some awful heavy oil in my 3g, and when it was cold out it was sometimes almost impossible to get into first gear...

[LX-incredible]

when your at a stop, slip it into neutral and pump the clutch a few times then try it.
my mums civ does the same thing and that seems to help

That might help with a hydraulic clutch...

Could be a clutch adjustment issue or worn teeth on the hub and first. Are you able to shift into the other gears with ease when stopped?

[bank2me]

Thanks guys. It goes through the other gears just fine. And if I am rolling and try to put it into first it goes in easily. Otherwise if I am at a dead stop sometimes it will go in easily but the past few times were just like wtf it doesnt go in very easily. It has been cold here around 0* F so pretty fuckin cold but it doesnt really go in any easier when the car is warm. So Idk guys.

[Hauntd ca3]

That might help with a hydraulic clutch...

?

it might just have been my tranny but it seemed to help with mine when it was difficult to get into first.

[2oodoor]

sounds like some clutch cable adjusting is in order, or if you have hydro check the slave cyl resevior and just bleed some fresh fluid thru it.
That would be because the mal adjustment does not allow for full clutch release, as if you were not pushing the pedal all the way in.
Cold weather and moisture in the parts would do it too.

[bank2me]

Yea I just dont get y it only has trouble going into first? And y does it go in easily when Im rolling and not when I'm at a stop?

[Nafs Asdf]

No idea what it is, but I've got the same problem doesn't matter if it's cold or warm.
I've learned to live with it tho, sometimes it helps to put into another gear first and then into first, or just get the car rolling a bit in second and then put it in first.

[bank2me]

Usually I just keep it in neutral at a stop light and put it in gear when it turns green. Idk what it is.

[russiankid]

First gear is semi-sychronized. Put it into 2nd then into first, and most likely it will go into 1st much easier.

[bank2me]

Ya russian kid I put it in 2nd then 1st seems like it helps so I'll just do that but I just wonder why the hell it is doing this though.

[2oodoor]

You can drive sychro trannys without even using the clutch except for first and reverse. Dont go trying it all the time but just to prove me, run out first to about 3200, and start pullin it out of first to second, dont force it but when the engine gets to around 2000 it will slide right in with no clutching. LIke I say do not do this , but it does work.
That is why it goes into first as long as you are rolling. And yes absolutley always get in the neutral gate and down then up. I just got into a habit of doing that from driving mopar and gm four speeds that tend to get hung up if you dont touch on the neutral gate and get the lever lined up for the lower gear of the two on that lever. So to say, shifting from third,fourth or egads.. fifth... directly to first would shatter my nerves, It would be real easy to break something if it was not ready to go in that low of a gear, anything from the shiftter itself shifter rod hardware, transmission housing, or gear set & sychro..is pretty vulnerable under that treatment.

[Dr_Snooz]

sounds like some clutch cable adjusting is in order, or if you have hydro check the slave cyl resevior and just bleed some fresh fluid thru it.
That would be because the mal adjustment does not allow for full clutch release, as if you were not pushing the pedal all the way in.
Cold weather and moisture in the parts would do it too.

I agree with Roo. Check your clutch adjustment.

[bank2me]

You can drive sychro trannys without even using the clutch except for first and reverse. Dont go trying it all the time but just to prove me, run out first to about 3200, and start pullin it out of first to second, dont force it but when the engine gets to around 2000 it will slide right in with no clutching. LIke I say do not do this , but it does work.
That is why it goes into first as long as you are rolling. And yes absolutley always get in the neutral gate and down then up. I just got into a habit of doing that from driving mopar and gm four speeds that tend to get hung up if you dont touch on the neutral gate and get the lever lined up for the lower gear of the two on that lever. So to say, shifting from third,fourth or egads.. fifth... directly to first would shatter my nerves, It would be real easy to break something if it was not ready to go in that low of a gear, anything from the shiftter itself shifter rod hardware, transmission housing, or gear set & sychro..is pretty vulnerable under that treatment.

Sorry man I'm more of a visual learner, I just dont get what you said.

[MessyHonda]

after i got my tranny rebuilt the guy said my syncros would ne stiff....6k later they are still the same...i adjusted the clutch cable and it helped

[cygnus x-1]

Hey Bank', having a good time in the cold? :lol: I'm right off Lake Michigan just south of the IL state line. It's been damn cold here, bust you must be really freezing your ass off in Portage.

My Prelude does what you're describing occasionally in 1st and reverse. As long as it doesn't happen all the time I wouldn't worry about it too much. Sometimes the gears line up just right so that they don't want to mesh together. One thing you can do is a quick shift to 2nd and then back to 1st. That will move the gears enough so that 1st should line up right. When this happens to me with reverse I just go to 4th and then back to reverse. The other thing you can do is to put light pressure on the shifter and ease in the clutch to get the shifter to drop in. Just be careful not to drop the clutch or rev too much and grind the gears.

If the oil in your gearbox hasn't been changed in awhile it might help to change it. I like Honda MTF, but GM Synchromesh and even 10W-30 motor oil are ok.

C|

[bank2me]

Thanks cygnus yea it has been fucking cold here lately man I fuckin hate workin on the car in this weather which is why I try to get everything done in the summer. Yea I have been just shifting from 2nd to 1st seems good then.

[2oodoor]

Sorry man I'm more of a visual learner, I just dont get what you said.

sorry

anyway the way it was wrote was intended to be "visual" , meh
just plug the text into talk thru your speakers, close your eyes and pretend you are sitting in the drivers seat, make car noises.

good thing I didnt try to explain how to adjust the clutch cable, I am a better visual teacher.

maybe you found that in your search in this thread http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67389

[bank2me]

sorry

anyway the way it was wrote was intended to be "visual" , meh
just plug the text into talk thru your speakers, close your eyes and pretend you are sitting in the drivers seat, make car noises.

good thing I didnt try to explain how to adjust the clutch cable, I am a better visual teacher.

maybe you found that in your search in this thread http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67389

Ok then :bong: