5spd AWD trans about dead?

[hardcorandy]

I thought I had clutch issues since i bought the car. Well now EVERYTHING clutch related is brand new and adjusted properly.

I have a hard time getting into every gear. 3rd and 5th are the worst while at a stand still. Its a chore to get into first while stopped without grinding. I have to rev match every gear pretty much. If im out on the highway cruising lets say 2500rpm, I can press the clutch down and it will stay at 2500 for a few seconds then drop to idle. It does this at any rpm and in any gear most of the time. I get a noise on decel, but im not positive it's coming from trans.

I have taken my car to the track with this problem once. Ran a few times and shifted like a dream the rest of the night. Next day I had the same problem all over again.

Today I changed the gear oil that was only 1k old. It looked and smelled terrible. Ive never seen gear oil burnt so bad in my life. There was no metal present. I haven't really beaten on it in that 1k either.

Could something be seizing up in the trans? If so what could it be? ideas?

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

what kind of gear oil?

only use redline mt90

 

[Boostinsideways]

If your gear oil is that bad, it could be a sign that your syncros are shot.

To test your sychros, put the car in neutral, and park it on a flat/level area where it wont roll fowards/backwards. Now crank the car. Then easily try and push the stick shift into each gear, if you notice a slight dip as it starts to engage a gear the syncros are good, if there is no dip then you have bad syncros.

 

[gusu]

Adjust your 1st 3rd 5th linkage cable and report back. If it's not having a issue with 2nd, 4th, and reverse the odds are your cable is either stretched or not adjusted properly.

There are two cables. One loosens going to the left and one loosens going to the right so be VERY CAREFUL to not strip the bolt.

There is a write up on how to do it on VFAQ. The reason I say it is likely a linkage issue is because one cable is for 1st 3rd and 5th (basically the gears that engage when pushing up in the H) and one for 2nd 4th and reverse (Basically all the gears when pushing down in the H).


I forgot to ask but how old is your tranny? If it was rebuilt recently the syncrhos will leave shit in the oil and need to be changed after the first 500 miles then again (most likely) after the first 2500. After that it should go back to normal. Even if this isn't relevant to you it's great information for anyone that didn't know.