I know that the Z transmission isn't the smoothest. I get noises, etc. and I'm at 1500 miles which seems to be just how these trannies are. But from 1st to 2nd, when fully warmed up, it seems that it doesn't want to go in(?) easily unlike 2nd to 3rd and so on. As if there's some resistance in the gear and it has to get into "position" before it'll go in smoothly.

Anyone else get this? Just wondering if its only me. Thanks.

 

If you give it a lot more gas as you shift from 1-2 is it still tough? If I'm babying it too much, it can be more difficult to get into 2nd. But eventually you get the feel for it.

 

Or it ia a bad syncronizer, take it to the dealer . It might need new trans.

 

Shifting smooth from 1st to 2nd is a less than perfect art in the Z.

 

I have had this problem from day one and now have 14k miles on my car. Its been in to the dealer 3 times for the same problem but they keep telling me its normal.... The thing that bugs me thou is that sometimes at high RPMs I get a full on grind when shifting from 1st to 2nd but never can I reproduce it when on a test drive with a tech. I think I will try another dealer next time and see what they say.

 

I get the grind with high revs going from 1st to 2nd as well. I have found it needs an extra second before I shift to 2nd. It is a problem for many Z owners. There is a thread about the grind and trouble going from 1st to 2nd on another board.

 

My tranny was like that and a bit worst when it was new (from about 300-4k miles). The first thing I noticed was the fly wheel/gears poping back when I press the clutch going from 1st to 2nd -- it made a clunk cluck noise, and it would be hard to get the shifter out of 1st. Sometimes it did that, sometimes it didn't. But when it made that noise, it would be rough going into 2nd, if I forced it in.

Now at almost 11k, I can say that it's butter smooth, although it's still rough when cold. I think what might have made the tranny a lot smoother now, besides letting thing wear in naturally, is shifting slowly from 1st to 2nd when the tranny is cold and driving in-gear (1st & 2nd) for about 10 seconds each every morning to help things warm-up faster. I also noticed that the tranny got smoother when I did my *spirited* driving around my naighborhood at night and in twisty roads when my car had 5k miles. I don't floor it when I drive like this, but I just keep it in 2nd/3rd gear a lot.

Also, when driving normally, the 1st-2nd shift is a lot smoother if I shift at a higher rpm (3k for ex.) -- I guess the synchros are designed to work better at higher rpm, which is where sports cars see more often.

 

Mine shifted rough for the first few K. Now it's smooth.

 

you could always double clutch it, makes it easyier for the clutch

 

First, it is possible to beat a synchro. The synchro just tries to bring the gears to the same speed so that they mesh without grinding.

Second, it is my impression that the gear speed differential is the greatest going from first to second and this is most obvious when the gearbox is cold so you notice the delay more going from first to second. On the other hand, I have no problem shifting at max rpm from one to two. Once you grind the gears a few times, things may be messed up.

I learned to shift with a Dodge Powerwagon Truck with a flathead six which had lost any synchros it ever had so I learned to double clutch and speed match. (I could see the road through the floorboard too.) So it can be done, but synchros are a lot easier. I pretty much try to drive as if the car had no synchros, so I actually get upset if I downshift and don't speed match perfectly. In other words when I blip the throttle downshift and let out the clutch there should be no drag or sudden increase in engine speed as the clutch goes out.

Just be glad you don't have a two speed rear end to split shift with.

 

I had the same problem with mine. I have 1,400 miles now and it has gotten a lil smoother. I do on the other hand hear a noise from 1st to 2nd. Not a grinding sound but a clank, I'm prolly just beign paraniod though.

 

our 2nd gear is a POS.. well mine is anyway.. from 1-2, or from 3-2 downshift it has to be yanked in with force, and sometimes gets a small scratch/grind

I think I've missed 2nd gear in my Z about 5 times, and thats more than all my other cars combined!!!!!!

 

I have found this as well. Example: While at the drag strip I have missed 2nd several times, i have found if you make sure the clutch is all the way to the floor before attempting to shift and forcing it a little bit, I get no grind.

 

I changed to a short shifter, and noticed that when the bolt at the other end of the lever is too tight, it's really hard to shift. There's another discussion on this board that says to make sure it's torqued only to 5 lbs.

 

+1 on problem. No grind or anything, just hard to shift from 1 -> 2 at slow RPMs. I have a late model 04. 04/04 build.

 

I had 2 new transmission put in in the past month after I took it in to the dealer for hard to shift from 1 to 2 gear. When they replaced the 2nd transmission they broke my RPM and hard to shift into every gear and could not pop out or reverse. So then they go me another transmission and it still does the same thing so im trying to clame my Z as a lemon. All i can say is that Z transmission are POS. But I still love the dam car.

 

whenever i shift from 1-2 it sounds like my tranny feels like the tranny fell out of the car. i dont know if theres a broken tranny mount or if its normal but that tranny has to be moving a lot. going slow from 1-2 or pushing in the clutch at a slow speed in 1st gear like through a parking lot.

 

keep going to different dealers until you find a competent one. I had the exact same problem and i had to go several dealers till i found one that would work with me. Too bad its on the other side of houston though.

 

When I first got the car I would grind from 1st to 2nd a few times but it doesnt do it anymore, either I learned or the car fixed it self which I doubt. I think most of it is learning how to drive it for the most part and a few of you got stuck with some bad trannys

 

I'm on my 2nd tranny.

I did not have this problem with my first. It shifted much smoother.

My second tranny is a piece of ****. Shifting into second is a fuc'n two-step process.

Of course when your racing or power-shifting, this problem makes you look like an idiot. I can't see how it would not affect 0 - 60 and 1/4 mile times.

Has anyone tried a different oil? Is there no solution short of replacement?

I really do not think this is a synchro problem. I suspect the Nissan engineers fuc'd us on this.

Oh yeh, lately shifting into reverse has become more of a pain too.