Hey everyone. I decided to let a friend drive my Z [I was in the car too], who had driven a '95 Honda Prelude 5-speed for a number of years. My assumption was that even though the Prelude drives a lot different than the Z, he would be able to adjust. I tried to tell him not to drive it like he would the prelude, especially b/c of the heavy flywheel and stiff clutch. Nevertheless, we took off and he kept slamming the gears as we went faster [not to mention I started smelling clutch within five minutes]. He slammed each gear twice or so before I started yelling at him, and now when I drive the Z, the synchro for 4th gear feels different. Before this guy drove the Z, 4th would click nicely into place if I shifted at about 3000rpm--no resistance at all. Now, it feels like the synchro is having to work hard to sync things up. It's like I feel several clicks as I engage 4th.

I guess my question is, although I know it's bad to slam gears, is it possible this guy ruined my 4th synchronizer? The car has 19K miles on it. The Z is my first stick and I've only had it for two months, so I'm still learning as it is, and I'm not sure whether or not ten minutes of driving like that would do any damage. I'm only just getting used to the hard motion of the shifter as is, so I suppose it's possible I'm imagining things.

Any advice you could give would be appreciated. 4th gear doesn't grind or anything, so I don't think the synchro is shot, it just seems to feel different.

Thanks for your input, and by the way, I told my friend the only thing he's allowed to touch on my car from now on is the dead pedal!

 

I would assume that 10 mins of hard driving would have little effect on your tranny but I could be wrong. Its probably nothing.

 

I think its just your mind messing with you. the Z tranny is not that fragile

 

You can bend a syncro at any time. That will make it shift a little stiff. Plus if the fluid overheats that will cause shifting problems too.

Also the linkage might be misadjusted now. My shifter linkage was misadjusted from the factory. The only way I found this out was when I installed an aftermarket shifter. It was noisy but, shifted fantastic. But, I just couldn't handle the noise. So, I put the stock shifter back in and adjusted. Funny thing was it shifting so much better I haven't even thought about trying the aftermarket shifter again.



I would:

1) Check Fluid to make sure it's not burn't or low.
2) Adjust the shifter just to make sure.
3) Check clutch adjustment.
3) Have the syncro(s) checked out by NISSAN if still under warantee. If not, take it to a reputable shop and have them look it over for you.

Just be glad it's not grinding.

Good luck !!!

 

Thanks for your help, all! I knew I could count on the experts. As it turns out, it was just my mind messing with me. The car shifts beautifully now--I was just so worried my friend had screwed something up, I was reading too much into the little things. I guess I just have to remember the Z is very "defninitve" in its shifting... you definitely know when you've engaged a gear.

Once again, thanks. Like I said before, I'm still a noob at all of this, so the search function will be my friend, but I'm sure you all will be hearing from me soon.

 

probably nothing major.....unless its been slammed for like 5k miles