phile

Every gear is notchy in my Z. If I want to race around and perform good solid shifts, I have to friggin kick it into each gate.
This is obviously a big exaggeration, but it's very notchy in every gear for me. More so when it's cold, but still even after it's hot. Shouldn't transmissions be kinda fluid and smooth shifting if at all possible? Would redline tranny fluid help (I known nothing about trannys)?

BTW, what's the best transmission around these days, and what are its characteristics?

bigern1970

Go drive a new M3... talk about notchy, it makes the Z feel like butter, I think the z shifts with the best of them< no need for a short shifter for your z car. only my opion

3rdpower

This is somewhat a tranny problem (has this issue too especially down shifting in cool mornings). I put the B&M on today and really like the way the gates feel so much more intact. I prefer a gated NOTCHY feel as long as precision is fairly easy. The thing about the gearbox is it is not very precise. I think the B&M may help you a bit but if you are getting grinding at all make sure to immediate get to your dealer

phile

See mine is so notchy that if I don't throw it into gear when I accelerate hard, I'll end up grinding it.

spitfirez

iTrader: (1)

Only the 2nd gear in my Z is notchy.

Masterfulks

If its really bothering you, then I think I would take a trip to my local dealership and see if you need to change it out....I've read plenty of posts from people who have had them changed...

My 2004 feels a little catchy going into 2nd gear, but I read thats a common feeling. After a few months if it grows I'll have it checked out.

orhanz33

my shifting feels notchy most of the time too... this is in every gear, it feels very 'rough' when i try sliding it in gear, kinda restrictive... it's loud too, sometimes i hear a loud metallic sound coming from outside the car when i shift... once in a while i get a good drive when it seems like the shiftknob just pulls itself into gear very smoothly, wish i had more of those... i switched to Mobil 1 synthetic at 11k miles, and now have 13,5xx

P.S. not to hijack the thread, but when does that 3rd gear grind usually surface? i met someone who has it, and they told me most people are getting it at around 15k miles... i hope i don't have any tranny problems in the future!

rodH

iTrader: (2)

I got my 3rd gear grind at about 5k, I don't think it is a matter of miles though. Got it replaced.

my new tranny has a slight notch feel going into 3rd, but not bad at all, not grinding at all either

phile

Durobred,

I get that loud metallic sound you're talking about too. Like metal banging against metal. Happens to me in 5th gear! WHen I brought it to Nissan last year they couldn't find anything...of course.

sausage5000

when going somewhat slow... if i don't give it just a little extra gas coming out of gear and then move the stick quickly, it's notchy as hell going into second. if i shift how it likes it.... it feels nice and precise. my situation seems totally normal, in my perception.

mwaller

I hear you... the transmission is the single most aggrivating thing about my Z. I had it replaced at 25K miles beacuase the roughness just wouldn't go away. New tranny is the same. If you want to try another gear oil, give Royal Purple MaxGear 75w90 a try. It worked better than Redline MT-90 in my car in terms of smoothing out the shifting feel.
Mika

s9am_me

iTrader: (1)

theres a metal plate, used for alignment purposes i think, near fifth gear which is what i think is causing the sound. if you look at pics of the short shifter install, you'll see what i mean. then again i could be wrong.

phile

thanks for the suggestion, i'll keep that in mind.

orhanz33

i get that metal 'clank' in every gear... it's usually loudest when i put it in second, or maybe that's only because the car is moving real slow when i shift to second and it would be easier to hear...

Psyc0

iTrader: (3)

The Z isn't bad at all compared to anything other than a japanese made car. All of the japanese cars have shifters that are far too smooth in my opinion. I like the transmission in my Z, it isn't anywhere near as notchy as the porsche i was driving before. Any German or european engineered car has that notchy feel. IMO thats how it should feel....

mwaller

BTW - I just had the Royal Purple installed in my tranny (the new one) yesterday. It is notieceably better. The notchiness isn't gone, but it's reduced in intensity. The frequency of 'perfect' shifts has also increased somewhat.
Mika

NOZ4U

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!


I'm glad I came across this thread! I was starting to believe that it was all in my head. My 2nd gear was notchy on my first tranny and then I had it replaced 2months ago......and it's still notchy. Not as bad, but it's there. I replaced the tranny fluid with Amsoil(synth) in the first one and it smoothed it out in the mornings. Once I got the 2nd tranny, I thought it would have been fixed......guess not. My 300ZX was the exact same way.
1st---->2nd was nothcy but every other gear(sometimes 5th) was clean. I read somewhere on here that someone installed a torque dampener and it helped keep the engine/tranny from moving at high RPM's creating smoother shifts http://www.performancenissanparts.co...oducts_id=446. Now that I know it's not just me, I can sleep better. I also had the lightweight flywheel put in and I was concerned that the clutch wasn't grabbing and stopping the flywheel quick enough to allow the syncros to match up.....

mwaller

No, it's not in your head. This is an all too common complaint. I think it's indicitive of serious design issue that Nissan has been working on correcting. Since releasing the car in lat 2002, there have been at least 4 design changes to the manual transmission... that tells me something isn't right.
Mika