Hi everyone, this is my first time posting in a forum so please bare with me.

I have a 2004 350z Touring with a manual transmission. I've had the car for about 7k miles (currently at 150k miles.) This is my first Z I've ever owned.

The car runs great except for one issue: shifting from a dead stop.

If the car is in movement, shifting is kinda clunky but it manages. Ideally, it could be smoother and I would prefer for it to be, but I can get around it. However, the main issue is while I'm at a dead stop. If I attempt to go into 1st gear, I will have to try at least 5-6 times. I've given gas while trying to put it into gear, I've attempted going into other gears then back into 1st. No matter what combination of things I do, it does not go in smoothly. However, once I get it into gear after awhile, it'll slide into any other gear very easily. Literally with no hesitation at all...ideally, it should be like that all the time though.

In short, I can not engage into any gear while I'm at a dead stop unless I mess with it for awhile, not JUST 1st gear.

Sometimes it takes awhile of messing with it before I can even get into gear, this has caused traffic issues with people stuck behind me while I'm trying to shove it into 1st gear.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

When was the gear oil changed last?

If more than 20k miles or "I don't know", swap gear oil with Redline MT85, the only acknowledged gear oil with friction modifiers in it to make sure it provides enough "stick" for the synchronizers to work properly.

 

I will give that a try, I was told it was changed 15k miles ago but I'll do it anyway. Thank you!

 

No, I don't think this is a gear oil problem, although changing it when you get a car is always a good idea, so you have a baseline.

Your issue sounds like the clutch isn't fully disengaging. Start by inspecting the hydraulics and the travel of the clutch release fork. That would be the most common problem.

 

That makes more sense to me, but I was hoping it would be something a little more simple. The clutch was replaced with a southbend stage 2 about 26-30k miles ago. I actually know the original owner and I knew there were no issues with the clutch up until now.

I'll start with the gear oil and go from there, thank you guys!

 

Unless the oil level is near-empty, that's not your problem, but while you're down there you'll be able to see the slave cylinder and see if it's leaking. Could also be a broken pivot pin or release fork, a hole in the hydraulic line, or some other mechanical/hydarulic issue. What's the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir?

 

I haven't had the chance to check the reservoir but I am still inspecting around.

 

UPDATE:
So I haven't had the chance to change the transmission fluid yet, but I adjusted a needle in the interior of the Z (right behind the clutch pedal) and so far my issue is starting to go away. I need to adjust it some more, but as of now, the car is driving MUCH smoother. It doesn't lock in gear or have AS bad as shifting.

 

It's almost certainly a problem with the clutch. Hopefully it's just a needed adjustment that corrects the problem.