Serious problems? or just being a bit paranoid?

Hello I am new here. I have recently purchased a 95 Eagle Talon AWD TSi with a 1g engine and 140k miles. There were a few things I have noticed about the car that didn't seem quite normal. 1:: Shifting tends to be difficult at times, at a complete stop sometimes it is difficult to get it into first gear even with the clutch completely down (stage 2 clutch) sometimes i have to put it into second before it'll get into first, the first and third gears tend to be the stickiest. 2:: a fast-paced ticking noise under the hood, i didn't quite investigate where the noise was coming from but sometimes it seems to go away when i rev the engine, at other times it gets louder as i accelerate. 3:: when i put it into reverse it scratches/grinds unless I put it in first beforehand. 4:: at a complete stop in first gear the rpm gets really low as if the car is about to die but is fine when i give it gas. (tends to do that when im low on gas)
5:: while idle the rpm sits at around 600 or so but jumps around a bit near 1-2k then sits back at 600

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all this, my knowledge on cars is not so great, guess you have to start somewhere =\ Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't know whether im dealing with serious issues or im just being paranoid :eek:

*************************** Ahhhhh one more thing that i forgot to mention when I first posted. I have read that shifter movement while in gear is not a good thing? my car has a short shifter adapter and when it is in gear the stick can move left/right quite far while the gear is in place. Thank you to everyone who had left advice, greatly appreciated :) ***********************8********

With your shifting issues, it could be a number of things. When was the last time you had your transmission fluid changed? When was the last time the car saw a tune up? :) It could possibly be that the transmission oil is completely shot, or else your synchros are done for, which would explain the grinding among other things. The ticking is probably the lifter tick, more of an annoyance then anything else, but I've found that it'll save me some sanity to get them replaced. Finally, check if you have any boost leak. A friend of mine has a really shitty Talon, and it seems that you two share the same issues. He had a boost leak plus a crappy throttle body which resulted in horrid performance and an annoying idle. I would get a professional tune up if it hasn't been done lately, and then I would start having a look at that transmission of yours, especially the synchros.

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I agree with lifter tick for that one problem. If you find it really annoying, replace them with new, updated (3G) lifters. It's nothing wrong or bad, just an annoyance.

My tranny has a hard time going into first gear also. You have to get it just right and slider er in. Just like l-spec said, change the tranny fluid first. Use some BG Syncroshift and see if the problem goes away. If not, it's something a little more serious then like the syncros or even the throwout bearing.

[quote= 4:: at a complete stop in first gear the rpm gets really low as if the car is about to die but is fine when i give it gas. (tends to do that when im low on gas)
5:: while idle the rpm sits at around 600 or so but jumps around a bit near 1-2k then sits back at 600.

you might wanna check your head gasket. do you have any smoke (white) coming out of the muffler when idling?

[quote= 4:: at a complete stop in first gear the rpm gets really low as if the car is about to die but is fine when i give it gas. (tends to do that when im low on gas)
5:: while idle the rpm sits at around 600 or so but jumps around a bit near 1-2k then sits back at 600.

you might wanna check your head gasket. do you have any smoke (white) coming out of the muffler when idling?


Yes. i do see smoke while its idle..don't know what color. the car runs really rich also.

yeh, you shouldnt be running rich. you probally have white smoke, also does it overheat? i have this problem now, i need a new head gasket. they arent that expensive, head gasket is about 100 dollars and a couple hundred labor. im pretty sure its the head gasket.

[quote=smoke121212]


Yes. i do see smoke while its idle..don't know what color. the car runs really rich also.

Stock tune is very conservative (rich) as it stands, combine that with a boost leak or HG problem and your performance is completely shot and you'll get smoke.

My trans used to do the exact smae thing, it used to grind 1st and reverse almost everytime I put it in gear. I had exedy stage 2 clutch. I changed my clutch and disc to act 2600, changed my tranny fluid, machined my flywheel and readjusted the clutch pedal all at once and the problem dissapeared completely. So I don't know exactly which one did it BUT I do know its not your synchro's (at least it wasn't mine) so you can breath a slight sigh of relief.

*************************** Ahhhhh one more thing that i forgot to mention when I first posted. I have read that shifter movement while in gear is not a good thing? my car has a short shifter adapter and when it is in gear the stick can move left/right quite far while the gear is in place. Thank you to everyone who had left advice, greatly appreciated :smile: ***********************8********

Something probably just needs to be tightened up in the shifter base-area.