Can't shift down from 3rd to 2nd ?

[IAN442]

Weird just started

can't shift down from 3rd to 2nd...but slide to 1st then up to 2nd and its okay...

never touched the tranny in 150,000 miles have to say just took care of the engine....

[geozukigti]

2nd gear synchronizer is toast. Try re-filling te trans with some GM Synchromesh oil. That MIGHT help a little. But with that many miles, I'd say it's toast. Sooner or later it will completely lose 2nd gear

[IAN442]

Geo - i knew that was the case i just wanted your enwisened opinion...

how hard is a tranny swap ?

[Metro Mighty Mouse]

Originally Posted by IAN442

Geo - i knew that was the case i just wanted your enwisened opinion...

how hard is a tranny swap ?

It's pretty straight forward if you have the tools and the skills. I just swapped mine with one from the junk yard (didn't have time to wait for a JDM unit). It took 2 or three weekends but the car was at a completely different location from where I am living, we were in the process of moving, and it was outside over a small patch of cement under a carport, so a lot of additional challenges i had to get through. on the good side you may be able to drive for quite a while like it is. When I bought the car 2nd and 1st were balky and after a year or so I couldn't even get into 2nd going up or down. I ended up skipping 2nd for 2 or 3 months then accidentally put it into 2nd one day and it went in. After that it took some jamming but it would go in (downshift problem only, upshift was fine). Also I could only get into 1st gear when the car was stopped (or by double clutching). It worked like this for a couple of years until I swapped in a JDM motor, it then developed a whine that got progressively worse and turned into a grind. Ended up getting an additional 2 or 3 months out of it. All told I think I got 5 to 6 years total out of a balky transmission and 4 or 5 after 2nd was very bad. I would recommend getting a JDM tranny now and waiting for a convenient time to replace it. Also I would recommend avoiding a Sachs clutch kit when you do the swap, mine slipped way to easily. Exedy sells the same type as was put on at the factory and I bought a clutch kit recommended on the teamswift site, PHC Valeo clutch in Fenco kits, off of E-Bay for less than 100.00 and am very happy with it.

Good Luck!!

[geozukigti]

For someone who's never done a clutch/trans before, it's gonna take you a while. I'd say 5-10 hours for an amateur mechanic. The rear motor mount will give you more trouble than anything else. The speedo cable is quite a pain to get back in too. Buy a repair manual. It'll be your best friend. And the exedy clutch is an excellent clutch. Especially for the price.

[smeghead1126]

I have the same problem in my 98. Apparently that seems to be a common prob with the 5-speeds. Ive got a friend with a 95 and hes gone through 3 trannys in 193K. My only advice is try not to lean on the shifter.

[unbe]

[quote=Metro Mighty Mouse]It's pretty straight forward if you have the tools and the skills. I just swapped mine with one from the junk yard (didn't have time to wait for a JDM unit).
What is JDM ?

[IAN442]

i've done this before...on a toyota...i got the alignment tool but im gonna get a slide hammer and maybe do the clutch while im pulling the transmission....


For the immediate future im going for the grease swap geo suggested, its $800 for a rebuilt tranny and this car isn't worth that kind of money...

im gonna get something else in the next year or so anyhow...but i have to say its not gonna be another metro...i would like something a teeny bit larger being im 6 foot 3 and well its a tight squeeze... only the old style body metros had that extra room.

[Metro Mighty Mouse]

[quote=unbe]

Originally Posted by Metro Mighty Mouse

It's pretty straight forward if you have the tools and the skills. I just swapped mine with one from the junk yard (didn't have time to wait for a JDM unit).
What is JDM ?

JDM -- Japanese Domestic Market

The laws there are significantly different, they are required to rebuild or replace their motors approximately every 50,000 miles. Because of this there are a lot of low mileage motors and transmissions that are shipped to us here in the states and sold fairly cheaply. You can get a motor for less than $500.00 shipped and a transmission for around $300.00 shipped. This is much better than paying for a rebuilt motor and the motor I got was so clean inside after driving for a couple of weeks the oil was still amber, not black. They are all over ebay and also should be listed in your local phone book, look for japanese engines in the listing. When I checked my local listings they were priced way to high so I did a search online and found a place in new york with a good price and could have gotten a transmission at the same time for real cheap and combined shipping but I didn't have the extra money. This is the ONLY way to go when your motor dies.

[Metro Mighty Mouse]

Originally Posted by IAN442

i've done this before...on a toyota...i got the alignment tool but im gonna get a slide hammer and maybe do the clutch while im pulling the transmission....


For the immediate future im going for the grease swap geo suggested, its $800 for a rebuilt tranny and this car isn't worth that kind of money...

What do you need the slide hammer for? No reason to spend $800.00 for a tranny JDM trannys are around $500.00 cheaper just look for them on ebay.

[geozukigti]

check your local parts yards too. www.car-part.com . I picked up a 12k mile convertible tranny for $75.

[IAN442]

Okay i got the oil....is SYNTHETIC 75W90 workable or do i still need that syncromesh oil ?

[kcg795]

It was kinda hard to downshift to certain gears at certain speeds on my friend's old Geo Metro. Double clutching helped though.

[IAN442]

GEO ? is this the best oil to use in my situation ?

[IAN442]

Seems fine with that new oil shifting problem didn't change so i obviously chewed that gear up purty bad.