synchros

[Matty]

Anyone got advice on fixing crunchy shifts? I'm pretty sure the 2nd gear synchros are shagged out, seems to show up more when the car is warm. Hope it doesn't need a gearbox rebuild but it kinda feels that way.

A change of oil is on the cards soon (already have some Syntrax on hand) as a first step.

[Garry]

New oil helped my gearbox heaps

[manga_blue]

Hate to say it Matty but I just ditched the Syntrax in my gearbox - it was rubbish. Synchros didn't work and shifts baulked badly. I was missing 1 or 2 shifts per lap. Swapped to Redline MTL - immediate huge improvement in feel, speed and no more missed shifts.

[Okibi]

yeah try some MTL / MT90, bleed the clutch and check the slave isn't on the way out.

[Matty]

bled the clutch recently. That's not the problem, it's only on 2nd gear (up or down when shifting aggressively).

Where to get Redline?

[fattima]

I have found this guy the cheapest. You can pick up from his home after hours in Heidelberg as well.
http://www.performancelub.com/

[JBT]

....it's only on 2nd gear (up or down when shifting aggressively).

Stuffed sychros.

[Spranga]

There was a recent thread about this.

You mean the one about DDC???

[SPy vs. SPy]

the following applies to an NB, maybe others.

Wander out to car, lift bonnet, inspect where clutch line runs.

how many heat cycles has that line done?

replace fluid, imagine there was a better solution ;)

[Benny]

Just learn to double de-clutch and all your problems will be sorted.

Old Holdens used to kill their 2nd gear synchros as a matter of course, and I managed to get used to it.

Hell, I learned to drive a manual on a car with NO synchros at all, and I managed, so you should't have any problems there Matty.

When going from 1st to 2nd, just wait for half a second in neutral before pushing the lever into 2nd. No real need to lift the clutch pedal for upshifts, just get the timing right.

When changing from 3rd to 2nd, clutch in, shift to neutral and rev engine to the revs it would be doing at that speed in 2nd gear, push in clutch again and push lever into 2nd.

If you get the revs and timing right, the shifter will go in very easily with no crunching.
I think you already know what happens if you don't get it right, but don't be fazed by double de-clutching.
It's great fun and easy to learn, and once you've mastered it, you'll be doing it all the time! It's that easy.

Even if you have good synchros, correct double de-clutching will save your synchros for when you really need them and will extend their life enormously.

Mrs Benny loves it when I DD-C, especially when combined with heel and toeing. She reckons it sounds hot to hear the engine rev inbetween downchanges.
Being able to master DD-Cing, shows you really know how to drive a car too and it's very rewarding when you do it right, and the shift just slides into the right gear with far less effort than pushing against the synchros.
DD-C'ing correctly will also help you if you have to change gears without using the clutch - as the basis behind both is the same - matching the revs of both the input and oputput shafts of the gearbox.
Learing to DD-C will also smooth out your downshifts, espeically when going uphill and having to change down a gear.
Without DD-C, the shift will always be jerky, but with DD-C, your passenger will hardly even notice that you shifted down.

Some years ago, I managed to drive across the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, in bad peak hour traffic with a broken clutch cable in my SLR5000 (it snapped about 100M from the toll booths on the northern side of the bridge).
If I couldn't DD-C, I'd still be there!

[Okibi]

Bugger that, just fix it and keep drivin' like you stole it

[SPy vs. SPy]

the following applies to an NB, maybe others.

Wander out to car, lift bonnet, inspect where clutch line runs.

how many heat cycles has that line done?

replace fluid, imagine there was a better solution ;)

After discussions with another 6SPd owner (yes intentional grammar) we had some new clutch lines made up to bypass where they normally run.

I have only done 3kms since it was installed and even before I got it out of the garage I could feel the difference in the pressure under the left foot.

I will get some decent km's tomorrow, that would be Sunday in case the self proclaimed bench racers are watching, and report back on the bigger finding, I may even include a pic or two. CAVEAT: The mod we have done is not OEM, so will not have a part number . . .

[Mr Morlock]

Benny I know what you are on about but seriously it really is a pain to be ddc esp in todays traffic snarls. Modern cars are not meant to be like that but if you do not have the money to fix it well thats another story. PS I have some probs in heel and toe in my 5 not sure if it failing technique ( happens to all of us) or difference in pedal height.

[Benny]

Benny I know what you are on about but seriously it really is a pain to be ddc esp in todays traffic snarls. Modern cars are not meant to be like that but if you do not have the money to fix it well thats another story. PS I have some probs in heel and toe in my 5 not sure if it failing technique ( happens to all of us) or difference in pedal height.

You're obviously not comfortable with heel and toeing, and you just need some more practice.
I DDC virtually every downchange, and I just love doing it!