unlimited77

Hi i had a question about the manuel trnasmission on the scion tc...

This is my first manuel car and i had it for about 3 months now and i think i am pretty good with a manuel...but now i see that when i shift into 2nd i am experiencing some sort of gear notchiness...i want to call it almost like a geaer grind but i dont know exactly what gear grind would feel like cause i have not done it in my car yet.


So am i not pushing the clutch in all the way?
Or am i shifting to slow?
Or am i just needing to practice?

Cause it only does this sometimes and sometimes it doesn't have this effect...and

another problem is sometimes when i shift...my shifter doesn't want to go into gear...like something blocks it then i stick it into nuetral and shift back and its fine....

My thought it that i shifted right when the gear the fin thing hit the shifter fin thing and they held each other...i hope that made sense.


And my last question is...is this normal or should i take it to dealer...and what should i say...(cause i dont want some dumbass tech. driving my car...esp. a salesman that thinks he knows what he's talking about)

Please post serious answers and not comments about how you knew the tc transmission were ____ty o.k.


thanks

Rich_Manas

many of problems that new manual drivers experience is how to properly shift the car. driving a manual doesn't mean just being able to get out of 1st gear. there's techniques to how to hold the shifter to make it slide into the gear smoother. the seat position has a lot to do with the gears not being able to engage. many times i see people on test drives where their left leg is fully extended when pressing the clutch. you should always have a semi bend on your left knee, it should never be completely straight if the clutch is on the floor board.

Shifting: palm of your hand should be at the top of the shift ****. never ever hamfist the shifter. when shifting from 1st to 2nd think of it as on clock where your shifting from 12 to 6 straight down. many mis-shifts i see is when people pull the lever from 12 to 7. when you shift to 2nd to 3rd its 6 to 1, 3rd to 4th 12 to 6 again and 4th to 5th 6 to 1. if you look at that way you'll have a clearer understanding of the shift gates. ( 3rd to 4th shift should either be backhanded or palm on top of the shift **** shifting down to 4th. never ever hamfist 3rd to 4th cause that's where drivers mis-shift while redlining 3rd, they accidentally shift into 2nd and its too late.)

pic of a proper 3rd to 4th


pic of hamfister


Seat Position: another cause of gears not going in is how you sit in the car. when pressing the clutch all the way you should have a slight bend to your left knee. it should never ever be straight. both hands should be at 3 and 9 o'clock at the wheel and you should be able to turn the wheel 180 degrees without your back leaving the seat. all this lean back stuff is stupid regardless of transmission.

imjonk

not exactly how i think about shifting, but a very smart and safe way of shifting. i always laugh at people driving with that gangsta lean. i mean, give me a break. anyway,

i'm guessing that you just need to practice more of the technique. the problems you have could kind of be all those reasons..... so... try using the proper technique (if you don't already. you didn't really say. you just said you were new), and if it's a continuous thing then i'd probably recommend taking it to the dealer... or ask a friend who does know how to drive stick for sure to drive your car around a bit (i wouldn't let ANYONE else drive my car, but that's just me). good luck, hope you figure it out.

Rich_Manas

all i can say is a car shouldn't have any synrco problems after 3 months unless it was abused.

not all techs are dumb its a matter of finding the right one. they're like a doctors or dentists. there are techs who can't diagnose if a customer complains there's a weird noise coming from the car. we call them repair and replace techs, then there are the true techs who knows how to diagnose a problem with a car.

also, this is one saleman that actually knows what he's talking about. again, not all of us talk out of our a$$. you can take my seat time at solo2 events and streets of willow as my credentials. if you can drive a car for half an hour on the track where your constantly shifting without missing a gear. that driver will have the know how when it comes to shifting.

ScionLawyer

I have had many manual cars and consider myself seasoning in manual shifting. However, I sometimes have problems putting my tC into reverse. Double clutching appears to help. Practice makes perfect. Good luck.

blackpearlTC

jmo about the leaning the seat all the way back, i do it and it allows me to shift without my feet catching the panel. if i sit up close then my big foot catches. good info about hand positioning on the shifter. funny but i don't think i've ever hamfisted. always palm on top.

Ranthese

I think I know what sound you're talking about when you're shifting. I get it too sometimes. It's not a grind but it feels like the gears are rough. I was wondering what that was too or how I could fix it.

As for you not being able to put it into certain gears, it's just the car protecting it's tranny. It doesn't want you to mess it up by putting it at too high of a speed or too low of a speed to mess up the tranny. If you're aware of what you're doing, you could just push it in with no worries but if not, just let it genty slide into gear. When you shift to neutral, I think the gears have time to sync and that's why you're able to push it in when you do.

As for the method of holding the shifter, I don't use either of those methods. The hamfist I think is wrong in general. Wouldn't get a good grip. But the first method also seems uncomfortable. I hold it with my hand above the shifter with palm on the shifter like a fist if you were to punch somebody straight on.

Rich_Manas

the first method should only be used which i stated on a 3rd to 4th shift not on any other gears. this technique is primarily used to prevent mis-shifting the car accidentally into 2nd gear while 3rd gear is near or at redline.

it takes a bit of getting used to be but once you get used to it you never ever think about it. its a small price to pay for not mis-shifting a car.

3rd to 4th gear shift only



some people don't read what other people type. you can scroll up to the 1st reply to the topic to see what i said or if that's too much, i'll quote myself.