Probably some of the folks who don't get high mileage and have shifting complaints, also have engine mods and an aggressive driving style.

 

I have had several stick cars/trucks the xb is the best so far


auto trans are for P**sy'S

 

being the former owner of some cars that are noted for really bad tranny's, the xb has to rank right up there with am I in neutral or in gear slop. My 69 beetle with the original transmission has a smoother shifter than this thing does (maybe because it is totally worn out?), but it still feels better and is not as hard to get into gear. The only problem that I really have while changing gears is that sloppy pocket around each gear that can sometimes throw you off and make you feel like you have hit the gear and then you let off on the cluth and bam, there is the grind. Like most of the other people, I am not new to manual cars:
66 mustang
67 camaro
69 beetle
83 jeep cj7
88 Tacoma
93 sentra
04 mustang
So from what I am reading the next trick for my pony will be the TRD shifter and clutch.

 

After 1700 miles, I have not failed to complete a shift like that. But at first the easy shifting caused me to push the shifter into 5th instead of 3rd, and then I became disoriented. An odd feeling for a lifelong manual transmisison driver. I quickly learned not to hold the shifter and put it into the next gear. For both upshifting and downshifting, I let my fingers gently move the shifter in the appropriate direction, backwards or forwards, and it guides itself better then I can.

However, getting it into reverse does take a firm hold and careful sensing whether it went into gear or not, to avoid an incomplete shift and a grind.

 

not true. i shift gears hard but do not slam into gear. and i've actually never had that problem of the 1-2 shift that i hear about all the time.

 

We are saying the same thing in different words, Darren - you work within the limitations of the hardware and don't create a problem.

Those who force the shift (slam it, override the synchros, force them to match rotational speeds faster than they were designed to, etc.) are the ones damaging the synchros - and the ones ending up with problems. This isn't a race tranny.

Synchros are designed to primarily do two things: (1) Speed up or slow down the freely rotating mass of the gear cluster to match the rotational speed of the gear to be engaged, and (2) keep the gears from making contact until the speeds are matched.

Most synchros use friction between parts to match speeds - force them to do it too fast, too often, and that 'friction' turns into 'damage' from wear. Do it often enough and the synchros are worn out - no longer work as they should.

The harder one forces the shift > the more wear on the synchros > the shorter their life > the quicker it gets expensive.

(I replaced my first 1-2 synchro in 1966 in a 1964 MG - but that car was flogged pretty hard in rallys. I learned by doing that work that I didn't want to do it again, and gave the transsmission a little more time in that shift. My next two MGs had no problems with their synchros.)

 

I have no complaints after 10k miles. You guys do an aweful lot of complaining over an econobox.

 

I have to agree... Man, 15K car and you treat it like it has a ZF Tranny on a BMW...

Dont thrash the gearbox and all is well... Otherwise, pay the piper...

 

gearboxes are cheap as hell for these cars.... so if i were to ever blow one no big thang at all. in fact it'd be good I'd have the chance to add lsd and better synchro's probably carbon fiber.

eh screw it. motor swap first.

 

I miss third a lot. Not sure why, but like you said, I think I'm in it and I'm not. Sometimes I think my syncros were off from the day I took it off the lot.

And to the blind cultish people, I've always driven cheap econo cars, I've never changed my driving style and I've never had complaints until the xB.

 

I remember seeing some synchros, and they were like a female brass cone with fine internal teeth against which fitted a male brass cone with fine teeth. The cones were attached to gears. At each shift the cones were forced together, so one cone speeded the other up to match their gear speeds together.
http://members.***.net/elans4/gear_neutral.jpg

The cones are in oil, and the friction of the oil on all the teeth is what takes the force and transfers the motion from one cone to the other. Unless the shift is too fast. In that case, two things can happen:

1. Maybe the teeth bite through the oil film, in which case synchronization occurs but brass powder is made.
2. Or maybe the teeth slide some on the oil film, in which case complete synchronization does not occur and you feel the gears clash a little.

GL-5 gear oil is called hypoid, developed for the extreme pressure of gears and differentials, and is a little to slippery to be ideal for synchronizers. Its sulfurous extreme pressure additives also have a corrosive action on the copper in brass (making copper sulfate).

GL-4 gear oil does not have EP additives and is therefore better for synchros, but weaker for the gears. Synthetic gear oils need no EP additives, and so are also non-corrosive to synchros, while also being as strong as GL-5 for gears .

In addition, synthetic gear oils from Redline and Amsoil contain friction enhancers to make synchro cones grab each other better with no metal to metal contact. This results in faster, smoother shifts with no synchronizer wear.