Well I've searched and thought about it for a while and have come up with nnothing. When I last drove my 7, in october, i realized something will have to be done to fix my shifter/clutch problem.

When I drive normally... there's no problem but when I get on it from a cold start, i get through first and it catches and grinds going into second and has cost me a few races. I know I'm shifting fine but sometimes i have to let out on the clutch and put it back in before i can even shift the darn thing. Is this a shifter problem or a clutch problem and what are my options?

Also... Has this hapened with anybody else. My car is ~165k old but the engine is only about 55k. I'm not sure if the engine replacement came with a new clutch though.

 

try changing your tranny fluid. maybe bleed your clutch too.

 

try installing new driving habits and 2x on common sense................

 

yeah dude, why are you racing on a cold engine/transmission? thats when stuff breaks the fastest...

 

Mine does the same every once in a while and in my opinion it is the car not the driver. Hoping to change the tranny fluid before it comes out for the summer to see if that fixes it.

 

The fluid you want is Redline MT-90 synthetic. It helps to eliminate the worn 2nd gear synchro effect. Not cheap, at about $9/qt, but it does help.

 

Thanks so much for all your advice. The wisdom of a fellow 7head is always appreciated. I ill definitely try changing the fluid.

Also, when I said cold start I just meant from a stop, not a cold start. I let my car idle about ten minutes before and after I drive. If im racing, I drive fore about 20-30 at a normal pace to warm it up. But thanks all the same.

 

Well the only way to "fix" your syncro without taking apart your tranny, is to do the job of your syncro. Like how the old tymers had to shift before they invented syncros. You need to double clutch. When going from 1st to 2nd, you need to hesitate before jamming it into 2nd. You need to make sure your input shaft is going the same speed as your output shaft(tires). For me, I have a bone stock '86 N/A, if i redline in 1st, I press the clutch pedal (release clutch), put it in neutral, then i release the clutch pedal (engage clutch), so that the engine speed and input shaft speed are matched, then i press clutch pedal again and put into 2nd when the engine speed falls to around 5000-4000 rpm. You have to do the same thing when coming from 3rd to 2nd, except you need to get your engine speed up to your output shaft speed.

 

The syncro in the manual trannys tend to start doing what you described once they have reached the higher mileage bracket like yours is now in. When they get there the syncros tend to wear the worst between 1st and 2nd gear, double clutching the pedal twice helps keep the syncros from grinding during shifting. Your best options are to replace or rebuild the tranny to cure the problem of the the syncros grinding. I just spent about 25 minutes bouncing aroung many other RX7 websites looking to see if anyone sells the syncros and could not find any site that did. With that many on the tranny it has seen its better days, other than rebuilding the tranny is to find a good used tranny with lower miles on it. Going that route will cost you less money than having your tranny rebuilt, it also gives you a great opportunity to replace the clutch is near the end of it's life.
A3D-illusion

 

Wow, your username is lamer than mine

 

Thanks for the input. I'll try double clutching, as it is a skill that prolly should be learned anyways. I'll also look for a newer tranny in the meantime although I don't know if ill have the money. Mayble I'll go to the junkyard soon and seen if they have any cars with lower miles than mine. Maybe that would work. I'll also try the redline fluid too. Just to be safe.

And about the screenname. I saw your name a while back after I joined and felt a little bad cuz I though I was very creative. I guess not. Oh well. Good name though. I think they're fairly equal in coolness as only the spelling is really different.

Thanks to all.

 

Redline MT-90 synthetic. link please or website!

 

I have 3 bottles of it that I got sent on accident. I'll sell it to you for $36 including shipping in the US. or go to www.redlineoil.com and their is a dealer locator.

 

the only time the input shaft and output shaft would ever spin the same speed is when its in 4th gear or completely stopped with engine off. also.. output shaft spins the diff, which spins 4 times before the tires spin once......

 

All I gotta say is stick with your plan. Try double clutching, once you learn it you'll be glad you practiced it. I have gotten better with my foot work since I too had a problem like yours. Then try the redline tranny fluid, I have been meaning to do it, but I'm a broke college student. Then eventually go all out and get a rebuilt tranny, it may be more money than a used one, but I think it will last longer and you'll know it'll be in better condition rather than one from the junkyard.

 

anybody have a price for a rebuilt tranny? my syncros are starting to suck

 

Technically the input shaft needs to be matched up with the countershaft, (the shaft under the shaft with the gears on it) And the counter shaft is driven by the output shaft when coasting in neutral. I was just trying to get the point across that you can relate engine speed to tire speed, and match the gears up that way.

 

If you can't get redline, I found that pennzoil syncromesh quieted scratchy syncros on mine better than redline did, and you can get it at autozone for around $5 a quart. This is the stuff that GM dealers sell/use for around $11.