I bought this car about 18 months ago with 106,000. It was pretty hard to get it to shift into first and second gears(meaning I really have to push hard to force it into gear). I drained the fluid and replaced with Amsoil ATF and within a mile all shifting had improved 100%. Now I'm at 142,000 and it is getting hard to shift into first and second. I drained and refilled with Amsoil ATF last week and there has been no improvement. Any ideas what is causing this? The clutch seems to still work great.
04 Saturn Ion hard to shift
- Thread starter Barkleymut
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Worn syncros ?
Clutch not fully releasing, bad syncros, worn out clutch.
GM sells a manual transmission fluid for these vehicles, and I'm fairly certain it's nothing more than Dexron III.
Me? I'd try regular old Dexron III ATF first, as it's cheap. If that didn't work I'd look to something like Redline D4. Or do some research and see if you can use an MTF instead of an ATF in this transmission.
Me? I'd try regular old Dexron III ATF first, as it's cheap. If that didn't work I'd look to something like Redline D4. Or do some research and see if you can use an MTF instead of an ATF in this transmission.
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Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Clutch not fully releasing, bad syncros, worn out clutch.
x2
Make sure your clutch master cylinder is full of fluid.
Clutch not fully releasing, bad syncros, worn out clutch.
x2
Make sure your clutch master cylinder is full of fluid.
It shares brake fluid, it is full. As for the fluid switch, Amsoil recommends ATF, not their MTF in this transmission. It has brand new fluid.
I'm kind of afraid of a more mechanical problem. How hard is the clutch replacement or fixing/replacing syncros? Or should I be asking how much it will cost?
I'm kind of afraid of a more mechanical problem. How hard is the clutch replacement or fixing/replacing syncros? Or should I be asking how much it will cost?
Have you tried bleeding the clutch hydraulics?
Nope. I have no idea how to do that. Gonna have to google it unless you want to walk me through it
First i would check all of the Hydraulics for leaks or contamination or as said before. are you sure you have the right gear oil in? when does the symptoms occur. Is it only First and Second if so worst case scenario the Syncros or the Baulk Rings or worn or toast. but lets eliminate the other diagnosis first.
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Well, it shifted great today???? Anyways on Wednesday it was tough to to get it in 1-4. I did a really quick check and didn't see any visible signs of leakage and the brake fluid resivor seemed to be where it always is.
and yes the correct gear oil is in it....at least according to the Amsoil website
Get under the hood and check the shift linkage's their should be two one that goes side to side check that for proper operation for neutral. now the should be a second cable thats for forward and back for changing gears. If their is any binding i would recommend replacing the shift linkage assembly or free it with some lube. the forward back motion of the cable is connected to the selector fork which could be bent worse case scenario. Is their grinding? Whirring Noise when CLUTCH FULLY DEPRESSED? (Throwout Bearing) is this the original clutch? I would lift up the boot in the console and look at the adjustments back and fourth play. just trying to eliminate everything. Im used to nissan's but i had VQ35 SWAPPED SENTRA SPEC V WITH TRANNY ISSUES. I used redline MT90
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If you start the car, and leave it in gear for a few minutes, it should not move much, however, if after a few minutes the car creeps forward, you have failing clutch hydraulics. I always replace master and slave cylinders at the same time when that happens.
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