I posted this on pistonheads…maybe someone here can also help.
I am very happy with my new purchase but one thing does not feel correct.
The difficulties relate to the gearbox. Firstly it is difficult to get into 2nd gear when the gearbox oil is cold, it is however perfect when the oil is warm. So this does not bother me. Secondly, 1st can be a bit tricky to get into when stationary. I solve this by going into 1st just before i stop. Then when stopped i take it out of gear…wait for the lights to change and then snick it in, no bother. This is also no problem for me.
So with those minor things as background info, my problem is as follows. When going from 2nd to 3rd there is a slight crunch or buzz as the lever goes into third. I have also noticed it from 4th to 3rd and to a minor extent 4th to 5th. Its definately worse when cold, to the point of being an audible crunch when cold, when warm the crunch can only be felt not heard. When i change gear slow enough, so that the revs come down to 2,000 rpm it does not do it, but during a normal shift (not a fast one) its definately there.
Anyone had this, do they all do that? Could this be linkage adjustment? My dealer recommends a better oil as he claims the stickiness of the change is quite common and is improved with a better oil. My concern with this is i can imagine it would help the change quality when cold, and therefore improve my first and second gear(when cold). But the 3rd gear crunch seems to be something a bit more mechanical than something that can be solved with oil that is more slippy! The fact that it is revs related suggests syncromesh to me but its never difficult to get third so this suggests its not…i am guessing…
I would say that mine is about the same. Finding gears when cold can be quite tricky. It doesn’t really ‘crunch’ into 3rd, but then it doesn’t exactly slide smoothly into place. You can always distinctly feel the gears meshing. Doesn’t seem quite right, but it’s not quite bad enough for me to have asked the dealer to have a look at it.
I would say that mine is about the same. Finding gears when cold can be quite tricky. It doesn’t really ‘crunch’ into 3rd, but then it doesn’t exactly slide smoothly into place. You can always distinctly feel the gears meshing. Doesn’t seem quite right, but it’s not quite bad enough for me to have asked the dealer to have a look at it.
Interesting, a friend of mine picked up his car one week before me and is experiencing exactly the same problem. it was the first question he asked me when i called to say i had collected the car…
I’ve done 2500miles now. Just done the last 1200miles going to the nurburgring and back and thats deffo run the car in if you know what i mean Except my drivers electric window keeps getting stuck and wont come down but gearbox crunch its getting a lot lot better.
Mine’s a bit sticky trying to get 1st and 3rd but it’s in for it’s first service today so I asked them to take a look. Will let you know if anything interesting turns up.
Mine was very difficult going 3-to-2 and still seems a bit stiff at times - not really a crunch but seemingly impossible to find the gate when shifting down. Either I’ve adapted to it or, as I’m told, it’s loosening up a bit at the miles go on.
Though after driving it about abit, i am thinking about taking it back to the dealer the gearbox is starting to do my head in… generally when warm it the gearbox is fine up and down the gears; aprt from 3rd… going into 3rd from 2nd when under power is no go. i am now starting to look a little bit silly when the car slows as i am frantically trying to find 3rd, double de clutching, in and out again nothing… sometimes i find 5th, very smooth… NOT.
Any body been to a dealer about this yet, and what have there responses been like??
Hi guys, my car had the same difficulties when shifting. It is more than likely just a simple matter of cable adjustment… Or you can go nuts like I did and put in a sequential shifter. Now this sucker is sweet…
My 05 Exige with 18500 miles has started crunching from 3rd to 2nd over the last 2 weeks and is getting worse with every passing change down. Bad news as this is the most common change to make on a nip and tuck b road (which is probably why it is going).
Expensive repairs on the way?
Is the the box a Toyota item, or a Lotus design or what? I can’t believe a Japanese box would be so weak.
![http://www.smithathome.com/albums/random/09-06-06_2043.jpg[/image]](http://www.smithathome.com/albums/random/09-06-06_2043.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}