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1st to 2nd gear

Alpine

New member
does any one find that first to second gear can be a bit tricky? I find that I have to get out of 1st as soon as it is rolling, keep the stick firmly to the left and put it into 2nd gear slowly, otherwise it can be difficult to get in cleanly.

I once heard that this wasn't unusal, because the gearbox is in the rear and 1st to 2nd has a long linkage.

does anyone else find this ?
 
My 1st to 2nd is obstinate when the box is cold. Not really noticable in summer, but it certainly is in the colder weather. Slots cleanly if not hurried, but a double-de-clutch with a throttle blip definately helps it.

Once the box is warm, I don't notice any real difference from the other shifts.
 
When it's cold and going uphill under load, my 1st can sometimes feel a bit stuck and then as you apply a bit more force it bypasses the syncro and crunches into 2nd. I don't enjoy this. Lucky the first and second cogs are hardened.
 
Changing gearbox oil alegedly helps. It didn't on mine but I don't complain as the 'box is silent and generally only 'slow' for the first 15 minutes of use.
 
I'm on my second box and both have had nasty 1st to 2nd changes.

I would agree that they are worse when the box is cold. Fortunately 1st isn't used much once you get moving.
 
Slow 1st to 2nd shifts (especially when cold) is a common problem as 944 transaxles age. Its best to have some mechanical sympathy with the box while its still warming up...

Here in the US, quite a few 944 owners (including myself) have used Swepco gear oil in their transaxles and it made a postive difference. Not everyone gets an improvement, but it seems like the majority do. It probably depends on how far your synchros are worn.

Karl.
 
I agree its definately worth changing the oil, particularly seems to help it in the winter when the shifts are most difficult. It's also worth oiling the linkage too if possible.

However I think there's a bit of an art to changing 1st to 2nd with these boxes, I find you have to momentarily pause before pushing it into second gear, you'll feel when the box is ready for the gear. This shouldn't slow the change down at all, it happens in an instant. I only noticed I was doing it when I watched someone else who wasn't used to driving my car have a go.

In my experience of 4 boxes in my car they all have this characteristic and its obviously made much worse with worn syncros.
 
I must have that knack Peter, as I can't say I notice the notchiness any more, but I do remember it from a long time ago presumably before I subconsciously started to drive around it.
 
I find it very notchy especially when cold and I also find I cannot either try the change too fast or too slow. I've changed to Swepco and to be honest havn't really noticed much of a difference but plenty of peope on here have.
 
thanks very much for your comments.

I did change the gearbox oil last year, which made a massive difference, but the problem i described remains. It sounds like it is not too unusal though.
 
I did get a freebie treatment of Slick 50 on my original gearbox (the garage I was using at the time were sponsored by them for their race cars) and don't think I recall any improvement other than that noticed by just simply chaging the oil. It certainly didn't quieten it down, nor did it prevent it going pop shortly afterwards (although I might have had something to do with that [8|]).
I've also used Swepco in the past and didn't think it helped any more than the standard oil that my garage put in (Castrol I think). I think the key with these boxes is fairly regular changes (I get it done every year or so).
Best regards,
Peter.
 
I reckon Fen may be on to something. I used to find the box slow, but I now find myself introducing a voluntary "lift" on the change, similar to easing off the pedals when trying to get my mountain bike into a difficult cog, before snicking it home. It definitely feels like I'm in harmony with the old girl now.

I changed the oil for Swepco, but didn't notice any difference.
 

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