Stiff Shifting

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11 June 2021
xorlando

Stiff Shifting

I've got a manual '05 Linear 2.3L wagon. Lately, what's been an occasional problem has gotten more consistent, though generally still when it's cold or very humid.
Shifting is stiff. Like, at one point I drove back home instead of finishing my errand run bc I wasn't confident I'd be able to shift in traffic.

I've found that pressing hard on the clutch helps. Based on some initial Googling I suspect the master cylinder. A few years and 40k miles ago I had the clutch, slave cylinder, and synchro replaced.
The one easy thing I've not tried yet is replacing whatever passes for transimission fluid on a manual. Even with a Hayes I'm not clear where that would be.
11 June 2021
GeoffR

A couple of other thoughts for you.
If the front sub-frame bushes are worn the engine and gear box can shift and cause problems with gear changing.
The gear lever linkage gets worn and causes the same problem

For the transmission fluid, I would go to the relevant page on this site and download WIS and EPC, you'll need a Windows computer. I think you will find WIS superior to the alternatives.
12 June 2021
xorlando

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

A couple of other thoughts for you.
If the front sub-frame bushes are worn the engine and gear box can shift and cause problems with gear changing.
The gear lever linkage gets worn and causes the same problem

Thanks! I think I understand that. FWIW for years now I sometimes felt the gearbox moving around on bouncy roads or rapid de/ac-celeration.

My new mechanic is hopefully back next week.
12 June 2021
GeoffR

Quote:

Originally Posted by xorlando

Thanks! I think I understand that. FWIW for years now I sometimes felt the gearbox moving around on bouncy roads or rapid de/ac-celeration.

My new mechanic is hopefully back next week.

The engine and gearbox are designed to move slightly in relation to the body shell, they are after all mounted on a sub-frame, the bushes control and limit the movement. When the bushes wear the amplitude (distance) of the movement increases and the subframe may not always return to the neutral position. You may also get a loud clonking noise when going over bumps which is a sure sign of worn sub-frame bushes.