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Racing gearboxes are also much stronger than passenger car gearboxes. Racing gearboxes like Hewland's are designed so they DON'T want you to use the clutch to shift their manual gearboxes in order to save wear on the clutch.
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Since nobody else has mentioned it, I guess I will...

 

Whenever you're shifting, you need to wait for the gear to "drop in," not just jam it in. For example, get going in first, then rather than just pull the shifter into second, just apply light pressure toward second, and when the gearbox is "ready" the gear will drop right in. It takes some getting used to, but it's very worth it in the long run.

 

A friend of mine blew out second after only about 30k miles because he constantly "slam shifted." An STi RA gearset, a week and $3k later, he was rolling again.

 

All this said, as long as you "wait for it" the Subaru gearbox is pretty strong, it just won't take abuse. There's plenty of threads on that one.

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GM is famous for their gear skipping gearbox. The Corvette, Camaro, & Firebirds all have transmissions that has a solenoid that blocks 2nd gear unless you reach a certain engine rpm or throttle position. So if you are light on the gas, when you shift from 1st to 2nd, the gear lever will slide into 4th. This was done to for EPA mpg purposes.

 

Yeah, and all above mentioned cars have a 6 speed getrag in 'em IIRC. Skipping from 2nd to 5th while "tooling" around town on a daily basis is just plain ignorant.(period) Even dumber is thinking that the warranty is gonna cover it. The GM's mentioned above note it in the owner's manual with regaurds to engine rpm and mandatorily skipping 2nd. The Legacy manual says nothing of the sort. If it were meant to be done, the shift knob might look like this...

 

1 5

| |

|------

2 R

 

:confused:

 

ps; I really have "zero" skills making a shift pattern.

Stage2.5376, TDC ProTune,blah blah blahhhh and....Alky/H20 injection :icon_mrgr
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All this said, as long as you "wait for it" the Subaru gearbox is pretty strong, it just won't take abuse. There's plenty of threads on that one.

 

Amen. I think this thread is ALL about "abusing" the gearbox.

Stage2.5376, TDC ProTune,blah blah blahhhh and....Alky/H20 injection :icon_mrgr
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It's funny you mention pausing during shifting. I agree, some trannys need this more than others, but you shouldn't jam any transmission, save for an emergency situation.

 

The Porsche 915 gearbox in the middle year 911s is a typical unit where you have to "wait" a bit... My Legacy too, does not like to be rushed.

 

I find it hard to find reverse sometimes (I know, I know, it's normal but it's a lot worse in this car than other sticks I've had...) and you'll feel the dogs crunching 1-2, 2-3 I find. Oh well, it's still a great car.

 

The only manual transmissions that I've been so impressed with time and time again (and I hate to admit this) is BMW. They happen to really have a nice unit. It's very smooth, springy, and notchy where it has to be. Gears seem to just find themselves.

 

I hear that a Subaru manual with a short shift kit is even worse. I'm glad I didn't get it, though it's tempting. I've felt the STi box, and you have to be a bit rough with it to engage a gear. I don't know... Maybe it's me?

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Randy16v- I found that with the STS it was a bit "tough" at first, but I have the cobb double adjustable STS and with some fine tuning, I have the throw right where I want it, and the height of the stick itself perfect.:icon_bigg
Stage2.5376, TDC ProTune,blah blah blahhhh and....Alky/H20 injection :icon_mrgr
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Since nobody else has mentioned it, I guess I will...

 

Whenever you're shifting, you need to wait for the gear to "drop in," not just jam it in. For example, get going in first, then rather than just pull the shifter into second, just apply light pressure toward second, and when the gearbox is "ready" the gear will drop right in. It takes some getting used to, but it's very worth it in the long run.

 

A friend of mine blew out second after only about 30k miles because he constantly "slam shifted." An STi RA gearset, a week and $3k later, he was rolling again.

 

All this said, as long as you "wait for it" the Subaru gearbox is pretty strong, it just won't take abuse. There's plenty of threads on that one.

 

Only on a sychronized gearbox. Most sequentials shift more smoothly the harder and faster you push them :icon_bigg That being said, I haven't seen a non-sychronized passenger car gearbox in NA.

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I find it hard to find reverse sometimes (I know, I know, it's normal but it's a lot worse in this car than other sticks I've had...)

 

This is pretty common on most manual gearboxes. Sometimes the synchros will still spin when you're not moving. Try shifting into 1'st before you hunt for reverse. That stops the synchros from spinning and usually allows you to get right into reverse with no problems.

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Yeah, the old "first-first-then reverse" trick... It works, most times... I even throw the shifter in 2 to get to 1 from 3 while slowing at a light or intersection. I find it makes the transition easier...
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  • 4 weeks later...
my 5th gear has been acting up recently as well.. this is only 4-5 shift though i dont skip gears. It only does it when im accelerating pretty hard in 4th also. I've done repeated 5-4 downshifts and 4-5 upshifts and if i pay attention it doesn't grind, i dont grind this tranny at all im completely used to it. Under heavy load in 4th shifting to 5th however it grinds. Synchro im assuming?
06 TB EVO IX SE stock turbo monster subaru hater :lol:
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Everybody who wants to learn how to drive a manual shift should be forced to do so on a 1963 GMC C3500 or similar old truck.

 

Once you master one of those, you learn to respect your mechanicals, and will be able to drive anything, and break nothing.

 

P.

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ALWAYS double-clutch, ALWAYS allow for the revs to come down. There's no reason to slam it in to any gear near the red line unless you're tracking the car, esp 2-5. After destroying various syncros in my WRX I still drive my LGT hard but I treat the tranny like it's made out of glass. Trannys are not Subaru's specialty.

 

damn, anyone know a suby dealership that will still honor my warantee and replace a synchro even though im stg II in NY/MA?

 

-Jeff

 

If it's not too far from you try taking it to North End Subaru in Lunenburg, MA. Ask for the service manager Rick, and be honest. Real nice guys up there. A few years ago they did a lot of tranny work they shouldn't have on my Stg1 WRX.

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i never skip gears and i really honestly dont beat on my tranny that hard, i go to school up at umass ill try heading up there this fall. Anyone hear good things about GM Synchro Mesh?
06 TB EVO IX SE stock turbo monster subaru hater :lol:
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i never skip gears and i really honestly dont beat on my tranny that hard, i go to school up at umass ill try heading up there this fall. Anyone hear good things about GM Synchro Mesh?

 

I put that stuff in my old WRX after the first time I had 3 syncros replaced. I remember that was all the rage when the '02 WRX guys started blowing their syncros. The guys up at North End looked at me like I had 3 heads when I handed them the bottles I had purchased from the GM dealer not 1 hour before. Apparently it didn't do a damn bit of good. Snake oil if you ask me.

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From what I've heard, the GM Synchromesh is similar to the Penzoil Synchroshift. If that's true, it's too thin for my tastes.

 

I had the penzoil stuff in my talon and it would start to grind when it got too hot. I added redline heavyweight gear oil to thicken things up and haven't had an issue since.

 

So... perhaps a mixture of Redline and synchro(shift / mesh) would be worth trying with a subaru tranny too?

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i think ill just double clutch to 5th gear for a while till i figure out if it really is my synchro, or if maybe my sts has some type of defect in it. Because it doesn't make sense for it to grind over certain speeds and not to grind below that. This just doesn't make any sense to me because if any gears i would expect the 1st and 2nd to go not fifth.
06 TB EVO IX SE stock turbo monster subaru hater :lol:
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i think ill just double clutch to 5th gear for a while till i figure out if it really is my synchro, or if maybe my sts has some type of defect in it. Because it doesn't make sense for it to grind over certain speeds and not to grind below that. This just doesn't make any sense to me because if any gears i would expect the 1st and 2nd to go not fifth.

 

My 4th and 5th gear syncros were the first to go in my Rex. I don't know if it relates to the syncros being less durable but I remember reading the 4th and 5th gears are cut differently and not built to put up with hard shifts.

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