02X shifting issues... with a twist

[Tsinsta93]

Hey guys,

Looking for some community knowledge on transmission/shifter problem diagnosing. Lately I've been having some pretty typical symptoms that I've read about on here. Living in MN where its cold, while the fluid warms up you really cant rush into gear, especially 2 and 3. I can handle that. Most recommended a fluid flush so i plan to do that with some Redline MT90. Aside from that, 1&2 are very difficult to "find" sometimes, which i've read has to do with the shift collars, and at the recommendations of others, running up and down the gears at the start of the trip seems to help realign them and it goes a lot smoother. Now it is today, 2/8/16, and a new issue is cropping up.

It is about 17 degrees fahrenheit outside. I've driven this car here at -10 without significant issue from the trans. But oddly after my commute in to work, when i went to leave for lunch, my shifter was frozen in place. Like i could not get it to budge even the little bit. It was stuck dead centered in neutral. After carefully pushing at it for a little bit i got it to start wiggling around, and eventually had good access to R-1-3-5, but 2-4-6 were not feeling right, especially 2. after some driving the gears warmed up and loosened up more, except for 2 which still grinded when i got anywhere near it (only tried like twice). After sitting for a few minutes while i got gas, everything was fine again. I suspect something is wrong with the shift linkages themselves, and somehow moisture and or road salt is getting somewhere it shouldn't, causing me these issues. Has anyone gone about trying to replace these components? I know JHM sells upgraded ones, and I still plan to do the fluid swap, but just kind of curious what the OEM stuff runs and if it will even solve the problem, or if this issue lies deeper in the car. Any insight is appreciated

Tom

[aluthman]

Use oem fluid if you don't want the thick fluid feeling when cold. I have MT-90 fluid in mine and its like stirring molasses when it's cold in the morning.

[Tsinsta93]

Good to know, i was under the impression that MT-90 was close to the OEM. Someone else said that MTL was too thin though? So what is the OEM technically spec'd at?

Edit: I can in fact use the google machine for myself. Seeing that factory Ravenol is a 75W-80, so why wouldn't Redline MTL be fine as well?

[aluthman]

It works fine for warm climates, but on a cold (below freezing) morning, it will take a bit to warm up. Until then, your shifter is like s stick in mud. Not sure what exactly makes the oem fluid different.

[Tsinsta93]

It works fine for warm climates, but on a cold (below freezing) morning, it will take a bit to warm up. Until then, your shifter is like s stick in mud. Not sure what exactly makes the oem fluid different.

Thanks for the insight either way! It got me to double check the fluids, which was beneficial. I think I will go with the MTL just because I can get it quickly with Prime, (Ravenol through Blauparts is only $2 less/qt) and see if it helps the issue considerably or not. Then I will know if i need to go deeper on some of the mechanical workings or not.

[Charles.waite]

There is much more to gear oils than their weight. Personally I would steer clear from redline in Audi Transmissions. I've heard nothing but bad reviews.

I put Motul Gear 300 in my 6MT b6 (same 02X trans) and really liked it. It did develop a bit of a grind going into 2nd when it was cold but after 2 minutes of driving it was fine and it never seemed to get worse so I just ignored it.

For my b7, since I need to change the fluid soonish, I'm probably going to be boring and just go with OEM fluid.

[Tsinsta93]

There is much more to gear oils than their weight. Personally I would steer clear from redline in Audi Transmissions. I've heard nothing but bad reviews.

I put Motul Gear 300 in my 6MT b6 (same 02X trans) and really liked it. It did develop a bit of a grind going into 2nd when it was cold but after 2 minutes of driving it was fine and it never seemed to get worse so I just ignored it.

For my b7, since I need to change the fluid soonish, I'm probably going to be boring and just go with OEM fluid.

I think its interesting that you say that. My last car while I was in college was an SVT Focus, and we all swore by the OEM fluid as well. Everything else was a risk. Honestly thats the only reason I even hesitated to order the Redline, but I did last night before I saw your comment. Hopefully all goes well and if nothing else i can drain it and change it in a year. I'm definitely not choosing redline for "performance benefit." Like i said it is just convenient through prime and i think its a decent fluid. In the case of the focus, the "Ford Honey" didn't really have clearly published specs to compare to anyways. People lab tested it to try and figure the stuff out and it was actually closer to a 10W40 motor oil than anything else (with some different additives more than likely), but that is what getrag had spec'd. In this case, I just made sure the main pieces were there, namely the same 75W80 weight and GL4 rating. I think if people have complained of issues, then they probably chose a GL5 and had beautiful shifts for a few thousand until it destroyed their synchros

[Charles.waite]

I think its interesting that you say that. My last car while I was in college was an SVT Focus, and we all swore by the OEM fluid as well. Everything else was a risk. Honestly thats the only reason I even hesitated to order the Redline, but I did last night before I saw your comment. Hopefully all goes well and if nothing else i can drain it and change it in a year. I'm definitely not choosing redline for "performance benefit." Like i said it is just convenient through prime and i think its a decent fluid. In the case of the focus, the "Ford Honey" didn't really have clearly published specs to compare to anyways. People lab tested it to try and figure the stuff out and it was actually closer to a 10W40 motor oil than anything else (with some different additives more than likely), but that is what getrag had spec'd. In this case, I just made sure the main pieces were there, namely the same 75W80 weight and GL4 rating. I think if people have complained of issues, then they probably chose a GL5 and had beautiful shifts for a few thousand until it destroyed their synchros

That right there is 95% of the battle. Getting fluid rated at the proper specs is the most important thing. I've heard good things about Fuchs Titan Sintofluid (or something) but its REALLY hard to get a hold of and frankly would cost more than OEM I believe. I might also just throw in Motul Gear 300 since I've got a 2 Liters left over from my b6. I think the Motul exacerbated the synchros rubbing on my b6, but it was an existing problem with somewhat worn synchros (Lots of city driving will do that).

[Tsinsta93]

While I'm still planning to change my fluid, as I don't know when or if the previous owner ever did, another idea or possibility has come up that I will also try. I was speaking to one of my local b7 buddies who is also the local JHM rep, and he suggested bleeding the clutch line. I bled my brakes a few months ago but passed on the clutch line because I didn't have a tool that could fit and open the bleeder while I had a hose on it, and i didn't wish to make a mess all over myself with old black brake fluid. Its possible this has come back to bite me. He said that moisture here could be freezing enough to interfere with the clutch actuation ever so slightly. While this sounded kind of crazy at first, I did kind of feel/notice something odd at start up when this happened again leaving work yesterday. It almost felt like the clutch was engaged on startup despite being in neutral, and like it released when the engine actually turned over. For now I'm testing pumping the pedal a few times when i shut down, and again before I start up. I can see a lot of arguments for why this makes no sense, as I had my own, but it will probably be my second avenue of resolution if the trans fluid switch doesn't seem to help before diving into replacing the shift linkages/bushings.

[Axis]

I run Redline oil with no issues and I'm in Montreal where we see -30F to -40F a couple of times per winter. I always shift slowly untill the fluid is warm as I did when I ran oem fluid.

[Tsinsta93]

I run Redline oil with no issues and I'm in Montreal where we see -30F to -40F a couple of times per winter. I always shift slowly untill the fluid is warm as I did when I ran oem fluid.

Thanks for the input, Axis. I'm also pretty gentle with everything while it warms up. As stated though, there is no being gentle when the shifter physically cannot move. Just trying to solve the issues I don't have to live with but very much accepting the ones I do.

[Axis]

Doubt the frozen shifter has anything to do with the fluid. You probably have a rip boot like @drewgold shows here, he had the same issue (I do too)



Link to drewgold's post

[Tsinsta93]

Doubt the frozen shifter has anything to do with the fluid. You probably have a rip boot like @drewgold shows here, he had the same issue (I do too)



Link to drewgold's post

HAHAHA THANK YOU AXIS!!! This is exactly the information i was looking for, and what I originally suspected, but hoped not to dive into. I should be able to work this out now.