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Transmission Grinding

7863 Views 48 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  lo bux racer
When I begin driving the car in the morning and it hasn't warmed up quite yet, the first couple times I shift into second I'm getting a grind. It's cold where I'm at in Prescott, AZ (around 20 to 25 in the morning) and I do let the car sit and warm up a little instead of just driving it off, but I can't dismiss the fact that something might be wrong. I'm thinking of trying a different transmission fluid but should I check or try anything else (fluid level is fine)? Scion wants to test the car out but they're gonna do it in California (my hometown) where I bought the car, and the conditions won't be nearly the same. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Find a local dealer and take it to them... personally it sounds like the master cylinder is a factory freak and may need to be replaced. Does it only do this when you are first starting up, or does it also do it after it has warmed up?
The grinding takes place only when the car is cold. It's gonna get looked at in a few days.
If it's only when cold and only in second, it could be a synchro issue. I would DEFINITELY have this checked under warranty, if it is a problem with the second gear synchro you want it fixed by Scion.


**not looking forward to rebuilding my Getrag 6 speed with bad first and second synchros**
Thanks for the addition lo bux, as always your help is greatly appreciated!

No idea why I didn't think of the synchros
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by grind what do you mean? do you mean when you shift the knob down its sorta not smooth?
Not usually. Grinding is the noise you hear when the outer synchro hub is trying to engage the splines on the gear you want to shift into, but the synchro isn't doing a good job of matching the speed of the synchro hub with the gear (its sole purpose in life).

As in "If ya' can't find 'em, grind 'em!" for those who are manual transmission challenged.
have'ta say...2nd has been 'odd'. As an 'older' driver..ehem...I have to say that the tC has an unusually rough tranny. To clarify, I dig the 'you know you're shifting' feel but sometimes it does feel lost. I am pretty sure it's due to the 'drive by wire' not giving the same throttle resist...at least in my case. If it's a prob....we have our warranties to fix it.
I suspect I'll be putting Red Line MTL in mine shortly to smooth out the coarseness. I have no issues with second, all mine are with third. It seems the reach is about 1/2" too far.

As for the 'older' driver issue, I've been driving vehicles with clutches since I was 6 driving tractors on the farm, so I have almost 39 years of manual transmission driving...I still miss third from time to time...
well.. to revive an old thread (hehe.. i did a search
) i've noticed that my tC shifts hard when it's cold.... at first i thought it was just part of the breaking in period... but its only when its cool that it does it so im thinking it may be something else.... i dont exactly grind... but i cannot smoothly go into any gear... maybe i'll try the Red Line MTL... but im wondering if i should take it to get checked out
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If it's only on cold cycle, it's a lubricant issue, not a gearbox issue. Toyco specifies API GL-4 or GL-5 75w-90 gear oil, with a stated capacity of 2.5 liters (2.6 U.S. quarts). MTL meets all those requirements, and has worked really well in the two AE92 Corollas and three AW11 MR2s (NA and Supercharged) that I've owned. I bet changing the oil will alleviate your problem.
cool... so i've never done a transmission fluid change.. is it basically like an oil change?
Easier. No filter.
my friends says to tell the dealer my problem.. and maybe they'll do the fluid change free of charge... i think i'll try that out tomorrow
Some dealers will actually use Red Line MTL to make the customer go away happy. Others will just keep telling you it's normal and get used to it.
dammit.. i got the "get used to it"
My tC does the same thing when I first start it up in the morning, doesn't depend on the weather at all.

I took it to the dealer, they hoisted it up, said it looked fine, and sent me packing, but it still does it.

Guess only time will tell what the problem is.
It's not a "problem" it's just how the thing works before the oil warms up. I'm 99% sure Red Line MTL will make this go away.
Would you want to use MTL or MT-90?
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