i need an answer because i dont know whats going on. i used to have a racing clutch and i had to get it replaced on my 02 wrx. i put in a regular since i didnt feel like putting in the extra cash or the extra days until it got here (stupid idea, i should have waited). i used to be able to stick it into first at a decent speed but not with the new clutch i sometimes get a grind in first. i depress the clutch all the way and even had it checked out. i cant stick it into first until i am basically completely stopped. this gets annoying when i am barely moving and i cant stick it into first and have to deal with the low low end power. can anyone tell me what is wrong and what i can possibly do about this. i'm hoping that changing my clutch isnt the only answer. i dont need to switch into first at like fifteen miles an hour or anything but anything above 1/2 mile an hour would be great. thanks for the input guys. and gals.

so nobody has any kind of clue what this is?

not possible. you just cant do that on the 5mt. mine does the same thing.. just deal with it.. i know it sucks

It is made to make it difficult to shift into first at any speed over five miles an hour. It is a safty percaustion to stop people from accedentely shifting into first at two high of speeds and over reving there engine and breaking there tranny.

i understand but i cant shift into first going 1/2 a mile an hour. sometimes i need to shift into first to move quickly but i cant because it will grind or not let me at all. sometimes i am standing still even and i press the cltuch and it will grind momentarily. say anything you want, that doesnt sound normal to me.

i used to have this kind of problem but i found out that if u press the clutch all the way while you are moving ( i'm not sure about the speed but i can do this from 0 ~ 10 mph) then rev the engine to about 2000 rpm or a little above it then try to shift. it works for me, i have to go through so many stupid speed bumps everyday and i hate to stop the car after the bump so i use this method everyday. it hardly grind on me :)

i do that too but it seems like a hassle since i dont have a third foot. so there is nothing else i can do?

nope nothing else, besides rev matching like the last guy said.

Man, I just bought an 04 and it does the same thing.

does the sti have the same problem? and whats this i hear about 05's having dual syncros? what is that going to add to anything?

Turbo magazine (I think..) did a thing about this last year in an all WRX issue. For them, the solution was to switch to NEO synthetic RHD gear oil. The jist of the article was that after they did that, the car had a MUCH easier time finding 1st. Worth looking into. I bought a jug of the stuff for my ride after I read it, but still haven't put it in. Waiting on some big engine mods.... :banana:

Originally posted by Red Devil
Turbo magazine (I think..) did a thing about this last year in an all WRX issue. For them, the solution was to switch to NEO synthetic RHD gear oil. The jist of the article was that after they did that, the car had a MUCH easier time finding 1st. Worth looking into. I bought a jug of the stuff for my ride after I read it, but still haven't put it in. Waiting on some big engine mods.... :banana:

Is there anywhere around chicago that i can buy some of that stuff? And one more question. I am willing to live with the grind while the car is moving bacause i can always stick it into second. but it grinds now even if i am not moving, just at a standstill and push in the clutch all the way, wait a second and then stick it into first and then GRIIIIIIIIIIIND!!!! this really pisses me off especially since it never did any kind of grinding with a sports clutch. this cannot be normal. somebody please tell me what this could be because i am tempted to go and put a sports clutch back on because this is ridiculous. this is making me think less highly of subaru. is the sti like this too?

which oil do i need for my wrx? http://www.neosyntheticoil.net/gearoil.htm

Originally posted by generalwrx
which oil do i need for my wrx? http://www.neosyntheticoil.net/gearoil.htm

Turbo Magazine used the 75W-90 RHD gear oil in their test car. Its pricey, but apparently worth it. Until its in there, the best trick from a standstill to prevent the 1st grind is to clutch in, then put the shifter into 2nd, then 1st and clutch out. I've never ground doing it that way. Helps get the syhchros all lined up I'm told. Worth a shot if you dont like the wonderful sound of metal on metal.:banana:

i already do the clutch in and 2nd to 1st. it doesnt help the least bit. anybody else have any input. thanks for the oil tho.

I just posted this.......Try it! you won't be sorry! :)

http://i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57291

Originally posted by subawho?
I just posted this.......Try it! you won't be sorry! :)

http://i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57291

thanks a lot man, i will sure as heck try this. you da man if this works as well as you say.

My wrx is the same way sorta...my brother has a wrx also and I dont have a problem throwing it in gear even at like 20mph. you can drop first gear two ways, one is to double clutch and it will always go in smoothly if you rev high enough. another way is to make sure you rev the car high enough. its kind of annoying becasue it shouldnt be like that. I have drive a few wrx's some have the ploblem some dont. It could be the condition of the clutch/tranny/tranny mount whatever. but double clutching shoudl leave you grind free. I would defintaly check into some of these oils every one is talking about though. good luck

the only problem i have with double clutching and everything is because i never had this problem before. i used to be able to throw it into first at like 15 mph. i did have a racing clutch tho at the time. when i got rid of that i started grinding all the time and my stick knob got so wobbly that even in gear it felt like it was in neutral cuz it shifted side to side so much. although short throw helped out a little, i hope that kartboy bushings help out the rest. i wouldnt be so anal about this if i didnt have it perfect in the first place. i will try the oils as soon as i find them. i guess pennziol synchromesh doesnt exist in the chicago area. and dealers arent open to sell the gm until monday. thanks for all your input.

hey man I totally know hwo you feel about it. It pisses me off everytime I go to drop first whether its droping it into a corner or racing whatever. some wrxs go in not problem and some you have to fight with. as long as there is no metal on metal you win. its like a marriage. compromise. either way it sucks. But like I said could be a combination of things.. clutch condition or pressure plate might have somethign to do with that too ya know. let me know if you get that oil and how it works for you. good luck

I haven't had this trouble with my WRX yet but my 91 Legacy had the 1st gear grind ever since it hit 15K. I put 1/2 quart of Rislone Engine Treatment into the tranny on the advice of an engine/tranny builder and it has cleared the problem up. The Rislone was put in at 218K and it took about 100 miles before there was a noticable difference. I've got just over 222K right now.

According to the builder the syncros generally don't wear out but get gummed up so they don't grab well; the Rislone just cleans off the varnish. I'll take his advice on it since he's seen a bunch of syncros and I haven't seen any. Either way it worked well for my old steed.

fwiw,

Mike

my o4 wrx does the same thing

my tranny on my 3000gt does the same thing. sometimes 1st gear grinds and sometimes i cant even stick it into 1st at a dead stop, i think the syncros are a little messed up, it shouldnt be too hard to put it into 1st. btw, i have a stock clutch.

if there are synchros then just use synchromesh. pennzoil or gm and i even heard castrol and other brands make the same stuff. try it out and let us know. i live by this stuff now.

Had the same first gear problem on my 02 since new, synthetics only made it worse. After reading about everyone else on this forum having the problem I assumed I just had to live with it. Had the car at a dealer to check on a CEL and had a mechanic drive it to see what he thought of the tranny, he said it needed rebuilt and it was fixed under warrenty.

Bottom line - if your WRX grinds into first (below around 10 mph) then you have defective syncros.

synchromesh

my 95 does this too but only if you slowly try and grany in

i have found that if you lightly press the stick to go into first but dont engage and backoff then go and engage again lightly with more force the second time in will go in at 10 to 15
if anyone understands what im talking about try it and see if it works for you too

i dont know, to me it seems if you half engage it and pull it out and try to go back that it would grind more easily. to me it seems as if you are tryin to stop half way during the engagement that it will grind. but i dont know, lets see if anyone has luck with that. to me it seems easier to pour in some synchromesh and not half to consciously think "engage half way, pull out, engage fully" i dont know, maybe i am just lazy.