Anyone else have this problem ? The gear shifter is getting stiff, not as free as it used to be. Any ideas as to how to remedy this ?

Could possibly be time for a new clutch? IE clutch not disengaging completely causeing it to be harder to shift... When was the last time it was changed?

Also.. As an afterthouht. are you running a Manual or an Auto? Since obviously the problems would be different...


On that note.. how does one omdify a post on this board? I don't see any Edit or Modify buttons anywhere....

I don't know if this is really related but in mine the stick will get stuck in first and its a bitch to pull out of gear, same with second but not as bad (manual trans)

do you only notice it when its cold out and its before the car warms up? if so then thats normal. whenever its cold out, my shifter is really tight. after the car has been running for about 10 mins, it goes away.

I dont really drive this car anymore, but. It is a 5-speed. Im pretty sure i remember when the car was newer it was pretty free, like if u moved it from side to side, it would spring back to the middle position. Now it kinda just moves back real slow, not sure if its like that when its warmer out. I dont use the car much anymore. Just wondering if theres like a lube or something you could put down there, maybe theres some buildup...

That is because you are using MTF. In the cold, it will get harder as it is a thicker fluid, but as it gets warmer it should get a little easier to use.
A switch to ATF may help. On the Getrag tranny (00-05 Js) you can do this. But I know on the Isuzu tranny (95-99) you have to use MTF. So it would be your call.



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Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:That is because you are using MTF. In the cold, it will get harder as it is a thicker fluid, but as it gets warmer it should get a little easier to use.
A switch to ATF may help. On the Getrag tranny (00-05 Js) you can do this. But I know on the Isuzu tranny (95-99) you have to use MTF. So it would be your call.

right thats what i was getting at

mines like that..... I think its from my motor mounts... I replaced the cables. Still same @!#$. Seems like after I crashed the car the shifter got stiff right after that! Like you said it used to be loose. But now its stiff and hard to get into 1st sometimes.... also when I downshift from 3-4-5 to 2nd it grinds... It never did that before ither. Ive tryed to get help before but I guess no one know what im exactly taking about.

Mine was getting stuck and I found out water has seeped into the boot where the shift cable connects to the transmission, and it freezes there. It has been doing this all winter and usually I can whack on the shifter to get it free. Yesterday it was so cold that I busted a little plastic connector on the shifter when I tried to get it to move

Now I have a shift cable AND a oddball B&M shifter link to replace.

'99 Z24, Manual

I found after mine idles for about half an hour it's alot looser and springs back to center with more ease, guessing mtf fluid like goodwrench said

I put the gm syncromesh fluid in a few years ago, not just regular MTF. I wonder if theres something down there that just needs to be lubed up or whatever, like by the cables.

It is your shifter cables as it is a very common problem with pre-2000 manual tranny J's. Replace them and the problem will go away.

I replaced mice and I get the same sh## I did look at my trnny mounts and there corroded!!! I need to replace them soon.

what would tranny mounts have to do with shifter cables?

^Nothing.

Try lubing the shifter then, but the fluid has virtually nothing to do with stiff shifting. If you know whats going on in that trans you'd know that if the viscosity of your fluid has been raised so high that it impedes the movement of your gears when shifting then you trans is already screwed. Good luck.

I just finished replacing my shift cables and I'm a bit concerned taht they touch the exhaust. Is there anything I can wrap them with to protect them from the heat? I did notice that the old cables were hard and cracking right where they hit the exhaust, and I'd prefer to prolong this fate with the new ones.


'99 Z24, Manual

the mounts have to do with the aligment of the tranny, clutch, shifter and engine. Causing it to grind. At least it make sense that way.

doubt its that. It just feels like theres goo or something down there, like if its in neutral, and you move it to lhe left or right, 1st gear or reverse....it doesn't snap back like it used to, it comes back real slow

Daniel Noriega wrote:the mounts have to do with the aligment of the tranny, clutch, shifter and engine. Causing it to grind. At least it make sense that way.

No....this was for stiff shifting not grinding.....completly different.


I've seen it where there was some exhaust heat shielding wrapped around them. If the mounts give a little it wont matter enough. Think about how much your mounts flex when you shift under power............if you dont know its alot. If this was the case we'd be slipping out of gears and crap like that constantly. So again...the mounts dont matter much as far as shifter cables are concerned.

mine is doing the same... hard shifts

when the car is turned off i can shift thru all the gears with one finger, but when its started its really tough.

i just changed the clutch and i think its a hydraulic problem(slave, master)

Liquidplamsa wrote:mine is doing the same... hard shifts

when the car is turned off i can shift thru all the gears with one finger, but when its started its really tough.

i just changed the clutch and i think its a hydraulic problem(slave, master)

Mine has nothing to do with that. Im going to have to resort to video to show you. The car can be on or off, and what im talking about isn't going in and out of gears, its just the movement of the stick all together

Hmm....I want to say try lubing up the ball pinion at the base of the shifter. If that still doesn't help you need to find the return springs responsible for the shifter centering action when not in gear and change them. in a 99 im not sure if thats in the shifter assembly on in the trans.......im thinking in the shifter assembly in the cabin tho.

Matt Lynch wrote:I don't know if this is really related but in mine the stick will get stuck in first and its a bitch to pull out of gear, same with second but not as bad (manual trans)

Mine does the same thing, it almost got my car crashed when i was teaching my gf how to drive 5spd, it sticks to 1st gear for somereason. but it's been doing this for like 4 years since i bought my car, so maybe it's just the design of the transimission.

anyone else's car does this??








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Quote:



when the car is turned off i can shift thru all the gears with one finger, but when its started its really tough.

Sounds like the synchros are fighting you. If you do something stupid like shifting from 5th to 2nd without double clutching, the synchro will fight you (while wearing excessively), or it will just give up and you'll grind.

When the car is new, the synchros are very good at spinning up/down the clutch. As time goes on, they wear and take longer to spin the clutch. At their end of their service lives, they cause gears to grind.

If you make the synchros' jobs easier, the stick will naturally fall into gear like when the engine is off(unless you've got cable issues, that's another story).

That means shifting normally. Fast shifting at high RPMs will cause accelerated wear, so do this only when racing. Downshifting without double clutching causes even more damage, so don't do it under any circumstances if you can help it. Even when racing, a double clutch downshift doesn't take any more time than a normal downshift. Heel-toe downshifting (all 3 pedals at once) is a good way to brake and double clutch simultaneously without hurting your transmission.

If you have a habit of shoving the shifter into 1st or 2nd as you slow to a stop, expect a new transmission in your not so distant future. Like I've said in other posts, using your $1500 transmission to "save" your $30 brakes is retarded, so don't do it!

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd