5sp manual transmission update

[juggler311]

Got my 2004 Vibe back from the mech about a week ago. We went cheap and found what I hope to be a good deal (time will tell) on a used manual trans. Spent 950USD for the part and it's supposed to have had 55K miles on it. Its drives great again. And it's definately quieter. I had no reference with driving/road noise when I bought the car with 90K miles about 2 months ago, and mainly trusted Consumer Reports' ratings which were almost perfect except for a poor rating in "body integrity" or something like that, which includes engine and wind noise. For anyone who isn't familiar with this tranny noise, listen carefully under acceleration and then compare with your car coasting. It's a whirring sound that others here have described better.I also went back over the meticulus maintainence records (all oil change receipts, in order) kept by the previous owner and realized he never changed the trans fluid. I'm thinking this is quite important. I did read a discussion about there perhaps being a typo in the Vibe owner's manual where the trans fluid's part number does *not* match the description. I did not check this myself but told my mech about the possibility. We're now using GL5. Hard to say if it was GL5 from the factory or not, but after almost 2 grand including a new clutch, I'd recommend everyone out there with a stick shift definately change their fluid at the recommended intervals, or maybe right away if you buy new, just to be sure. And anyone considering buying make sure there's records!Happy (but poor) Viber again,-E.On a side note, took her up to U.P. of Michigan last weekend with my 12ft kayak on top and got around 32 mpg!

[joatmon]

Glad you are back on the road. I still wonder if it is just Vibes that are having this problem, or if Matrixes are having it, and perhaps Corollas, but I haven't seen any of those owners reporting failures.

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by juggler311 »I'd recommend everyone out there with a stick shift definately change their fluid at the recommended intervals, or maybe right away if you buy new, just to be sure.In our owner's manual the recommended interval is "never" unless you're pulling a trailer, in which case it's 30,000 miles. Since we don't tow a trailer I was planning on strict adherence to the recommended change interval unless there's a clear reason why more frequent changes are needed.BTW, my Nova/Corolla with 230 kmiles has the same recommended interval and therefore still has whatever fluid was in it when it left the NUMMI factory 20 years ago.Glad to hear your Vibe is rolling again and hope the replacement transmission proves to be troublefree.