upshift into 3rd gear grinding

[FatherTime]

09 Vibe base 1.8 manual 119k mi

I'm having difficulty shifting up into 3rd gear, it grinds. If I allow the rpms to drop off before shifting, it goes into 3rd with no issue. All other gears function as they always did, no problems at all. Not that it's related, but did have the trans fluid changed a while back at Valvoline (unnecessarily)- wonder what they used? I also occasionally hear a little clunk noise in the rear when I release the clutch.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

[tommytipover]

It is the syncro on that gear. I bought my 03 used about 7 years ago and it's had a crunchy 3rd gear all this time. I get away with just babying the 2-3 upshift. If you time the shift just right (your road speed matches the the RPM after the shift) the syncro hardly comes into play. You can also try double clutching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_clutch_(technique) but I'm too lazy to do that.

[FatherTime]

I guess that's what I've been doing. Depress the clutch, pushing the shifter into neutral, wait a brief second as the rpms drop, then push it into third. I'm not particularly good at it. Guess I need to find out how much this will set me back.

So, if I wanted to just ignore it instead of spending my money, it won't effect anything else and grow into other bigger problems? May have to if that's an option.

[KBATTPO]

I guess that's what I've been doing. Depress the clutch, pushing the shifter into neutral, wait a brief second as the rpms drop, then push it into third. I'm not particularly good at it. Guess I need to find out how much this will set me back.

Almost.

In the absence of synchronisers like in older cars, or when some are broken like in your case,
on upshift: depress clutch, push shifter into neutral, resease clutch, pause a second or two, depress clutch, push shifter into next gear up.
on downshift: depress clutch, push shifter into neutral, resease clutch, <slightly increase RPMs by blipping throttle>, depress clutch, push shifter into next gear (or two or three as needed) down. If skipping several gears like for example when carrying a lot of speed into a corner on the track from 5th into 2nd, you will need to increase the RPMs quite a bit more, than you would normally do when going in city traffic from 3rd to 2nd when turning at an intersection.

I do this habitually in everyday driving - them old habits die hard. I strongly encourage you to learn this technic as well as learn to revmatch the gears by ear to be able to switch them w/o using the clutch altogether. This may some day allow you to make it home under your own power if you lose your clutch (disk, t/o bearing, hose, cable, whatever) far from home.

[KBATTPO]

Not that it's related, but did have the trans fluid changed a while back at Valvoline (unnecessarily)- wonder what they used?

You might want to research this issue thoroughly. I don't know much about Japanese boxes (the Vibe that I bought for my 16 y/o as the first car is automatic) but in some German boxes (ZF installed in Audis for example) the GL5 fluid is a big no-no since it eats away brass sinchronisers.

[FatherTime]

Well crap. Nobody can even find a transmission for me. The one guy in town that rebuilds them says he has no help, so he's only installing. Apparently I need a transmission mount as well, bushing worn out. Wonder if the worn mount is related to the bad synchro gear? I did find a transmission at a local junk yard, but that's a crap shoot. Could be the very reason the car is in the junk yard, you wouldn't know. It was really eerie to look at the car online because it is the exact same car, same color, even had a tiny rust spot above the windshield as I do.

I did find that it is super easy to drive without 3rd gear around town. I actually like it better. Don't know if that's a good thing or not. Might get in trouble if I had to drive the hills w/o 3rd? (haven't tried that yet) I may have to just have the mount replaced and go with it as is. Maybe a transmission will pop up later. I also see online that "mystery companies" say they will sell you a "low miler" refurb for $1400 plus shipping. I don't think I trust that route either.

Any advice?

[VibeOfFive]

I was experiencing this same grinding when shifting from 2nd-3rd on my '09 Vibe (base 1.8L) . At first it was only in cold weather and on the first time through the gears when pulling onto my road. Things were apparently warmed up enough by the time i would get to the next intersection and the grinding would not occur after that. And it wouldn't happen at all in warm weather. But slowly this issue got worse and after some reading on the invaluable genvibe forum I decided to try replacing the manual trans fluid as a first step. I was still running the original fluid to my knowledge after 140K miles. Someone on here recommended Redline MT-LV so I decided to give it a shot since i was about to replace a cv axle anyway. The Redline MT-LV seemed to be so thin (hence the LV=low viscosity) and made me a little nervous. But it completely took care of the 2nd-3rd grind that i was experiencing, even in cold weather. I'm impressed and highly recommend this stuff to other vibe MT owners.

[tpollauf]

I'm impressed and highly recommend this stuff to other vibe MT owners.

Thanks for the testimony. One of these years I'll have to change out my 2004 Vibe GT 6-speed tranny oil. Very minimal grinding depending on how fast I shift AND in my case, the pattern of shifting. I mostly drive this like a 4-speed and have had ZERO problems thus far. 1-3-5-6 is the upshifting pattern I usually go with. Every now & then I change it up just to exercise ALL the gears. Only "minimal" grinding in my case and like you, is also between 2-3 AND only if shifting quickly. If I pause a second or two before shifting, then NO grinding at all. Bought this Vibe 5 years ago at 125k miles and it's now at 177k miles. Averaging 33.1 mpg over that time frame. Extremely happy with this ride