So, is this a synchro issue in my transmission?

[jasonaries]

Upshifting and down shifting are fine through all gears in my 5 speed tranny except for:

downshifting from 3rd to 2nd causes me to encounter a "catch" or some kind of occassional block that keeps me from completing the shift without fiddling with the shifter lever. Most of the time, I can put some sideways pressure on the lever and get it to slip in gear. Other times, when I'm practicing my heel and toe, I notice that it works out better if I:

1. begin braking
2. push in clutch
3. blip throttle
4. downshift as RPM's peak
5. let out clutch
6. resume pressure on the gas

Swapping step 3 & 4 can give me a problem.

So, is this indicative of a synchro problem?

thanks in advance

[malcolm]

are you sure you're not getting caught on the gate between 2nd and 4th? Don't be afraid to pull over a little harder when you're pulling the lever out of third. if it's not that, the synchro *might* be starting to go..... but I wouldn't get a gearbox torn down until the gears started to grind.

Now would be the time to learn how to double-clutch. when the lever is in neutral, let out the clutch just before you blip the throttle, and engage the clutch immediately after. The effect this has is to manually synchronize the the input shaft and output shaft, instead of relying on the synchros to do it for you (which will eventually cause the syncros to wear out, and then stop working).

[jasonaries]

Re: the gate between 2nd & 4th.

Excellent suggestion to have me think about that. Please consider one more detail, though: I initially dismissed the idea of getting caught on the gate because sometimes when I do get the shifter into 2nd after a delay/block, I can hear the gears mis-engage for a second before they catch. A bit of gear teeth scraping before it slips into gear. Nothing major - more like a "miss shift" with the clutch let out too soon than anything else. But because I shift smoothly otherwise, I just couldn't imagine being a goof and not pressing left enough.

I don't know: I'm willing to consider everything. Is the AE86 known for having a wide gate between 2nd and 4th or a narrow slot for 2nd? This is the GTS. Never had this problem with any of the SR-5's (except for reverse).