Second gear grinding & remedy

[Eric Smit]

I changed my shift knob today and in the process, removed my reverse lockout. Being a little careful on my first couple shifts, I noticed if I hit second a little to the left, it grinds. If I hit it centered, no grind. I postulate that because the reverse lockout prevents the shifter from going left into reverse, obviously, that people may ride the shifter left and slam down into second. Just a thought.

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2626


-Eric Smit


-Eric Smit

 

[CoHPhasor]

^ Interesting theorem for sure.
I could see it misbehaving if a little ****-eyed

 

[Eric Smit]

I'll continue testing as I put more miles on it.


-Eric Smit

 

[SSpeckerwood]

i'm going to have the dealer change the transmission oil out to the redline brand oil today.

i'll report on how it works in the weeks to come.

 

[Leverus]

i'm going to have the dealer change the transmission oil out to the redline brand oil today.

i'll report on how it works in the weeks to come.

This may be a dumb question, but how do you go about having the dealer put in another brand of fluid? I'd have thought they would just use their specified GM oil for the car. I ask because I'm going to take it back to the dealer soon and if they can't fix the problem (again...) I'm wondering if that will help my situation. I'm not comfortable doing it myself or I would.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

the dealer i bought my sonic from is a super cool one.

the redline meets or exceeds GM's requirements. i'm going to bring the oil to them.
I'd change it myself, but for $30 their going to do it and i have the piece of mind that it will still be under warranty.

 

[Leverus]

I hope one of the dealers around here is that good. $30 and the price of the fluid sounds great, especially since it isn't going to void the warranty.

How much did the trans fluid run you?

 

[SSpeckerwood]

i haven't bought it yet, but its $14.49 + Tax.

so $60 should hopefully remedy this problem.

i know redline is good, i switched to it a few years back in my harley 6-speed and it made a night & day difference.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

just had the oil changed to Redline MT90 75W-90 GL-4

let me tell you, this is a must mod. i did a NLS from 1st to 2nd @ 6000 rpm and it didn't grind a bit.

it took exactly 2 quarts and there was a drain plug on the bottom of the 6-speed (not sure if there is a drain plug on any other tranny offered).

dealer charged me .5hrs and that came to 32.06 after tax. $31.43 for the oil.

I had the dealer do it and since the redline exceeds GM's specifications its all under warranty still.

here's a picture of the quart size oil i used:

here's 2 pictures of the drain plug setup:

here's a picture of the drain plug. its on top of the transmission, almost directly under the brake master cylinder.
you'll need a long funnel.

 

[Leverus]

I think I'm going to have to bug my dealer about doing this for me and see if it helps my rough reverse and 1-2 shift. Hopefully one of them around here will be willing to do it.

 

[runtz52]

peckerwood, thanks for the info and pics, definitely doing that this weekend

 

[TurboSonicLT]

Having same 1-2 shift grinding issue... going to dealer today and demand they replace the fluid with Red Line MT-90, 75w90 GL-4.... I've had my car since monday night (7/9/2012) and it only has 180 miles on it with this issue already showing up....

 

[Ruggiero626]

I have come across the same issue. The first time I thought it was just a bad shift, but last night everything was perfect, and I got a grind. Can't wait to get the Redline in.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

So far, no 2nd gear grind. Trust me, I've been trying. Lol

Overall shifts have been much crisper as well. $60 well spent in my books.

 

[B-radly81]

worked for me wow what a differance it made now I have like no slop in the shifter its real tight

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

I have come across the same issue. The first time I thought it was just a bad shift, but last night everything was perfect, and I got a grind. Can't wait to get the Redline in.

Please keep us posted on what the dealership finds.

Vanessa,
Chevrolet Customer Service

 

[SSpeckerwood]

Please keep us posted on what the dealership finds.

Vanessa,
Chevrolet Customer Service

The dealership didn't find ****. They figured its too light of oil from the factory.

Eco clutch with light oil= grinding gears

 

[Ruggiero626]

Exactly as SSpeckerwood said the dealership informed me that the Trans was in working order, and any grind beyond 4k is simply because the car is not meant to shift in that range. My past two cars have been manual (95 Del Sol, 06 Jetta), and neither seemed to have a problem shifting at higher revs. When I asked about using a heavier fluid such as the Redline Synthetic mentioned. The dealership informed me that the supplied was the correct fluid, and use of any other could void warranty. Long story short I enjoyed my cup of coffee and left with the same issue I went in with. I'm not upset with the dealership, but curious as to if GM knows of this issue, and is working to find a warranty friendly (Across the board) solution to the problem.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

the Redline MT90 exceeds all recommendations from GM. thats the reason i had the dealership change it. if it voided warranty, the dealership wouldn't have touched it.

its not a problem for everyone. just us idiots that like to go fast and throw caution to the wind....

 

[gsxr1000]

Exactly as SSpeckerwood said the dealership informed me that the Trans was in working order, and any grind beyond 4k is simply because the car is not meant to shift in that range. My past two cars have been manual (95 Del Sol, 06 Jetta), and neither seemed to have a problem shifting at higher revs. When I asked about using a heavier fluid such as the Redline Synthetic mentioned. The dealership informed me that the supplied was the correct fluid, and use of any other could void warranty. Long story short I enjoyed my cup of coffee and left with the same issue I went in with. I'm not upset with the dealership, but curious as to if GM knows of this issue, and is working to find a warranty friendly (Across the board) solution to the problem.

i would have asked them if the automatic transaxle shifts over 4k rpm if so then the sonic is made to do that... i am going to have this talk with the dealer when my car gets out of the body shop

the Redline MT90 exceeds all recommendations from GM. thats the reason i had the dealership change it. if it voided warranty, the dealership wouldn't have touched it.

its not a problem for everyone. just us idiots that like to go fast and throw caution to the wind....

somebody on here said that oem was 70/90 oil I thought.... did the dealer tell you what weight the oem was...