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Though this is not specifically a type IV issue, I bought my tranny from Jake along with my type IV...

Can you guys give me suggestions as to why my tranny is hard to shift into gear after it's been running a while? While the engine is cold or on short distances, I have no problems. But if I drive for 20 minutes or more, it becomes progressively difficult to shift into lower gears - especially at red lights.

I've flushed and refilled the tranny with the specified gear oil - which did nothing. Could this be a shifter bushing issue?

Oh and one other thing - when the engine is warm and having the shift issue, I can hear an intermittent short grind sound, almost like the clutch is having issues. But the adjustment is correct on the clutch - it feels right at the pedal and I don't have ANY problems when it's cooler.

Usually in that case I would suspect one of two things. (a) if the oil is getting thin and not allowing the synchros to work properly.....but I highly doubt it. (b) most probably it is some dragging in the clutch. This can happen from cable expansion when things warm up. You might check your clutch adjustment.

The same can happen to shifter adjustment via expansion of various parts. Do check all of your linkage. If when the car is warmed up....you can then turn it off and shift fine.....it is most probably the clutch not fully disengaging.

I would also post this on teh transaxle forum. Those guys are the experts. Ray

Thanks Ray. I just posted to the transaxle forum before your reply. But I hadn't thought of turning the car off when warm. I'll go do that now.

Could be your trans input shaft is dragging in the pilot bushing.

ok - so what does that mean? What would be the repair needed if this were the case?

thanks for the reply.

IT means you would need to put some grease in it!


You state that you bought both engine and tranny from Jake, so I
suspect that the input shaft bearing was new and not crushed by
a novice installer, BTDT.

But really, to find out if the cable is lengtheing when hot, just give the adjuster a full turn or two and see if the problem goes away.

NO need to spin `er to the moon, just a spin or two should tell the
tale.

ENJOY your T4!

Don

Big: I've had the engine for 2 years now, not a recent install. I've been very happy with it from the get-go. This problem only recently popped up.

I adjusted the clutch a few turns last night and it seemed to be a bit better. I'll know after my 2 hour long drive today.

Thanks again.

Chris, glad you have been happy!

What gear oil are you using in the tranny?