| Author |
Message |
David Prall
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2001 - 12:45 am: | |
There is a cause and a fix for the dreaded 'reluctant 2nd gear' - check out FORZA (sorry, I forget the issue number). |
Erik Jonsson (Gamester)
| | Posted on Sunday, February 04, 2001 - 1:49 am: | |
In my limited experience with Marky's 308, minor adjustments in the linkage- at the coupler just before it enters the gearbox- will improve the shift. Rubber bushings in the car take a set after many years, which may contribute to the misalignment. |
Bret M
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 11:30 pm: | |
It really wont go in at all? When it's cold (even when it's below freezing outside and I don't let it warm up much) mine will go in fine if I'm gentle. It will go in with a little crunch if I throw the shift really fast. There's no if it will go in, it's just how smooth it goes in. I wonder why yours wont go in.
Yeah I just use 20W-50 engine oil because the previous owner used that (he was using a Castrol though and I use Valvoline) and I use it in my Jeep so I have a lot of it around. |
CraigFL
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 4:54 pm: | |
I'd be curious to know about other cars but mine will NOT go into second gear at ambient temps of 50 degrees F to 75 degrees F. No amount of gentle forcing seems to allow it to go into 2nd -- although I haven't used my foot yet! When the oil temp rises to about 160 degrees F, I am able to shift easily into 2nd.
The choices for oil were Amsoil, Redline and Mobile 1 but I was impressed by the Redline website and the technical help they gave me for the selection. Since I didn't see any major improvement, I may switch.
And Peter... I say if the Castrol 5W-50 is working for you, don't change. If your oil consumption is good, and it seems to be, it looks like a winner. |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 12:06 pm: | |
Anybody use Castrol Syntec 5W-50 in their engines? I've been using this now for several years in my daily driver and I have NO OIL CONSUMPTION. Every time I pull the dipstick, its always up to the line. When dino oil was in there before, it consumed. When I put the Ferrari back on the road, I was intending to use this motor oil, but maybe I should double-check with you guys out there. |
Christiank (Christiank)
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 11:26 am: | |
As stated by the others this is normal for Ferrari. I changed to Penzoil 80-90 plus two small cans of LSD from the GM dealer and that improved it quite a bit. I tried a synthetic oil before and it got worse. |
Bret M
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 10:31 am: | |
I switched to Amsoil 80w-90 and it seems to work really well. I had Redline in it before and the Amsoil is better in my opinion. I think the next time I change I am going to go to Mobil 1 75w-90, I've heard over and over again that it is just about the best. Regardless of which one, there are definitely benefits of using synthetic gearbox oil, especially with the whole limited-slip compliance and all. I
In all honesty though, I still use "dino" oil (Valvoline 20w-50) for engine oil. My car has a very small oil leak, but even with it losing some there I only have to put in a quart every 1000-1500 miles. I guess it doesn't burn much (the previous owner had it rebuilt by Ferrari like 7500 miles ago). Before it developed the leak I can't remember ever having to top if off. A lot of people say that you should switch to synthetic oils all around, but it works so well with "dino" engine oil that I don't want to switch and find that the synthetic doesn't work as well.
I've never had to do the 1st to 3rd thing. When it's cold, if I take it easy (don't try to shift like Phil Hill at Monza) and ease it into 2nd it works perfect (I do the same for 4th). Once it warms up all is pretty much fine, but it still isn't the smoothest shifter. I think it might be the most fun to shift out of anything though. No car I've ever driven is so rewarding to shift perfectly. |
CraigFL
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 7:22 am: | |
My 328 does the same thing.. you are using the standard Ferrari procedure to go from 1st to 3rd until it warms up. In an effort to try to solve this problem, I did switch to Redline synthetic oil but I still can't do it until it's warm -- although it may have helped a little. I did use the recommended viscosity so I don't think any more improvement could be had unless I went to a lighter weight oil -- which I wouldn't do.
Of course there is always the controversy between the synthetics and the regular oil products. My personal belief (and I have no way to actually prove this), is that early products probably did cause some problems because manufacturers didn't do widespread long-term testing but the business has "matured" now so that they are made much better. You do need to be sure you select the right product, especially for transaxles and limited slip ones. |
irfgt
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 6:45 am: | |
This is standard equipment on Ferrari as well as most manual transmissions that use heavy weight lubricant. |
GREG
| | Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2001 - 6:39 am: | |
Hi, I have a 78' 308 GTS and when my car is cold it has a slight grind into second gear. Is this something to worry about? I try to bypass 2nd gear till it warms up. Is there a good trans. fluid I should try? I have heard that the Synthetics can cause premature trans. wear? Thanks. |
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