Shifting is rough | FerrariChat

Shifting is rough

Discussion in '308/328' started by nugget, May 18, 2013.

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  1. nugget

    nugget Karting

    Jan 4, 2004
    90
    I have an 89 328, 21k miles, 2nd owner. I put "Mercedes" miles on it. It has always taken 10 to 15 minutes driving before being able to smoothly go into 2nd, all other gears were good off the get go. The last 3 drives it has been rough going into 3rd, and 4th as well. The transmission fluid was changed 2 years ago. I live in the pan handle of Florida and there are no places to take it for service. I will hopefully be moving to Atlanta in 1.5 years were I can take it to Ferrari of Atlanta. Do you think I can baby it for that time. Will the transmission just completely fail or will I just lose a gear? I don't want to be on a drive in 6 months and have it totally fail. I would be in a world of hurt them. I don't live in an area where they pick up cars on flat beds. Any advice would be great. Getting it trucked to Atlanta will be a pain but if that is what I need to do ill do it.
     
  2. tatcat

    tatcat F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 3, 2001
    11,013
    panama city beach FL
    Full Name:
    rick c
    where are you in the panhandle?
    smith motorworks in panama city is a reliable service facility.
    they have tow operators experienced with exotic cars.
     
  3. BEWKABAILEY

    BEWKABAILEY Karting

    Nov 1, 2004
    53
    Sydney Australia
    Full Name:
    Bradley Coleman
    You definalely have an issue ...for a basic reply from your description ....it could be a clutch issue even with the low mileage... If happening in all gears ... You really need this addressed as more damage will be caused and many $$$$$ could be saved ... Does the clutch feel ok .. And operating smoothly ..

    Thanks Brad
     
  4. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

    Mar 26, 2011
    12,083
    FRANCE

    I have two '89, a GTB and a GTS.
    The GTB, which has 30k miles, needs to be driven about 2 - 3 miles for the 2nd gear to engage fully freely in winter, when temperatures are under 0°c, and one to two miles in summer.
    The GTS, which has 14k miles, needs to be driven about 1 - 2 miles for the 2nd to engage fully freely in winter, and in summer usually accepts the 2nd freely right from the start.

    Rough in engaging 3 and 4th gears is NOT normal; the difficulty in engaging 2nd is well known, but otherwise the box, when correctly adjusted, should not provide any difficulty with any other gear (well, the reverse, sometimes, if the car is not fully stopped!)
    I think you should have it checked as soon as possible.

    I am not usually as precise in my technical english as I would like, but I will try again...
    There are a lot of things to check; it could be trouble in your shifting linkage adjustment, among other things. As the gearbox is transversal and the gear linkage movement horizontal, you have a "turnbuckle" in the 'box itself with three "90° levers" (a "renvoi d'angle", in french) one above the other, to convert the horizontal movement to transversal for shifting the cogs. Whenever the forks from the shifting linkage are not fully in the right position, they miss to engage the "90 levers" correctly and slips over it.
    You can end up with no 5th, but twice the 4th in the 4th and 5th position of the gate.
    This is only a rather simple adjustment to do.

    I don't think that you will hurt thetransmission right now, these are a sturdy part on these cars, but don't try to "baby it" for weeks like it is, as this is not normal; it will only get worse. Have it properly checked by a competent mechanic as soon as possible.

    Rgds
     
  5. Verell

    Verell F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    May 5, 2001
    7,022
    Groton, MA
    Full Name:
    Verell Boaen
    First thing to check is to see if the clutch is fully releasing. A dragging clutch can over-ride the synchros & cause hard shifting. Quick check is the clutch pedal level with the brake pedal?
     
  6. wrouster

    wrouster Karting

    Feb 22, 2012
    52
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    William Rouster
    #6 wrouster, May 25, 2013
    Last edited: May 25, 2013
    I agree with everyone who said it should be checked out by an expert, but I wonder what kind of fluid was put in it when it was changed. You might try having the lube changed one more time, but buy the lube yourself. My 328 was shifting very stiffly when I first got it last summer and I checked on Ferrarichat and a number of people recommended buying Redline 75W-90NS gear lube and I put that in and it has shifted beautifully ever since with no warmup needed. I even had to drive it this last February in 20 degree temps and I had no problem getting second immediately after starting!!
     

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