there is a simple fix. let the car warm up.
Well, I guess that that's all, folks. Thanks for all suggestions and tales. Thanks to all the indications: 1. I am worried any more with the problem of selecting second gear when cold. It seems it is not just my car... 2. I will live with it. No holes, no synthetic oil. I will warm it up and take it easy. Thanks again and Ciao Eugenio
1. I am worried any more with the problem of selecting second gear when cold. It seems it is not just my car... 2. I will live with it. No holes, no synthetic oil. I will warm it up and take it easy. Thanks again and Ciao Eugenio[/QUOTE] Eugenio,The synthetic oil is very good and will help lubricate better.Consider the switch or ask about before you do a tranny flush. Modern technology really helps these cars. My 74 308gtb uses all syn oil in the tranny, and motor and runs beautiful, even at 300,000 miles. As for the second gear thing, drive the car in 1st gear around the block a few times if you can to let the tranny and engine oil up to temp. A Ferrari mech in italy told me about 3 miles is needed to get things warmed up and don't push past 3,000rpm until everything is warmed.Once warmed properly you can blast off for hours. P.S. don't forget to cool her down before you shut the engine off if you hammer her.
I put ROYAL PURPLE 85-90 LS in my 308 QV box and the difference was incredible. Every 308 I've owned had this problem.... some worse than others. Now 1000 miles later...... still great shifting cold or warm, and no leaks. This ia good product and NAPA auto parts can get it for you.
My teacher always said: "physics is not always about understanding, sometimes it is about accepting". btw Big red, 300.000 miles?? wow Ton
The many posts on this subject suggest that a solution to the second gear problem may ultimately result in premature synchro wear. I note the many posts that swear by Mobil 1 followed by others that suggest that it is not the right oil for a Ferrari transmission becauseof such things as yellow metal in the transmission. Others say there is no yellow metal in the transmission. Perhaps Ferrari NA could weigh in with an opinion.
Alfas have the same problems with second gear, and I recall hearing somewhere that Ferrari transmissions were engineered the same way. If that's true, then this may be helpful. In the Alfas anyway the problem has been identified as underdesigned synchros: the gears are relatively massive, and so the synchros have to work pretty hard; after a while they go bad. Note: the fact that changes of gear oil have fixed the problem for others is at least potentially consistent with this, inasmuch as things may move easier with newer/lighter oil, bringing them back within the range at which the tired synchros will work. The solution Alfisti have found has been to drill the actual gears to remove some mass. They are way overdesigned; this does not significantly weaken them. One guy who did this said that after lightening the gears he couldn't make his transmission grind if he tried. So, that's something to think about. Disclaimer: the only evidence I have of similarity in engineering between Alfa and Ferrari transmissions is "a guy told me." But it didn't sound implausible.
I use to have the same problem in my old Alfa Spider! It dissapeared after I had the gearbox revised.
