Why is 1st so difficult to shift into when I stop? Normal or is something wrong? Thanks
You cant get it into first ? Might be the syncros... I dont own a manual Ferrari but I assume that the car should be able to shift into 1st at speed let alone a standstill.
try shifting to reverse (at a stand still) then straight to first. Should smooth things up a bit. Then when warm, it'll run like a champ
Mine sometimes has trouble going into 1st at stop. Give a little rev and slips right in. Probably minor cable linkage adjustment as opposed to synchro's. My 308 used to do the same thing.
I was given the same advice today from my mechanic - to the word! Sorry I'll be missing you guys on the weekend, maybe catch lunch on Friday.
You may need to have the shifter cables adjusted. The cables will stretch over time with use, and if not re-adjusted can cause the problem you are having. You can adjust the cables yourself, it isn't hard, just time consuming. If you wanna know how to adjust them yourself I will be glad to tell you how to do it.
Try a gear oil switch first. Much easier. Personal favs mobil 1 and redline synthetic. Ferraris are the only boxes that seem to be effected by gear oil selection. Its part of the ferrari personality.
Mine does that when it is first started but after a couple of miles, it warms up and is fine. I think it is a function of the car being cold.
Okay but first, are YOU gonna do the work? It's not hard, and all it requires is a 10mm wrench/socket-rachet, some elbow grease, and patience. Oh yeah and a floor-jack would be good too. So whadaya say? Are you ready to get your hands dirty?
ALL RIGHT!! Now your talking. Okay here is the deal. There are two places that you can adjust the shift linkage. The first and most common is under the engine, right were the linkage connects to the selector. The second place you can adjust it is under the bottom of the car, where the shift box is located inside the cabin. You can adjust the linkage at either location, or at both. What you are looking to do is, make sure that the gear fully engages when you shift. You are also making sure that the stick shift goes fully into the slot in the shift gate, in ALL the slots. It is possible to have one or both of the cables either adjusted too short, meaning that the stick will be fully in the slot in the shift gate but it will not have fully engaged the gear. It is also possible to have one or both of the cables adjusted too long, meaning that the gear will be fully engage but the stick shift will not be fully in the slot in the shift gate. Okay so here is what you do: 1) Make sure that the gear box is out of gear, and in neutral. 2) Block the front wheels so that they don't roll when you lift the car. 3) Position the floor jack under the rear of the engine subframe and lift up the rear, so that you have plenty of room to get under the car. Then you will need to place jackstands under the subframe for safety. 4) Remove the cover under the gear box where the cables connect to the linkage. You will now see the adjusters, on the shift cables, attached to the selector. The picture below is of what the adjusters look like. It is from under the shift box, but the adjuster looks the same under the engine. 5) Remove the nut and bolt holding ONE shift cable to the selector. You want to adjust ONE at a time. 6) Loosen the nut behind the adjuster, but DO NOT turn the adjuster yet. 7) This step is IMPORTANT. Remember to COUNT how many HALF turns you make in either direction. This is so that if you make the shifting worse you can put it back to where it was when you started. 8) To adjust the cable out, or make it longer, you turn the adjuster counter clock wise. Two adjust it in, or make it shorter, turn the adjuster clock wise. What ever way you adjust it, in or out, only make HALF a turn, and remember to COUNT the HALF TURNS. 9) After you have made your adjustment, attach the cable to the selector again, then drop the bolt through the hole from the top. You don't need to put the nut on yet, until the cable is adjusted to where you want it. This saves some time, because you could be taking the bolt out several times, and who wants to keep unscrewing a nut over and over. 10) Go inside the cabin and shift the gears to see if your adjustment made it better or worse. 11) Repeate steps 5-10 as needed, until you have the cable/s adjusted just right. This is where LOTS of patiences comes in. 12) After you have adjusted the cable/s to where you like them, bolt everything back down. Since you are having a problem with 1st gear not going all the way in, I suggest you try adjusting the cable on the left hand side first. That is the left hand side of the car, looking at the car from the rear. Try making a half turn out, this will make the cable longer, and see what that does. It's going to be ALOT of trial and error, so be patient. Again remember to COUNT the half turns, and only adjust HALF a turn at a time. If you make thing worse you can put it back to where it was. Happy wrenching. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ernie, You could be right but I disagree with your diagnosis based on her first post. hard when running no statment about not running. For a rookie and fluid change is much easier first attempt and a lot less frustrating than messing with the shifter than have to tow the car to FNA when no gears can be selected. Don't believe me?...O.K. How many on the board have had amazingly different felt shifts from just a gear oil change? No Doubt where are you? You are the king of shearch. Turn our new Sister onto a good thread about the results of gear oil changes and ferrari gearboxes.
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101885 Changing from Shell/Agip (prior owner) to Redline's superlight shockproof made an enormous difference in ease of shifting for me. Other 348 Brothers really like Redline's 75w90NS (that "NS" at the end is important)...and I'll be switching to that next time to avoid condensation in the tranny. I've heard good things about Royal Purple, but can't vouch for it personally. That being said, Wow! Ernie, great write-up on adjusting the shift cables!
Well yes and no. Yes the 355 can have the linkage adjusted, but no not in the same way. The 355 uses a shift rod instead of cables, which is why the 355's shift better.
Now that FBB has mentioned it, I will agree that it is easier to change the oil in the gear box first. Try that and see what happens.
I have had the best results with redline 70-90 NS and mobil 1 gearbox oils. The NS has no friction modifier so the oil viscosity works better for our tweeky gearboxes. I have also had good luck with mixing in up to 10% of redline straight 70-90 to add in a bit of friction modifier. Amazingly that effects the way the differential feels in the transaxle.
