Hi all! I finally became a 456GT owner about two months ago. It's a manual 1995 Agento Nürburgring over black interior with 131.000km on the clock. It's the only one sold new in Norway with complete Norwegian history. There's been some very minor issues, like the A/C had to be recharged and the drain for the A/C evaporator had to be unclogged. Also the 10-cd changer is acting up. Anyways, the issue for this post is the gear change. I'll try to describe this as best as I can. I'm having difficulty getting into 2nd gear even after several kilometers of driving. Also, sometimes when going into 3rd gear I feel a kick-back from the gear stick. This happens when both when cold and at operating temps. I've read somewhere here that going into 2nd when cold should be avoided, so that I try to avoid. I'm thinking that this has to do with the gear linkage or maybe the gear stick it self. Clutch feels fine, so does shifting into the other gears, so I think we can exclude the gearbox as well. Any inputs to what it might be?
Could be "wear and tear" on specific synchros. Not all synchros wear at the same rate. I would cover the basics: Who did the last gearbox oil service and when? The previous owner or a garage? Do you know what type of oil is in the gearbox? Maybe a change of oil brand might help. I would look for metal on your magnetic fill plug. I think the previous owner of my car found debris on the magplug, wiped it clean (so it wasn't detected on the pre-purchase inspection) and then sold it as fast as he could. The first time I checked my gearbox oil, there were some large metal fragments on it. Expensive repairs followed, but there are still issues. I now have a car which is hard to get into second gear (hot or cold) and jumps out of second gear when I try to accelerate. Adjusting the external linkages didn't help. I'm expecting a second expensive overhaul.
Do not attempt to shift into 2nd with a cold engine. "A few kilometers" is most likely not enough time. I have no trouble going from 1st to 3rd during this time period, at least 10 minuets. Quite a few YouTube videos on this
I'm aware of that. The car was serviced last year, but I'm not sure if the gearbox was a part of the service. I need to check the documents. As I mentioned, it feels like a linkage problem rather than a gearbox problem.
that's hilarious! funny I'm only now recognizing the difficulty of 2nd in my car, although I hadn't paid much attention.... but now I will!!!!!!
you know what man that's just so disappointing! I hope you called the PO and gave him a piece of your mind!
Try to shift into the next gear as fast as possible after depressing the clutch, and by this I absolutely do not mean that you should force the lever in to the next gear, but only to waste as little time as possible as soon as you depress the clutch. Make sure to lift off the throttle as abruptly as possible to force the fuel cut from the ECU, which is not easy when the engine is cold as it is then running richer (warm up phase) and that prevents rpm to drop as sharply as when it is warm. This allows me to switch into 2nd as smooth as butter when the gearbox is stone cold, without forcing in any way, but this can vary a lot from a car to the next one as the throttle linkage should be well adjusted and the throttle bodies fully degreased to allow for quick operation. It takes time to sort out but very enjoyable and satisyfing when done.
LOL! Finding a combination that includes Shatner and a 90's Ferrari is gold! But back to the topic, my 99 550 is slightly more stiff when going into 2nd cold, but nothing like some of the older Ferrari's I've driven.
We just got a Ferrari 456 GT Tuesday night (it was shipped to us from FL); it does the same thing, and our car has been thoroughly serviced, so I am wondering if it's just a 30 year old car thing. I drove the car to work today, and I drove it for over 15 miles before I tried 2nd gear, and it was fine once the engine was warmed up.
1995 GT owner here. I’ve had the car for two years. Not that I’ve put many miles on it, but second gear is a definite ‘no no’ before the oil is up to temp. Usually about 10 minutes.
Two things I always tell people who have shift problems before thinking about shfiter adjustment. 1st. look inside the gate and make sure no one dropped a penny in there or other debris. I can't tell you how many times I have removed bent coins. Second try different gear oils. Ferrari are one of the few cars that can react night and day to gear oil choice. Start with what is easily available at your parts store before you go to other brands harder to source. Your car will shift smoother with one brand over another.
Aligning the grill is also crucial, then there is the play that can develop between the shiftrod and the ball.
The transmissions that earned Ferrari a reputation for hard cold shifting were of a very different design with very different syncro design and material. Since the 456 and then the 550 were introduced they never had that reputation. Those transaxles were supplied by a then new supplier and in the dealer network had a reputation of lacking the temperature fussiness of prior cars. In my experience if you have a shifting issue, hot or cold you either have and adjustment issue, a mechanical transmission issue or an incorrect oil issue. I own a TR, those were known for cold shifting issues. I work on and regularly drive 456, 550 and 575 and cannot think of a single client car with a cold shifting issue.
One 575 with "cold shift" issue. First to second is "tight'" until warm. A first to third shift is now hard wired in me. Unchanged from 2000 miles to 115,000 miles.
When I first got my 550, the 1st to 2nd shift was tough until warm. When I had the PPI done, I was told it had the proper rated oil in it, along with the proper modifiers added. When I had the car serviced by Bradan, they changed all the fluids, including the trans-axle. I'm not sure what they put in, but I have had no issues with the 1-2 shift since. I was surprised that a change in oil made that much difference.
If you don't mind it go ahead and live with it. But you do not have to live with it. It is not an unavoidable characteristic of the car.
