Hi everyone.
I've got a bit of a problem with my 2004 Cavaier 5spd. When I start my car up cold, shifting gears is easy and feels just like when the car was new. But once the car warms up (after about 25 minutes of driving) my shifter starts to get really tight. It will move left to right no problem, but back to forth is really hard to pull, and will start sticking and catching. The hotter it is outside the worse it is, almost undrivable. Any ideas what might be wrong? I've asked a few people and they've suggested maybe bad shifter cable, maybe a broken fork inside the trans, or maybe worn synchros. I don't really think it's the last two, but it also seems wierd to me that if the shifter cable was worn that the problem would be so intermittant. Anyone else had this problem and know what it is?
Are you sure you're full of trans-fluid?
I'm more wondering if it's a clutch problem, where it's not engaging the clutch 100%, and you're fighting the synchros when you're shoving it back & forth.
Once it's hot & hard to shift, have you tried shifting with the engine off?
That is a possiblity too, although, its not tight just when shifting into a gear; even moving the stick back and forth1/2 an inch from neutral position it's just as tight and sticky. I will try shifting back and forth once it's hot with the engine off tomorrow and see what happens.
do you have a header? the cables may be too close
When it is hot and I shut the engine off, it is just as hard to shift as with it running.
The only modifictons to the car is an AEM cold air intake, no headers or anything. I had my clutch master AND slave cylinder go at the same time, replacing those was the closest thing I've done to transmission work on this car. That was about 2 years ago. The car has 126000 KMs on it (about 80000 miles I think). I'm not sure what to expect for clutch/synchro life as the car is either driven straight highway or heavy traffic, but I don't think those are causing it.
I had a Mazda RX7 that did the same dam thing, however the rotary motor went before I could fix the problem or even figure it out.
Proud owner: 2002 Cavalier Sedan 2200SFI LN2 4-speed auto.Slowest compact car, only designed for school and groceries.
