Suberman

I just gotten delivery of my brand new 07 GDB Spec C. It's got about 5 miles on the odometer. As i drove out of the dealership, i noticed that it's quite hard to shift into 1st. It feels notchy and sticky. I was thinking it might be really tight as it's new. I've put on about 40 miles running it in and it doesn't seem to be improving.

I have to clutch in a few times or re-engage 1st a couple of times to get it in.

Thing is, although it's brand new, it has been sitting in storage for the past 2 years or so. Do you fellas think the oil in the tranny could be the culprit? I can't think of any other things that could have a shelf life.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Even though its been sitting in storage for 2 years it still needs servicing, probably needs the oil changing (well a good servicing tbh) as the gearbox oil on these is a 12 month change (also check the levels).

Tony

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh and where are the pics?

Tony

Suberman

12 months? That soon? I gotta take a look at the manual then.

Here she is, out from captivity for the past 2 years. Looking dirty and wild.






Day of delivery.





More pictures to follow in the gallery. Hopefully my camera skills improve by then.

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

Lovely car sir , personally I cant see why the G/box oil would need changeing ? ... just cos it sat in a g/box for 2 years but driven no where ...... you dont throw oil away thats sat on the shelf in a can after any lengh of time let alone after 12 months . I,de keep running it in , see if it loosens up , if not , you have a warranty ?

Suberman

I'm not too sure too mate. But i do know that oil has a certain shelf life? The service booklet states to change oil (eg. 24 months or 40,000km whichever comes first) so i guess that should be a reason for me to change it?

Yeah i have a warranty. but i don't want anyone opening up my tranny. Unless they are willing to replace me a entire gearbox. Anyhow, knock on wood!

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

for the3 sake of £50 get some fresh Castrol syntrax in there mate, infact get a full service of all fluids, plugs- the works!

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

By the way stunning car mate how comes its been in storage for so long??

480bhp.com

looks like it's got different tyres on now compared to what's shown as it come out of storage

Suberman

Thanks!

Yeah, i just booked her in for a tranny oil change tomorrow morning. I was thinking of doing the full service when i hit 1,000km. Hmmm....i'll ask the dealership if they've changed the oil before. I suspect, not!

I believe these were leftovers from the Group N rally programme that the local dealership runs.

Full story here -> https://www.scoobynet.com/members-ga...self-xmas.html

Suberman

Yeah, the RE070s that came with the car developed flatspots on them after over 2 years of storage.

They replaced them with RE001s, which are inferior to the RE070s. Anyway, i work for Bridgestone, so i've placed an order for a brand new set of RE070.

Another thing that irritates me, the rubber/plastic trim pieces around the windows have stains/blemishes that won't come off. Guess the dust must've made its mark there permanently.

shaggydabbydoo

lovely car mate did u get a deal on the car as was in storage for so long if so how much where from and is there any left???

Also to help with your Q i had a new gear box fly wheel and clutch fitted and suffer from the same problem on my 02. i was told that this is normal for about 10 to 20,000 miles by the garage that completed the work. Tend to pull away in second now uptil car warms up then seems to free up a peice hope the garage was right.....................

Suberman

Well, sort of. But i'm from Singapore. So car prices are quite different here. Just for reference. I got it cheaper than a brand new 09 hatch STI. We have a unique tax system here. Basically the dealership only makes about 2k pounds out of it. Which is really a good deal in this sense.

Yeah, there are a few more white ones left. Come stay here, and i'll hook you up to a good deal.

oilman

iTrader: (9)

When oil is opened oxidisation begins, not so much of the oil, but of the additive pack in the oil. With most engine oils, you should use it within 12 months of opening the bottle. Gear oils do last a bit longer though.

Suberman

I've just changed the tranny and engine oil. Mileage at exactly 60 miles. I opted for mineral oil by the dealership.

I'm not sure if its me, but the shifting has just improved very little if anything at all.

I currently own at 09 hatch STI. The gearshifts were definitely notchier when it was brand new. But nothing this tight. I'm going to run her in more to see if it improves.

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

I cant believe you expected an improvement....... just think...... that oil spent millions of years underground and you changed it cos it sat in your g/box without turning a wheel for 2 years ?

r1c

iTrader: (9)

Could it be possible that there a small amount of rust on thee input shaft, making the clutch drag a tiny bit? Being a ford tech, the 2001 mondeo had a similar problem just had to drop a bit if grease on the shaft, sorted it a treat!!!
If it's been sitting it could be possible, and pumping the clutch to temporarily sort it sounds very much like it.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Of the cars I driven that were hard to shift into first I found that shifting into 2nd gear before comming to a halt made engaging 1st easier ( '87 G50 911s and decrepid old series Land Rovers being the main ones, both would refuse to engage first otherwise).

I was always instructed that for normal driving you should be shifting into 1st only when stationary or moving slower than a walking pace. This advice probably came from the days when cars didn't have very good syncros on 1st gear. But the same theory applies well to newer cars that are a little reluctant in engaging 1st.

When doing above, it should always slot into gear without using any more force than what can exerted with just a single index finger.

skinner

It mite have the wrong oil grade for our climate

Suberman

I'm from Singapore mate. The dealership put in 75W-90 which is the recommended viscosity.

Noris8322

iTrader: (1)

Hi, do you have the problem when sitting still or when moving slowly??

Suberman

I've not driven the car a whole lot yet. Its got about 120miles on it. But i think more so when sitting still, but that could just be due to the fact that, i've yet done alot of downshifting to 1st at a rolling speed.

apac

iTrader: (2)

i've just had a gearbox oil change on my spec C and now find the gear change tighter/harder than before. I think it seems to be worst when the car is cold especially in our recent cold snap (not applicable to you howerever). Take the car for a good run to warm things up and see if that helps at all.

apac

iTrader: (2)

My classic impreza hated that. not a good idea

Suberman

That sounds like something worth investigating.

But correct me if i'm wrong, isn't the input shaft in the gearbox itself? How does that get rusty? When its coated with oil? And how does the input shaft affect clutch operation?

r1c

iTrader: (9)

One end of the input shaft is outside the box, it's the part the goes through the clutch plate, any sort of damp can cause the rust, could even be dry to make the clutch drag, best way to check is when it does it ie first thing when cold, switch off the engine release the clutch, try engaging 1st if it still does it it will eliminate any clutch issue, to be honest it could just be Subaru gearboxes my classic hate 1st gear. Only goes in smoothy when I'm stationary. You may find it improves with use. Lovely car by the way !!!

Suberman

Release the clutch as in clutch out? So if it engages means it is unlikely to be clutch issues?

I find that when the engine is off, it is notchy engaging any gears, i would still need to clutch in for the gears to go in smoothly. But 1st still sticks even with the engine off (regardless of clutch in or out)

I was thinking, maybe there might be air in the clutch hose? Making the clutch difficult to fully release.

fastmike

iTrader: (4)

If its still "notchy" with the engine off , it isnt a clutch issue or a rusty 1st motion shaft....Its just new , if your concerned go back to the dealer and ask them .Personally I dont see the point of removeing the box and replaceing one new gear with another new gear ..... think about that for a minute

r1c

iTrader: (9)

Sounds to me like a gearbox issue not clutch, if the prob is still there with the engine off it has to be the gearbox!! How many miles doe you have on it now? Surely a warranty on it? Could you take it to a dealer and get it checked out at least it would put your mind at rest, And should be free!!!

Suberman

I did think that being a brand new car, and a "Spec C" at that, it shouldn't have any issues as we all know that the JDMs are usually the best built. But this car has been sitting in the warehouse for over 2 years, i'm just concerned this could somehow cause something to not work right which is causing this problem. I don't know. Meanwhile, I intend to completely break in the engine up to 1500 miles and hope it gets better before i go back to the dealer to have them take a look. To be honest, the dealership's service department is just rubbish. I've had many bad experiences with them.

What about having air in the clutch system? I find that with the engine running, and it decides to get sticky, re-engaging the clutch 2-3 times helps.

It's got almost 600 miles now. Yes i do have warranty, but like i mentioned to fastmike, the dealer's service guys are just rubbish. They have made things worst on my hatch STI previously!! I certainly do not want them to open up the box (even if it's under warranty) and realise it's not the gearbox and have everything put back the way a backyard mechanic would. I know people who work in the dealership.