911Dave

Is it normal for a 5-speed to hardly be able to shift into 2nd when the tranny is cold? I'm using Swepco 201 and after a couple of miles the shifting smooths out and it's perfect when warm. But 2nd gear just doesn't want to engage when first starting out. It doesn't even have to be a particularly cold day either.

laneskelton

My car is the same way, and I think it's pretty normal

Ben B

I have no problem going & or out of any gear... but my shifter bushings do need replaced.

ColinB

Dave
Never heard of Swepco but the oil definitely makes a very big difference to the shift characteristics especially when cold. Where I live we never get to freezing point but when I first bought the car it wouldn't go into reverse in winter to get out of the garage. I would have to put it into reverse (with difficulty) before starting the engine. First to second was difficult too. Changing the oil to Mobilube 1 synthetic transformed the box, it feels like a new box altogether now and when I drained a sample off three years and 20 000km later it was still clean.

Colin. 89GT

Imo000

My car feels the same too. This issue has been brought up over the years and seems to be common for the 5-speeds. I just shift from 1st to 3rd until the transmission warms up.

nee.dragger

Mine is the same way, hard to shift into second until it is warm. I just start the car, let it warm up for a few minutes befroe driving off. Makes a little bit of a difference, doesn't take to long to be able to shift into second after that.

WallyP

One common cause of hard shifting is a dragging clutch, usually caused by either air in the hydraulics, a clutch disk that hangs on a worn center shaft, or a maladjusted center plate on the twin-plate unit.

Shark Lover

I noticed mine was a little tight going into 2nd from 1st when cold so I changed to Red Line it is a little better but not much. I also changed to Devek short shifter.

heinrich

VERY NORMAL ..... with Swepco.

When I bought my S4 years ago, it would feel as if 2nd was gated, locked-out for a good 5 seconds before it would enter 2nd on a cold morning (not that cold here). But when I drained the blue stuff and replaced it with Mobil One Synthetic, the problem magically disappeared as if the box was brand new. I've driven on the same clutch and gearbox now for 6 years and I recently looked at the clutch which is still in excellent shape. I drive hard and my car puts out gobs of torque on the dyno (measured 299/299 to the wheels at one point) ..... So .... don't know if you'll have the same result, but for me I will never come near swepco again.

Imo000

Heinrich,

What weight of Mobil 1 did you use for the trans?

NickT

Mine does the same thing when the temp is cold, < 32F.. Think I'll switch to the Mobil 1..

heinrich

Imo I went with what stock recommendation was per factory (or closest) ... been so long ago

Earl Gillstrom

I tried Swepco many years ago with the same results as everyone else.
Almost impossible to shift when cold.
Switched to Mobil 1 and the first shift when below freezing is a little balky, but then good.
BTW, the Mobil 1 that I use is Mobil 1 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lubricant.
The bottle says "Exceeds performance requirements of API Service GL-5". Porsche recommends GL-5.

Imo000

OK, cool! Thanks guys.

jeffz993

i am having the same problem, but much more severe. i bought the car 10 days ago (95-993) solid car all has worked well for the first 200 miles. mid day saturday get in car, start it, let warm a minute or so, try to put in reverse wont go into gear. until then it shifts great. i let it warm up a little more and no difference. i turn off car put it in R and restart and go. drive around town warms up and all is good. today same but worse, didnt even take it out of garage. any ideas? car has 56k mi. at 48k records show a rsr clutch and lw. flywheel. and fatory porsche sevice at 52k thank for any input. jeff