My 07 2.4l 5spd seems to shift rough into 3rd gear. Only when up shifting, not donshifting though. I drive conservatively, shifting between 2500 and 3k rpm. I have to shift real slow into 3rd for it to be smooth. I cant tell if its a worn synchro or just notchy shifter. Only 34k miles of adult owned miles on her so far. Is this common, or should i be taking it in for a looksee under the powertrain warranty? Appreciate any feedback.

 

Take it in for a looksee, you may have a failing slave cylinder on the clutch, or another issue. Synchro issues aren't common, but problems with the hydraulic components of the clutch are.

 

If it's only in one gear(3rd) then I wouldn't think it was a hydraulic issue. A hydraulic problem will usually effect all gears because it is an engage/disengage issue. I would check the shifter and cables first.Remember that the cables have those cheap little retainers and that cable could be moving in the slot at the retainer when you shift to 3rd gear. If they are OK then maybe you could have a synchro acting up.

 

If it was a failing syncro, wouldn't it fail on downshifts, as well as upshifts??? I would lean toward something going on with the shift cable.

 

the manual shifter has a lockout tab(u shaped) on the shifter ball socket just underneath the boot. this positions the stick in neutral. then u have to release the clips that hold the cables to the cable ends down under the shifter assembly and then reclip them. the shift arms on the trans are spring loaded to neutral so this syncs the cables to the shifter. slight adjustments might be needed. since there is no actual shift gate for the stick, the cables need to be sync'd to the stick because of the forward/backward swing(arcs) versus the side to side swing(arcs) of the cable end ball sockets. this geometry forms a virtual shift gate as if the stick was going directly into the top of a manual trans.

the u shaped clip was put on the shift ball to make assembly at the factory, idiot proof. its reaaly simple to do once u take the covers off to see all the parts.

 

coolzzy, if you do end up taking your vehicle in for service keep us updated. I hope it's a simple fix for you and you can roll right back out of the dealer and get back to enjoying the vehicle. Have a nice day all!

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service (assisting Michelle)

 

Sorry its been a busy few days. I had a chance to drive my brother in laws 08 LS with the 2.2L and 5spd. It was amazing how much quieter that engine is than the 2.4L. His shifted like butter into every gear except 1st, and he only has 2k less miles on his than on mine (34k on mine, 32k on his). Wierd I couldn't even tell a difference in power between the two, except that with a quieter engine/exhaust it felt zippier... Are the transmissions exactly alike in the 2.4 and 2.2? Mine is a 1LT, his is a LS base model. I've been shifting at a moderate speed into 3rd and it mitigates the problem. I'm afraid of taking it in, and them saying its fine and charging me $90 just to look at it. If it were the synchros or clutch, would that be covered by the powertrain warranty, even if it was just an adjustment needed to the cable?

On an unrelated note, I recently switched from Phillips 66 ethanol free premium 91 to Shell V-Power 93 octane and noticed an almost immediate difference in power and engine smoothness....