Hey guys, i was in VT this weekend, and unfortunalty my GF had to rush me the the ER cause i got 2 Ulsers in my Cornia, FUN! plus the ER was an hour away

But She drove me to the ER, she only had basics down on driving a stick and just in a parking lot. She scared me alot, and had too much pride and ended up breaking my car. (I think)

After i got out the ER, i could finnally see and drive, and took my baby home.

i go to throw her into 4th and she grinds going into 4th while moving. as i pull over and put my drops in. i have no problem going into 4th at idle, but at speed it grinds in. so i have basically stayed out of 4th since then, which has included a drive home from western VT to coastal NH, and a small trip to the beach and now to work. i have no problems with 1,2,3,5,6,R just 4th. so ive been just skipping.

Could my hypothosis be correct in: i have a damaged synchro?

 

Yes, very possibly that the synchromesh ring for fourth gear got a little ..."used"

Test by when shifting into 4th, let the RPMs drop... and again by raising the RPMs and attempting to shift. see if you can find the sweet spot... aslo do it as a down shft...

Can you live with it? e.g., I have a 1975 MG Midget the 3rd Gear synchromesh ring is buggered up, but I have the low RPM shift that allows me to get it into gear with out grinding it to bad.

Motor on!

 

well i do have an aftermarket warranty on it, that i will be going to claim. i use 4th alot since alot of the roads around me are 35 mph and at that speed 3rd is a tad high, not as big of a deal, but 5th seems to be a few steps away from lugging.

i havent dropped the RPM completly going into 4th and going in this morning, i tried to rev match, and it worked a bit better

 

Try a "double clutch" technique when shifting into 4th.
When up shifting: depress clutch, shift to neutral, quickly release the clutch, push it in again and shift into 4th. If it goes in smooth, then the syncro is caput.
When downshifting: do the same but blip the throttle when the clutch is out in neutral to the extent that the revs match reasonably well when letting off the clutch in 4th.

Once you get good at this, try downshifting this way while simultaneously braking (ball of the foot on the brake, outside edge of the heel on the throttle. You've now mastered the "heel toe" and you will be ordained as a master of the manual transmission.

Once you've acquired this great status, you can then think about getting the tranny repaired.

I too had an MG with a buggered 3rd gear syncro, it must be something about British cars.

 

i have a hard time heal toe shifting, i have massive feet and legs, very hard for me, but i do blip and down shift before braking. i dont track so i dont try to heel toe, its very hard with my feet in this small car haha