I just changed my oil - full synthetic - (and am gonna hopefully change the sst fluid this weekend) and now my car feels a little different. I'm not sure if the problem was there before, I'm sure it was, just not as noticeable.

1st gear is smooth, shifts to 2nd just fine (actually a little rougher than say two months ago, but not that bad), from 2nd to 3rd gear there is a kinda shuffle that happens. Not sure how to describe it, it feels like I'm going over a few small bumps. Maybe the clutch is trying to get 3rd gear and it's slipping? I'm not sure, I don't know what slipping feels like.

Earlier this month, I went to SSPtx (or Kozmic Motorsports as they wanna be called now) to ask about my relay and starting issues. We were talking about sst problems and what to look for. He said one way to tell if you are having problems would be to drive on a flat road at a constant speed and watch the Tach. If the rpms aren't steady flat, then you may have problems. He said the needle would jump up and down because it's trying to get the next gear or something. I'm not quoting him exactly.

I tried that as I was driving home that day and I didn't notice anything. Now when I try that, I notice the needle move.

I have a GST tune, I drive mainly in Normal / Auto. I'm at 40,000 miles.

Transmission issues scare the crap out of me in this car.

 

How much does the tach move? A small move (like 50-100rpm) is usually just timing related (i.e. the timing is not steady but dynamic), my car does this one quite a bit, but then again it's FAR from stock, ha!
But signifcant tach movement, like several hundred rmp or more, is usually an indication of pressure issues with internal seals. We know now most of the "slipping clutch" problems are actually internal seals.

 

I will pay closer attention during lunch and see how far it jumps....


Found out that it doesn't always move. At 20mph it wasn't moving, at 70mph it wasn't moving, at 40mph it jumps 250-300 rpm. So I guess that's not much to worry about?


Any info about the shutter or shakiness I feel in 2nd gear? If I really get on it and accelerate, I can always feel my car shake.