I changed out the tranny fluid in my Evo today. Mostly in the hopes of fixing the 1-2 shift dilemna. I replaced the factory oil with BG Synchroshift since I've heard many good things about it and successful results. The gearbox definitely feels looser and slightly smoother. The shifts are easier as far as moving the shifter from gate to gate but I still hit those notchy snags between shifts. The 1-2 being the worst. I tried a typical 1-2 shift near redline under load and sure enough it FU#$ing grinded! This has got to be one of the most frustrating encounters with a car I've ever had. The sad thing is I'm pretty much stuck with this problem. I'm seriously thinking of taking it in to the dealership to complain. Regardless of what they claim is warranted and what is not there's no reason for any car to have problems going into a gear 1000rpms before redline. If they have to swap out the whole tranny I think they should do it. It's just not right. If some people aren't having the problem and some are there should be some sort of investigation into why it's happening. It's not by design, no knucklehead would make such a flaw in an otherwise incredible machine.

In short, the BG Synchroshift feels better, shifts smoother, but DOES NOT fix the 1-2 shift problem. I had my fingers crossed but it didn't work.

One other thing. The deceleration noise is still there which leads me to believe that it's in the transaxle making the noise. I didn't change that fluid so it's my guess.

 

I have foun that the 1-2 shift is best made pulling the shifter to the left a little. If you do a straight back shift it will grind. If you shift pulling the lever to the left it will not grind. That seems to be the case with my Evo anyway. I have had plently of successful high rpm speed shifts.

 

I wish that was the problem bro. I've literally gone through every way I can think of shifting it. I missed the gear 3 times at the track with each run using a different method. I tried pulling to the left as you said, shifting earlier, slowing down my shift, straight down, shifting waaay too early which resulted in bog. Anything under 5500rpms seems to be ok. Notchy and not perfect but ok. Over that under WOT and it wants to bounce out back into 1st.

 

have you been escalating through mitsubishi america??

It kinda sounds like a syncro problem either that or the clutch is not fully disengageing (sp). I have a strong feeling mitsubishi is going to have to re-engineer the tranny for 2004.

I don't know the history of your problem but botton line is if you never said anything about racing to the dealer and they are refusing to fix your problem you need to escalate like a bastard through "the vehicles department" with mitsubishi america.

I'm sorry to hear about your problem man, that sucks. I guess I'm lucky the only issue i have is the "normal" decel noise.

 

Definitely sounds like the syncros are worn/damaged. Does it shift easier when you double-clutch?

 

These trannyws will work great but MUST be broken in properly too, just staying under 5000 grand is not just for the engine, the Synchros must do so as well. I did, kept it under 5000 Rpms for over 1000 miles, and it shifts perfectly PAST redline at about 7500, Trade your tranny in, it will only get worse and one day you may force 1st and 2nd gear in at the same time, that is fun.


Good Luck

 

I haven't brought it up to Mitsu yet but I will. I broke the car in according to the manual. I actually went to 850 miles so it should have been broken in. I've been having the 1-2 shift problem since I started driving hard after break in. I will take it in and see what can be done. It's just frustrating. I haven't tried a double clutch but found I don't need to. If I take it to redline and disengage the clutch I can sit on it for a few seconds and shift it in fine. I practically do a double clutch after the grind anyway I'll keep everyone posted on my progress as I'm sure others are having the same problem.

 

I missed second gear once in my car.... But I agree my other cars weren't like this... After I missed the gear I just made sure that I have to put an extra effort of stepping on the clutch all the way to the floor...Especially when redlining.....

 

man I never have a problem at redline, but when just crusin around town going into second sucks sometimes. It sounds like a thud sometimes when putting it in second... almost like a grind but not..

I agree putting it to the left more helps getting into second!

 

Its been years since I missed a shift in any of my cars, but I sure as hell did miss the 1-2 shift in the EVO the other day. Yuckk, what a sickening sound eh?

I am convinced that the EVO has the same torque load issue that the e36 BMW M3's have. Under heavy load the M3 tranny would deflect slightly to the side making the 1-2 gear change difficult at times. Grindage was not uncommon. Kormann motorworks actually sold a special tunnel/tranny cross brace to help correct this problem.

Hopefully some enterprising tuner shop will take a good look at the EVO's tranny mount and tunnel cross-bracing to determine if a beefier aftermarket brace could be added to the EVO.

If this is indeed a problem area, I bet there would be lots of people interested in buying a fix!

I have also been thinking about changing my tranny/transfer case fluid, but am not sure what the best solution is at this point. I am leery of synthetics as they typically don't have the kind of viscocity needed for many gearboxes.

Many people have reported good results,but just as many report more gear noise and worse grinding.

There is a special test called a timkin test that confirms an oils ability to provide protection to metal surfaces under load, and the synthetics typically don't fare that well. Is Bg Syncroshift a synth or regular petroleum formula?

 

Evilution, How many miles are now on your car? I ask because I missed a couple of 1-2 high rpm shifts early then it all smoothed out at ~1200 miles. It's perfect now. Good luck

 

I'm one of the few who's trannies were replaced by mitsubishi due to metal in the fluid. Mine was replaced at right around 685 miles. The original gear box felt a little balky esp bellow 3000 rpm. The new one (I was told was shipped straight from Japan) felt a little worse at first. They never said I needed to break in the new one, nor did they print anything about a breakin period on the work order and I had just passed my factory breakin period so I jumped in and started driving hard.

At 1400 total miles I have yet to miss a shift and the gearbox feels awsome when you drive it hard, down shifts are perfect, never had to wait for an upshift, down shifts into first just fine. I always match revs though esp on down shifts.

Aside form the decel noise my gearbox is awsome, I almost like it better than my old miata. Sucks bad that you got a ****ty one but there are good ones out there.. knock on wood.

On side note, I may try redline shockproof lighweight in the tranny and transfer case to reduce the decel noise:

 

N1OS, BG Synchroshift is regular. Synchroshift II is synthetic. That's the major difference between the two. I went with the regular version.

Chronohunter, I have 5000 miles on the car now so it's been plenty of time to smooth out. I will grind 2nd everytime under load at redline. It really sucks. I'm going to see if Mitsu will do anything about it. They'll give me some BS that I'm not supposed to take it that high and do nothing about it. In which time I take a hammer to the thing and make them replace it because of faulty parts :P

 

Keep us posted on what Mitsubishi's position on this. Sorry you are having the problems!

 

Something else to consider here is the shift knob. Are you using an aftermarket shift knob? If yes try switching back to the factory shift knob and see if there's any difference. I remember reading a post here about a guy running 1/4 mile times and he grinded or missed 2nd gear twice in a row. He then switched back to the stock shift knob and didnt grinded 2nd at all for the rest of his runs.