Since you live in Iceland, which is typically cold , your car needs to warm up and then you should notice a difference in your shifting into first gear. I would also check your clutch pedal to make sure it is engaging in the correct spot.

 

If you are still in warranty, use all stock fluids. If you are out of warranty, call Shep Trans and see what they recommend.

DO NOT EVER use anything other than stock fluid in the transfer case, btw.

 

I jacked the whole car up. found out the clutch is not disconnecting properly... at least it was hard to get into first(only a slight tire spin, wich I think is normal) grinded into second and so on....

also I noticed that the clutch has to much free roll and am on my way to see if I can fix that right now. Thanks alot for all your replies!

 

Just to chime in here, I had my 03 have its syncros replaced twice, the 5th gear syncros that is. They were uprated the first time, and once again updated after that, and still it wound up grinding. It seems to be an unfortunate design flaw, I've been looking at alternate gearsets but there are two big problems, big noise, big expense....

Good luck with your fix, I would baby it as much as I could to not exxagerate the problem. My 5th gear would shift fine as long as I didnt beat on it too badly.

 

Call ShepTrans, they have a fix for the '03 5th gear problem. I had mine fixed twice by the dealer, the 2nd one I had to pay for, so when it went for a 3rd time, I said "**** you guys", and sent it to Shep. It's been great for over a year now.

 

I am having this exact same problem 15K , right after an ACT HDSS clutch install. I have noticed that my 5th gear will grind when going from 4th to 5th. I can prevent if I push in the clutch and hesistate while I go into 5th. If I shift normally it will grind. If I ease it kind of hesitating in neutral and then go into 5th it will shift.

I did not do this before the clutch install. The only thing that was changed was, the clutch hdss and a resurfaced flywheel. Oh and some royal purple tranny fluid.

I'm going to switch back to OEM fluids and see if that helps, if not I will be forced to take it to the dealer.

Warranties? Warranties can only be voided on parts that are responsible for the damage. Can a clutch (aftermarket cause synchros to go bad?) If not, then I should be okay with a warranty, if not, then well I'm guess i'm screwed.

Also, I have adjusted my clutch pedal both up and down and it has not helped.

 

It depends on your dealership....

Mine installed my two disk cusco and didnt adjust it properly. I went back there and they gave me hell about it, so I called corporate and threatened a lawyer. They brought it back and rebuilt the entire tranny, very poorly.


They WILL tell you that the clutch caused this problem and you won't win....

Sorry for the bad news.
Truthfully, your best option is to not have anything left to do with Mitsu regarding the tranny. Invest in a shep or TRE or Bushwacker tranny and be done with it for a long time. Pricey by comparison, but much less a headache.

 

Solid advice. My brother is a mitsu tech, so I could get things warrantied. I never do though, I don't want to miss a good oppurtunity to upgrade something so I don't just smoke it again. Tcase went to Shep. When the tranny gets rebuilt this off season, it'll go to Shep as well. When the HG blew I took the oppurtunity to install ARPs. Etc. Even though it's (potentially) free, getting the broken part replaced with the same weak part is not always a good strategy.

 

I also have that same problem. 13k on the odometer. It's only the 4th to 5th gear change, and I can avoid it by hesitating and letting the RPMs drop while in neutral before getting into 5th. My car is still stock, so I should be able to get this fixed under warranty, right? I never had to worry about these warranty questions with my Acura!

 

If its just 5th gear grinding, its your synchro. If all the gears are grinding, you clutch needs to be adjusted, or replaced. Try changing to a aftermarket fluid. I highly recommend BG synchroshift II, and if you can't get that, try Pennzoil Synchroshift. I've personally seen these fluids "cure" the 5th gear grind multiple times.

 

I've got this problem going into 3rd gear on my '05. I'm still on the stock clutch. It's one of the few OEM things still left on the car. LOL. I wonder if Mitsu will warranty a new 3rd gear synchro for me. I guess I'll have to find out.

 

Welps, looks like i was just hit with this problem. 5k on my odometer though. Hopefully i dont have to fight my dealership. I will bring it up as a known issue.

 

this **** started happening to me as well. 47k on the odo. fifth gear grind started last week. and yesterday the clutch started slipping, only in 4th & 5th gear though, atleast thats what i think it is. oh and i run royal purple in the tranny. m gonna change the tranny fluid today with royal purple cuz i already bought it. and if that doesn't help at all, m gonna try synchromesh like someone suggested earlier.

 

FWIW, my problem turned out to be related to transmission linkage, not the clutch or synchros. It was a result of a botched STS install...my own install.

 

anyone know how much it costs out of warranty for the 5th gear synchros to get fixed??