2nd Gear clunk?? (yes, i searched)
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Evolving Member
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Joined: May 2009
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From: Westchester, NY
2nd gear clunk
I've had the same 2nd gear problem for years (2005 MR with over 80K miles). Note that this is more of a daily driving issue that mostly goes away when driving hard. I'm tired of driving like I'm racing the car from one red light to the next. I REALLY want this issue go away.
When cold and driving/shifting slowly it occurs fairly regularly. Sometimes I must hit an optimum RPM when shifting and it seems OK. For a while I tried shifting quickly from 1st to 2nd so there isn't a lot of load but it almost seems worse. I now find that shifting around 4500 RPM works better, but when cold the clunk often still occurs. I find that if I slam the clutch down it keeps things spinning faster and makes it better. If I'm slower with the clutch it is worse. This clunk is VERY disconcerting. It feels like a crisp clunk (not a grind) and I wonder if damage is occuring. I've resorted to shifting forcefully since being gentle seems to make it worse.
I have taken it to the dealer in the past with no resolution. I believe they told me that the clutch cannot be adjusted (???DBallz reports that you can- How? I'll search the forums as well) and that evo's require that you fully depress the clutch pedal when shifting (I do almost obsessively so it sounded like they think I can't drive a stick). I gave up on the dealer and have been living with it.
I later researched the issue again and decided I should upgrade my shifter bushings. I installed some Buschur bushings and the shifting feels better (keep the bushings lubricated and be prepared to deal with corrosion during install), but the 2nd gear clunk is still there. It used to occur sometimes even when warmed up but I think the new bushings have helped confine it to cold operation (not winter, but cold as in not warmed up). I do not believe bushings will solve the problem.
Nastynine or anyone else with this problem please let me know if you find a fix.
When cold and driving/shifting slowly it occurs fairly regularly. Sometimes I must hit an optimum RPM when shifting and it seems OK. For a while I tried shifting quickly from 1st to 2nd so there isn't a lot of load but it almost seems worse. I now find that shifting around 4500 RPM works better, but when cold the clunk often still occurs. I find that if I slam the clutch down it keeps things spinning faster and makes it better. If I'm slower with the clutch it is worse. This clunk is VERY disconcerting. It feels like a crisp clunk (not a grind) and I wonder if damage is occuring. I've resorted to shifting forcefully since being gentle seems to make it worse.
I have taken it to the dealer in the past with no resolution. I believe they told me that the clutch cannot be adjusted (???DBallz reports that you can- How? I'll search the forums as well) and that evo's require that you fully depress the clutch pedal when shifting (I do almost obsessively so it sounded like they think I can't drive a stick). I gave up on the dealer and have been living with it.
I later researched the issue again and decided I should upgrade my shifter bushings. I installed some Buschur bushings and the shifting feels better (keep the bushings lubricated and be prepared to deal with corrosion during install), but the 2nd gear clunk is still there. It used to occur sometimes even when warmed up but I think the new bushings have helped confine it to cold operation (not winter, but cold as in not warmed up). I do not believe bushings will solve the problem.
Nastynine or anyone else with this problem please let me know if you find a fix.
has anyone successfully adjusted the clutch to prevent the clunk, or is the only option aftermarket bushings? i have been dealing with this since i bought the car 2 years ago, as described in detail by MRevo8maniac above.



