Hey guys, so my 9 gsr has had this problem for some time now and I'm not sure what's causing it. It's very hard to shift from 2nd to 3rd under load at high revs. No grinding, just won't go into gear. Sometimes I notice if I shift farther to the right (almost as if I'm shifting in between 3rd and 5th) it will go into 3rd easier, but it may be my imagination. It also has some problems in the morning when cold, getting it into reverse or 1st.

clutch pedal adjustment seems good, and everything else works fine. Is it possible for the cable to be misadjusted?

 

Could be clutch not disengaging 100% or a syncro issue.

 

So first thing a definition:
Clutch Reserve: The amount of clutch pedal travel (from fully pressed clutch pedal) you have before the clutch disc contacts the flywheel/pressure plate.

So it could be one of three things (or both):
- If you have an aftermarket clutch, you might be running out of reserve. As you raise the rpm's your pedal reserve actually goes down to due to the clutch disc itself deflecting and causing earlier contact

- You have worn synchros and it is taking extra time to match the rpm's (which in turn raises the load). Regardless you are going to have higher loads shifting at higher rpm's in general.

-Your reserve can be effected by your master cyl and your slave cyl efficiency; if you haven't replaced your brake/clutch fluid in a long time, now might be a good time to change and bleed it really good.

 

Your suggestion about the clutch reserve makes a lot of sense. Despite the pedal being adjusted properly, it does seem like I'm getting clutch drag. Espically in the morning. As I'm trying to shift to 1st or reverse, the car will actually roll slightly forward or backward depending on the gear I'm trying to go into.

 

That is the ticket then.

If you can put it into 1st on a flat surface and it starts rolling, something needs to be adjusted.

At higher RPM you will almost certainly not have any reserve if that's the case from a cold start.