wmulli

Hi guys,

I just found this forum, so please excuse me if I'm asking a question that's already been answered. I looked everywhere and couldn't find this topic.

My problem is my '96 SC300 seems to eat a 5sp about every 30k miles! I'm on my third tranny, and after only 6000 miles it's starting to make noises. The last two trannys failed with the main shaft bearing.

The dealer looked at me as if I were abusing it somehow (they replaced the tranny's under warrenty). I never "pop the clutch" or "dump it" or even "power shift"! The only thing I can think of that might cause the damage is my habit of downshifting into curves (but again, I'm very gentle at balancing the gas and clutch). I don't feel I've done anything to abuse this tranny. In fact, I've got an '82 280ZX (slightly built) with 250k miles on the original tranny and still going strong (and I drive it a *lot* harder than my SC300!!).

So my question, is this a known defect in the 5sp (after all they only made 1% of the production run as manual trans according to my dealer)? Is it my habit of downshifting?? Could it be an engine alignment problem??

I'd really appreciate any info before I go back and ask the dealer for yet another tranny :(

Thanks in advance!
-Walter

Bean

iTrader: (1)

I dunno man, I drive my 5-speed hard. I downshift into curves; shift really fast when going straight; and I put a lot of load on the driveline from kicking the rear out around corners from time to time.

It sounds like there's something wrong with the installation; you're car most certainly doesn't make enough torque to shock the driveline; so it could possibly be an alignment issue as you said; that can cause serious problems.

Legends6spd

that's interesting. i've just started to driving my 5spd hard after getting accustomed to it. so far no problems, but walter's comments' are scaring me
3rd tranny?
I've never heard anything like it for a Lexus.

wolfy187

you got a lemon, i got my car at 60,000 i drive the car pretty hard and have not even changed out my clutch yet. but i am doing that now to hold the turbo power but i have never had a problem before

Arthur

Rob_O

Sounds like the dealer is putting the wrong fluid in the trannies (unlikely) or you have a poorly machined bellhousing that's putting a side load on the input shaft.

Rob_O

Black94RX-7TT

I agree with Rob. Sounds like there's a funky load being put on the input shaft. Another place to look would be the engine block or tranny case for warpage. It could also be a problem with the tranny/engine mounts, or the driveshaft, but those are far less likely. Do they do a full replacement every time, or rebuild the internals? Have they replaced the clutch? Any vibrations?

eenaus

MY 5 speed has 134000 miles on it and the stock clutch and i drive it hard and downshift and the whole bit and it has never ginen me any worries. I have never heard anything but praise about the 5 spd. I would check the alinment of the input shaft.
ethan

wmulli

Thanks for all the excellent replies. Knowing that this is not a common problem gives me the courage to go back to the dealer and give him hell (it's still under warranty until December :-)

As for the question about the clutch, yes it was replaced by the dealer when they put in the first tranny. Didn't charge me for it as a way of apologising for taking so long to replace the tranny.

There aren't any vibrations, it runs and drives smooth as silk. The only clue there's any problem at all is a noise that sounds like a bad throwout bearing. In fact, it was me mentioning the noise to the dealer that led them to finding the bad main shaft bearing.

Since there's such a great body of knowledge here, I'd like to ask for some advice :-) How should I proceed with the dealer? If they merely replace the tranny again, I'd have no confidence the root problem was solved (plus the next time it died, it would be out of warranty!). I really want to put a turbo on this car, but if it's a lemon, I'll have to change my plans :-( Does anybody know about the "lemon law" in New Jersey? Should I consult my attorney before going back to the dealer??

Any and all opinions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
-Walter

SDSC300

actually I have read on some other boards about this sort of think, sometimes using redline gear oil cleared up the problem othertimes ... like mine, the tranny needs to be rebuild/replaced , for me the 2nd gear syncro is a little tweaked, mechanic said something about the bearings also, and that you can hear it when you put in the clutch.

Black94RX-7TT

Go back to the dealer, tell them that this is totally abnormal and unacceptable, and that they need to keep the car until they can find and fix the root cause of the problem. And of course, get a loaner.

VQT

I thought NJ has a lemon law...
I just saw on the news a few days ago about Ford Company had to pay a consumer $10 mil. on a bad car they sell.
I think you should talk to you attoney then at least get another car and/or get some money out of this. Somebody have to pay for your time take the car back and fort to the dealer

Where in central NJ are you? What dealer is it? so I can avoid going there I work near RT 1 and South Brunswick.

hwallen172

SDSC300:

You said your second gear synchros were a problem. I have the same thing. When my tranny is cold, it's really hard to get into second gear. Even when it's warm, you can miss a shift into second if you're not careful. My car was a fleet car for 70K miles before I got it, so I'm sure that it's been ragged out. Have you had yours rebuilt, and did that fix the problem? I've only got 85K on mine, and I'm considering having the tranny rebuilt, clutch replaced and the master/slave clutch cylinders replaced just to make it shift right. I hate to drop that kind of money into a tranny when I can normally get 140K out of an factory clutch, but this is the only mechanical problem with the car and I like how it drives otherwise.

General question: Does anybody else call manual transmission synchronizers "dogs?" I remember that from my youth. The mechanics would say, "Third gear dogs are worn."

Thanks,
Wiley

VQT

You may get some result with this article

http://www.msnbc.com/news/715653.asp

GREG JOHNSON thought he was getting a dependable car when he bought a 1997 Ford Taurus from a central California dealership. As it turns out, it was anything but a smooth ride.
“The problem would repeat, and shifting problems,” says Johnson. “It would jerk your head back.”
The transmission was shot and he had to replace it three times.
“Fatigue or wear of that transmission to the point of failure to where you would put it in drive and it’d go nowhere,” says Johnson.
So he sued the Ford Motor company under the California lemon law, accusing the company of concealing the car’s faulty history. A jury awarded him more than $17,000 in compensatory damages.
But the jury didn’t stop there. It awarded $10 million in punitive damages as a message to Ford for re-selling lemons without disclosing the repair history.
Consumers coast to coast are fed up with auto sales that turn bad. In fact, for one major consumer organization, the number one source of complaints — more than mail order and telemarketing schemes — is auto sales fraud.
The National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators says this top ranking represents not only lemons, but everything from bait-and-switch to leases disguised as purchases.
Advertisement
“The imbalance of power between the dealer and the consumer is really overwhelming and it puts consumers at their mercy and often consumers are taken advantage of,” says NACAA’s Wendy Weinberg.
And many buyers don’t realize it until they’ve lost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
“What they’re doing is camouflaging the true nature of the transaction,” says auto industry expert David Stivers.
When it comes to lemons, state laws do protect consumers. However, taking on auto giants can be intimidating.
“No one says Ford can’t resell those cars,” says William Krieg, attorney for Greg Johnson. “But the law says they can’t sell them without disclosing the true history of the car.”
Ford concedes that it did not tell Johnson about the faulty car, but says it was a single occurrence. The company plans to appeal.


Dan Lothian is an NBC News correspondent.

Rob_O

I don't think I'd go in there screaming "lemon law" just yet. Just speak with the service manager and let him know that you believe that there is something causing this problem that they have not discovered and this is not a common occurence among the SC300s or the Supras (same engine and tranny). Most lexus dealers will want to keep their customers coming back and will take the time to investigate or at least throw some more parts at the car. Be sure to keep all reciepts and document all the work they have done (including the fact you are on tranny #3). If you can convince the dealer this is a recurring problem that's abnormal for the car (and you have documentation that would convince a judge) then you may be able to get some warranty service after the official period runs out

If this fails, call your lawyer!

Rob_O

SDSC300

its easier for me to shift into second when my tranny is cold .. I have also noticed that its harder to shift into second while going downhill .I have 92k miles on my tranny now (I dont know what happened to it before 87kmiles).. you may want to just looking gettting a used tranny instead of rebuilding your current one .. thats what I was going to do .. but now im just dealing with the second gear, and collecting parts for the supra engine/6 tranny swap. ~