Celica Forums General Discussion General Grinding Gears...Synchro Problem or Clutch?

Well I called up the service department at Palo Alto Toyota today to inquirer about my grinding gears whenever I down shift from 5th to 4th or 3rd to 2nd. The guy told me it could be my clutch, but I don't really think so. He says there's a $120 inspection fee and if it's my clutch it won't be covered under warranty and i'd have to pay $1200-1300 to replace. But if it's my synchro's it'll be covered under warranty. The 5 year 60,000 mile warranty is comming near an end for me because I'm at 54,500 miles and it's almost 5 years (I have a 2000 celica) The thing is, I'm pretty broke right now and I don't want to spend $120 for inspection and have them tell me it's my clutch. How can I make sure that it's my synchro's?

My 4th gear grinds all the time (if i downshift from 5th gear or if I put it into 4th from neutral when i'm cruising), my 2nd gear doesn't grind if I downshift from 3rd gear very softly, however if I downshift with some force it grinds pretty bad. I also found out that if I revmatch for my 4th gear it doesn't grind at all.

What'd you guys think? Thanks

hey sup bro, i just got my hole transmition fix because i let this grinding noise go for more then 4 months, wat you need to do is ether go to the dealer and tell someone to test drive it, or get that test, dude you dont want ur waranty to expire and you going to have to pay 3gs for a new trani, now i need to hear how ur trani sounds wen you down shift i have a video i made, were you can hear my trani do the noise, so if you have AIM you can IM me and ill send it, or we can talk more about it, but most likely you are having the same problem i had, also tell them that it cant be ur clutch because if it was, you should get grinding at all gears, not just 5th and shit, they tried to do that shit to me, but i had to pay $120 in an other dealer to get the test, and got them to writhe a letter to my original dealer, and also tell them to give you a rental car, because trust me they are going to take more then 3 weeks, thats how long they took with my car, good luck and check my profile if you want my AIM, peace out and good luck

These grinding noise you guys speak of, is it like grinding in terms of feeling of a rough shift, or is it grinding, like a loud grinding?

It's your synchros. And when you downshift, you are supposed to rev match as well as you can. Don't let the synchros/tranny do it for you. That's why yours is going out.

u can hear it ill try to post my video but its laud, pplz can hear it on the car and some can hear it outside the car

Hey Clos, let me know when it is up, I want to hear this.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the synchro's now. I'm gonna take a vid and post mine too.

its the synchronizers, and the bearings...no worries, it should be under warranty, I just had mine rebuilt with new bearings, and synchronizer rings for the exact same thing...its not a big deal

inspection fee should not be more than $89. even so, toyota should not charge you a red cent for that...

i wanna see the video to.
i have some grinding but its on random gears and it is more a feel and when i shift from 1 to 2 i hear a sound like a plate is banging under my car just once and not to loud but when i have my stero off you can hear it pretty well and its just from 1-2 in the start if i have in 3-4 its fine and 5-6 is fine and all the other gear is fine expect teh grinding doo any one know wath that is?

If you are grinding I am sorry...but there is no way it could be the clutch. No way.






I hate toyota.

what baffles me is that clutch IS covered under powertrain waranty!!!! ...well at lease master cylinder is...read your warranty!

hey wassup man? If toyota wants to be a "penis" about charging you an inspection fee, which i don't think should be more than 100 dollars, but if they do, they should only charge you if in fact they find that it is the clutch that is giving you warranty. This is only because the clutch is a normal wear and tear item like your brake pads, and it will not be covered under warranty. However, if they do find, which i think it is your problem, that it is your synchros and bearings that are giving you trouble then they SHOULD NOT charge you the inspection fee and should fix it under warranty. Also, a technician and service writter that I'm cool with at my local toyota dealership sed to me when i had trouble with my tranny and engine that i should keep bringing my car back for them to look at, even though they keep returning my car and stating on the report that "problem cannot be duplicated" it will still be recorded that I tried on many occasions to try and fix the problem. He said, "If, you have problems after your warranty, like you have problems at 65,000 miles, the dealership will look at how many times you came in as well as if you have been servicing your car with us, then they will MOST LIKELY fix it under 'good will' for free." So, basically, the story is, if they say that it is the clutch and have you pulled into buying a new clutch and for some odd reason you find that the problem no longer exists, but you find out later after your warranty that it is your synchros, i'm sure that your dealership could do it under "good will" if they like you, but thinking now, i don't think they will if they are going to charge you an "inspection charge." When I brought me car in countless times for belt tensioner, tranny, and engine noises, they constantly reported "could not duplicate" and they NEVER charged me an inspection fee or any fee of any kind. Good luck. And sorry for the long post.

hmm wow thanks for the detailed info, that helps out a lot. I'm thinking of bringing my car in on Monday if possible. I really hope it's my synchro's..I'm 95% sure it is. It's not really my fault for the synchro's going out because I bought the car a few thousand miles ago and it was already grinding since then. I really hope this job doesn't take more than a week because I need my car before the 10th of next month...Thanks for everyone who helped out

well just tell them to give you a car, that should be covered by waranty 2

The clutch isn't. The master cylinder may be, but the clutch pressure plate and disc are not.

It's not Toyota, it sounds like driver error.

He says that he only grinds when he downshifts, and when he rev matches, he doesn't grind. First off, you are supposed to rev match when you downshift, and who the hell downshifts that much?

I think the word for "Matching the RPM" or "REV - Matching" is Called "DOUBLE CLUTCH"

I thought double clutching was when you pop the clutch in really fast while in gear and on the accelerator. Your RPM's jump a little, but I heard it's not very good for the car. Correct me if I'm wrong.

wat is REV matching??(sry for stupid and off topic question)

Matching the rpm of the motor to the gearing so you you can engage the gear.

Sorry... but my understanding of double clutching was when you disengage the clutch, put your gear in neutral, engage the clutch, rev up your rpm, disengage the clutch, put it into a lower gear, engage clutch... just so that you have every moving parts spinning at the correct speed..

but I thought word rev-matching and double clutching was totally different thing...I mean I know two wayz to do it... like for rev-matching, you just step on the clutch, put it into other gear, accelerate the rpm, and let go of the clutch...

Sorry... but I just thought those were two different thing.. But im a noob when it comes to these subject... but I know how to drive... i think..

Just bought a 2001 with the same/similar problem.
In acceleration, when pushing the shift stick into the 3rd gear position, it will feel as if the clutch pedal wasn't fully pressed. The gears are not grinding as per a long grinding noise but rather the feel of a bump or small resistance.

I have yet to change the transmission oil to see if it will improve. But I feel the war is lost.

I do not know the proper technical terms to my solution as a work around (or work with) that gear's attitude. I use a combination of both options described below
Option A
I think they call it "floating gears" This is passing from one gear to the next without using the clutch. To go from one gear to the neutral you have to remove the forces on the gear (no acceleration nor compression torque from engine). To go from neutral into a gear (except from a stand still) you must match the engine's rpm to that specific gear's rpm which depends of the wheel's speed.
Option B
I think they call it "double clutching" This is engaging and disengaging the clutch in neutral between gear switch. As for "floating gears" the aim is to match the engine's rpm to the clutch for a smooth gear change.

Floating gears take practice and you could damage your transmission by trying to master (But you should at least learn to do it anyway)
Option B is just to much work I'd rather ear grinding than double clutching.

All it is at the end is when accelerating and passing from 2nd to 3rd, give the time to your engine to slow it's rpm a bit. The engine is not as tight as it was when new so you can't rush it. Wait that fraction of a second to help preserve your transmission.