hard time shifting when cold

i have a 2008 base model 5 speed and when it is cold i have a really hard time getting it into gear 1st and 2nd mostly but when the truck warms up it is fine. is this normal? or is something wrong

 

where do you live? How cold is cold?

 

I'm in central Alberta Canada, mine does the same thing with my 6 spd, it's even worse when I don't plug in the block heater and it's been -30 c for the last week, So it does help if you have a block heater! Once the vehicle has warmed up for 10-15 minutes it drives and shifts fine. Another thing i'm looking into is getting a coolant heater, 1200W heater that installs inline with your coolant hoses. your truck will even blow warm air after you start it

 

Normal.

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 gear oil is quite thick when it's cold and the synchros can't bite as well. Plus when you figure in the typical stubbornness of 1st and 2nd on the five speed, it's a royal pain.

The trick is to shift very slowly or double-clutch for a little bit. Synthetic oil like MT-90 helps a little bit because it doesn't thicken up as much as dino oil does.

 

Normal with very cold temps.

 

thanks for the response guys i appreciate it! I'm in SLC, Utah so its about mid 20's at night

 

Mid 20's should not make it hard to get into gear. I thought you were talking below zero temps. You might want to check your transmission oil to make sure it is not low and it is the right kind.

 

Yep, synthetic makes every shift much smoother in the cold. Put synthetic in the entire driveline. Motor also.

 

I live in Fort McMurray Alberta, it's been -30 here lately aswell and with my 6 speed it is the same it just takes time for the gear oil to warm up. With my remote start it doesn't work sometimes because my clutch doesn't fully disengage cause the fluid is too cold it's kind of a pain in the ass!!

 

ok thanks guys, ill check what they put in there, i just had it changed

 

I had this same issue with my GTO. I live in North Dakota and it's commonly -20 overnight for a couple months in a row. When it got real cold outside I could sometimes not even get my transmission into first gear, and second was also difficult. I changed the fluid out a couple of times to try and fix the issue and I found that Redline fluid worked the best to counteract this issue. It was still there when it was cold, but was a hell of a lot better.

Keep in mind this was in a T56 which is notoriously a stiff transmission regardless of weather.

 

Yup, I usually warm my rig up before taking off but there is a noticeable difference in shifting when I don't.

 

Perfectly normal. If it bothers you just let it idle for a few minutes and that'll get the gear oil warmed up a little bit. Every manual transmission I've ever owned has done this to some extent in sub freezing temps.

 

so i found out what grease monkey put in my trans. they used 80w90 they also put that in my rear diff., transfer case, and front diff. is this right or do i need to change all this again? also is this the reason for tough shifting in the cold

 

and they put 5w30 in for engine oil and im reading my manual and all these are off by a little bit the man. trans fluid says

$30 75w 90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w 90 and engine oil 0w 20 is this going to hurt anything? do i need to chang it right away? sorry i dont know too much about oil viscosity

 

That GL5 oil will be harder to shift no matter what the season. It makes the synchros too slippery. Plus that 80w-90 is dino oil that's even thicker than the factory stuff. It turns to molasses when it's sub-zero to the point it's a pain to get it out of the bottle. I'd change it out if it was up to me.

It should be fine everywhere else though if you don't mind the gas mileage. Might make the shifting into 4x4 a little sluggish. Transfer case has a synchronizer in there too

This winter has been so cold anyways that I am so very tempted to drain the MT-90 and pump in some MT-85

 

ok thanks i appreciate it