Auto Parts: Stiff Gear box transmission, mitsubishi colt, clutch fork

Question
Hello knucklebusters,

Irish
mitsubishi Colt 99 1.3 sport

Im having issues wit my gears being awkward to change lately.. more so while changing from 3rd to 2nd..

I've heard that mitsubishi's have bad gearbox's sometimes.. I checked it up all over the net ad cant seem to find a solution on how to make it looser, do you think it could have to do with the gear oil needing a change

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated
Regards

Alan

Answer
Alan,
There are a few things you can check.
Your vehicle was part of a transition year so your trans either has 80w90 gear oil OR Dextron-II Auto Trans Fluid. The two cannot be mixed so if your trans uses ATF, you must replace it with ATF ONLY.
1) Remove the fill plug and remove a small amount of fluid. Good, used gear oil should have a slight gray appearance and when squished between your fingers should offer some resistance and pressing your fingers together real hard, you should still be able to somewhat easily move your fingers back and forth. If you feel grit or the fluid is black or brown, drain it and refill with the proper type of fluid.
If your trans uses ATF it is a little harder to tell if the fluid is worn and because of it's low cost my suggestion would be to replace it whether it needs it or not. ATF is more of a hydraulic fluid than a lubricant and is difficult to tell in a manual trans if the fluid has broken down.
2) Your vehicle uses a hydraulic clutch set-up which I believe is non-adjustable. However, If there is an adjustment it will be between the slave-cylinder and clutch fork. The adjustment will be made on the pushrod if equipped with one that actually adjusts. If it is adjustable, disconnect the negative battery terminal, raise and support the vehicles drive wheels. Place the vehicle in REVERSE and have an assistant push the clutch pedal to the floor ONCE and hold it there. Remove the small inspection plug and place a finger on the pressure plate or flywheel. rotate one or both of the drive wheels. The pressure plate should not budge. If any movement is felt, adjust the pushrod until the pressure plate is completely released.
3) Synchronizers are small spring-loaded, curved-tooth gears that aid in the shifting from one gear to the next whether the assembly is under load or not. When the synchros start to go bad they will make it harder to shift especially downshifting. At a certain point they will start to actually 'grind' as you go into gear. Bad synchros typically feel like someone is pulling the other direction on the shifter while you're trying to pull the shifter into the next gear but can easily be confused with a mal-adjusted clutch so you should check the adjustment first. A rule of thumb is: if you find it is easier to shift when you double-clutch, the adjuster is your problem.
There are other things that can cause awkward shifting such as wrong size tires/wheels, having two different size tires on the same axle, bad or loose motor/trans mount, bad wheel Bering, stuck caliper, etc. but the ones listed here are the most common.

Thanks for the question, I hope this helps. Ask a follow-up if you need more info.

Knucklebusters