Notchy trans breaking in?

Your problem reminds me of a big booboo nissan made in the late 70's with the Nissan Patrol (LG-60). Getting the car in and out of gears was a random challenge. The cause of the problem ended up being that the alignment between the engine and the transmission was off. When the clutch was depressed, the press would release at a rotating slant, and as a result, the clutch disk would not slide freely on the splines in the input shaft, thus not freeing the transmission completely, making shifting difficult.

With your revs dropping and lurch when shifting it sounds more like a clutch problem, but i am sure you know things i do not. In any case, with an 07 this should be a Subaru problem, not yours.

Good luck!

snipped-for-privacy@ph> 07' 5M Impreza trans Seems to be shifting better. The main problem was

I thought I replied

I had a clutch replaced on a car, and they must have gotten grease or dirt on the splined shaft. When stopped at a light, the car would creep. Don't remember if shifting into first after stopped or before stopping. Some penetrating oil onto the shaft, though the inspection cover hole, fixed it.

It seems like shifting out of first is getting easier, and how it should be. Have to see.

VF

Does the behaviour get better when the air conditioner is off? (don't forget that the windshield defrost setting also turns on the a/c).

It took me a looooong time to get used to shifting smoothly from 1st to 2nd, and I eventually (after a post on this group) realized that the RPMs were dropping faster than normal only when the a/c was on. I now shift faster when the a/c is on, and the shifting is more smooth. If I forget, I get the big lurch and my brain goes "Ah, yes. The a/c is on."

I find this car shifts like a truck unless my brain is working at full capacity. But after 155k kms, it is still the same so I don't suspect that the life of the tranny is reduced. (I did have the clutch replaced at about 40k due to chattering)

Chicobiker

Good point about the AC, but the AC hasn't been on in a while. The car did surge or chug at low speeds with the AC on.

It was just hard to pull out of first gear, like it was binding. Engaging 2nd it would jerk, like the clutch wasn't engaging smoothly, which could have been the revs dropping too much during the delay. Will have to try to figure that out the next time, intenionally let the revs drop, and see if it causes any of the problems. I have slipped the clutch more than I like to, to get things smooth. Where the clutch grabs, and where the seat is positioned seems to create differences. I adjust the seat for city and highway driving.

I have muscle damage problems with weakness, and easily fatigued from damage from chemicals, and hadn't driven a stick in 25yrs, so working all 4 limbs gave me a workout, and adding the firm ride and seats, driving over all the bumps in a city was straining and fatiguing. Adding the lurches, and chugs, it was like being on an amusement ride. Testing a WRX for a mile in the city really beat me up. I was considering the WRX but would have wanted to change too many things to try to make it comfortable. I have a lot with the 2.5i. Playing with tire pressures helped a good bit. Read the tires have very stiff sidewalls.

I was never one to be satisfied with things that didn't work for me, and seats in many cars don't fit me, and spoiled by ones that do and are comfortable, I have some Recaros that adjust for thigh length and width, adjustable lumbar, and softer that are going to go in the Sube. A friend who traded up from a Hemi Charger to an SRT-8 one, doesn't like the seats in the 8, being very confining when just sitting in the car. I told him he should have swapped the seats, and he just looked at me, like He should have thought of it.

VF

I turned on the AC to see if that caused the low speed surging I had with it on before, but didn't notice any. It was cool out, so not sure if the compressor came on. I'll have to try it on defrost. Guess that is why the botton of the windshield was fogging one time.

VF

I can tell you that driving a manual transmission should not be done if you have any kind of physical problems. Driving will become a torturous affair for you. In the back of your mind a voice will be telling you "I should have gotten an automatic". I found my 07 to have a really nice clutch - easily one of the best I have used (except for the Civic Si, which has an even better clutch feel). It sounds like you are out of practice with driving a manual transmission. My advice is to drive a really hard manual, like an old truck for a few weeks. Then get into the Subaru. It will feel like magic.

I'm over the strains of having to use both arms and legs. I expected that, and the steering is a bit harder than my old Chey, and it was like exercise. Where the clutch grabs wasn't that comfortable, and it will grab fast, but adjusting the seat when I don't feel comfortable, helps. I thought I needed a different position for city and hwy, but seems more if my muscles feel tight or not. I didn't like how hard it was to get out of 1st, especially in the city where you have to stop at almost every corner, and the revs dropping off before I could get into 2nd, making driving the car, not very smooth. IT is getting better, as am I, and I'm remembering to do things even before I start, like flip the outside mirrors out, flip up the arm rest console, that my elbow will hit when shifting, if it is down. A private pilot friend said I needed a Predrive checklist.))

I have driven trucks, and even ones I had to double clutch. I learned on a stick, and always bought them except for one, that I only had 2 yrs, though I have had 2 auto's and missed not being able to shift. I don't use the Sube for short trips in the city. My old Chevy is good for that. I doubt the clutch on the Sube would last as long with all the shifting I would have to do here.

VF