Thread: ugh stuck in 3rd gear (5spd LSD) P10 g20

not like it needs an update for this but the trans is out and on my workbench however i lost my snap ring pliars so i cant get any further than the end plate lol. will update more tomorrow once i get into the case and see whats up

you can use a small flathead screw driver to pry the end of the ring up a bit then work it around like a tire changer, just becareful.

so i have a question, if my trans turns out to be junk whats a good alternative, i see people going with a b15/p11 trans? Cause i have a buddy with a 02 sentra manual trans said he would sell for $200 didnt know if we can use the one from the 2.5L motors

2.5 trans will not work. Best is a B15/P11 trans for a somewhat direct swap.

Alright so i finally got into the case and found several odd items in there. 2 Pieces of "wire" which look like the same as what holds your MAF plug on the sensor (silver same gauge etc) but mangled. Another smaller piece of same wire and then what appears to be a tooth or broken hollow piece of some sort that was all lodged by the shift selector thus not allowing it to go into 1st or 2nd gear.

So now that i have removed those pieces it will shift by hand into every gear perfectly fine. 2nd and 3rd gear synchros have a bit of wear but nothing major all the rest of them and gears themselves look flawless. The only thing now that puzzles me is now that its able to move into 1st and 2nd the selector will not "pop" itself back into neutral like normal while in between those gears, it sits by 1/2 gear but in neutral. Though if i put it by 5th/R it will have resistance and pop back to center neutral like normal. Basically put if it was in the car and hooked up while in neutral and wiggling the shifter back and forth it would only have resistance going right but left would feel "dead" though my trans started feeling like that a few weeks ago i thought it was just age, must have been when that piece broke off somewhere.

That being said i feel like maybe those pieces were a spring load of some sort that have broken off allowing the selector to chill between 1st and 2nd gear. I really don't see anything else i should be worried about as far as issues with it though. So i think im going to go ahead and put it back together, reseal, reinstall and see how it drives like this now.

Here's pics of the stuff that came out and the pic with the screwdriver points to where it was removed from.

Looks like the inserts and hold springs from one of your syncro couple sleeves fell out. Fifth gear maybe?

pardon my ignorance but where do i find such pieces to see where its missing and sense its prolly been driving 1500 miles without that insert would it be okay to just leave it out? i was about to give it a shot lol i just put it back together and sealed it cause i figured id try it and if its a no go then id just pick up a used junkyard trans for 300-500 and be done. Being so cheap i feel it more time effective to just test and replace the whole unit and save this one for spare parts if it doesnt work. So u think its unsafe to drive without those pieces? i do believe i drove like this for approx 1789 miles the past couple weeks (keep a gas log) after that happened (started having the issues).

Correct me if im wrong but if i redid it without putting a new one in or anything wouldn't that theoretically cause a chance for whichever gear its from to pop out when not under load?

thats EXECTLY where i was talking about stuff getting stuck lol..

im guessing since 1st - 2nd wouldn't work its from them.

Since you already have the trans off the car and the case removed, it's not hard to remove the forks, check the forks for wear, and check the sliding motion of the syncro assemblies by hand.

The fifth gear pop-out guides in the How To section have some pretty good guides, pictures, and parts diagrams that would be relevant.

wanna sell it??