Gearbox had the wrong oil in it? 5MT shifting problems fixed with thinner oil.

[MetroMPG]

I did the longest drive today since changing the transaxle oil... such a treat compared to before!

Love it, love it, love it.

---

klroger, I'm going to start a new thread this weekend about the wonky rear axle.

[MetroMPG]

Drove the car again today for the first time in a week or 2... still love it!

Shift quality is so much nicer than my brother's '12 Scion Xb.

Which isn't saying much... all the Corolla/Camry shifters I've driven are vague, plasticky poop. Though I did have a 2004 Echo/Yaris briefly, and it shifted nicer than the Xb.

[Mark]

Drove the car again today for the first time in a week or 2... still love it!

Shift quality is so much nicer than my brother's '12 Scion Xb.

Which isn't saying much... all the Corolla/Camry shifters I've driven are vague, plasticky poop.

I find that interesting. I've driven 1972 Chevy pickup, International pickup, Ford (Ranger, F-250 & Explorer), Plymouth/Mitsubishi (Colt wagon), Honda (Civic wagon & CR-V), Isuzu (Trooper), Ford/KIA (Festiva), VW (Golf), Subaru (Forester), & Mitsubishi (Mirage) manuals over the years. Some of these vehicles were owned by relatives. Somehow, I have never driven a Toyota manual.

Of the bunch, I would have to say the VW Golf was the most fun to shift & drive on good roads. It was one of the worst cars I owned on snow covered roads, however. I attribute that to the wider tires it had.

[MetroMPG]

Most fun shifter of any car I've driven is my crapcan 1990 Miata. Shift action, throw, feel, feedback... Very, very fun.

[klroger]

I Agree, the Miata had a gearshift fastened to the top of the transmission, no cables, no linkages to make it feel sloppy... They where the best shifting of any standard shift cars I drove... The only other close would be a Fox Body Mustang, but they may have used a Mazda Transmission, so that is why they felt so nice.

[MetroMPG]

I also daydream about adding a transaxle heater... but that's something I've thought about for decades but haven't gotten around to doing on any of my cars. I believe I read that BMW plumbed a heat exchanger from the engine cooling loop to bring the transmission fluid up to temp faster.

Not sure how you'd do an external heater on an irregular shape like the Mirage's transaxle. If you could put a small heating element in place of the drain plug, that'd be the easiest.

[Fummins]

I found this.(I have no idea what thead you'd need. It says for use in water. As long as it doesn't boil all the 11 herbs and spices out of the oil I'd give it a go.

Only other thought would try a recirculating heater that's got the input fitting plumbed into the drain hole and output into the filler end.

[Basic]

I find that interesting. I've driven 1972 Chevy pickup, International pickup, Ford (Ranger, F-250 & Explorer), Plymouth/Mitsubishi (Colt wagon), Honda (Civic wagon & CR-V), Isuzu (Trooper), Ford/KIA (Festiva), VW (Golf), Subaru (Forester), & Mitsubishi (Mirage) manuals over the years. Some of these vehicles were owned by relatives. Somehow, I have never driven a Toyota manual.

Of the bunch, I would have to say the VW Golf was the most fun to shift & drive on good roads. It was one of the worst cars I owned on snow covered roads, however. I attribute that to the wider tires it had.

I find THAT interesting. Because I am a VW TDI fan. I own 6, and they are pretty vague at best. Was it new? Might make a difference since all of mine had almost 100k by the time I got a hold of them. But even then, they are generally regarded pretty poorly by the automotive world.

[Mark]

I find THAT interesting. Because I am a VW TDI fan. I own 6, and they are pretty vague at best. Was it new? Might make a difference since all of mine had almost 100k by the time I got a hold of them. But even then, they are generally regarded pretty poorly by the automotive world.

I bought it used, but it was low mileage at the time of purchase. It was just a 1997 base model 4-door with 2.0L gas engine & manual transmission. I don't really buy sporty or fancy vehicles. Thus, it seemed more sporty than most anything else I have ever owned even though it was a more generic VW. I thought it shifted extremely well, but I can't say any of my other vehicles were ever horrible manuals.

[davidricardo86]

I find that interesting. I've driven 1972 Chevy pickup, International pickup, Ford (Ranger, F-250 & Explorer), Plymouth/Mitsubishi (Colt wagon), Honda (Civic wagon & CR-V), Isuzu (Trooper), Ford/KIA (Festiva), VW (Golf), Subaru (Forester), & Mitsubishi (Mirage) manuals over the years. Some of these vehicles were owned by relatives. Somehow, I have never driven a Toyota manual.

Of the bunch, I would have to say the VW Golf was the most fun to shift & drive on good roads. It was one of the worst cars I owned on snow covered roads, however. I attribute that to the wider tires it had.

Nice list!


5 speed manual transmission cars I've driven;

1986 Mazda RX7 1.3L non-turbo
1992 Nissan 240SX 2.4L non-turbo and 1.8L turbo swap
2001 Toyota Echo 1.5L non-turbo
2015 Mitsubishi Mirage 1.2L non-turbo
2017 VW Jetta 1.4L turbo

The two RWD cars had the most direct feeling shifter and you would see the shifter move when the trans rocks back and forth.

The three FWD cars felt okay, no rocking of the shifter i think, the Echo was the worst very notchy in 1st and the Mirage second best. The best of the fwd manuals was the 1.4L turbo Jetta. 5th gear was tall perfect for low rpm highway cruising and shifting felt crisp. That was a nice manual transaxle. It was a brand new lease too!

All the other cars were previously owned/used. The 240SX, Mirage and Jetta had new manual transmission oil.

@MetroMPG

In my opinion the Mirage doesn't have the most pleasant shifting feel and the foot pedals are too small for my heel-toe footwork. A Miata is a true sports car!

A transaxle heater would be very useful right about now, winter here in Chi-Raq has been frigid lately!