Scary Noises

[sdewolfe]

I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to report on a quirk of the 6-speed transmission. On Sunday past, the temperature here in Houston, TX, hit about 100?F. I drove the car for half-an-hour, parked the car for about an hour, and then drove the car for about an hour. The car was then parked for about 2 hours on a concrete driveway in direct sunlight, so it was deeply heat soaked. When I got in the car for the final trip of the day the clicking and clacking that accompanied each press of the clutch and each movement of the shifter was unbelieveable. The amount of backlash in the gears was astonishing. After sitting overnight, with a morning temperature of 74?F, the transmission, clutch, and shifter were again silent on the drive to work. And, even in stop-and-go traffic in 100? temperatures driving home, the scary noises have not repeated. The car has 3200 miles on it now.

I have had a lot of time to think about this. I think that what is happening is that the transmission case has been engineered to the absolute minimum of material. When it gets hot it expands. When it gets really hot, it expands a lot, increasing clearances everywhere. Could this cause a catastrophic failure? I don't have a clue.

 

[CanadianGuy]

this?
http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/...-please-stop-clunking/page2?p=77185#post77185

 

[sdewolfe]

Not really. I have minor noise in the shifter too. I expect that. But the noises that came from the transmission and clutch when heat soaked were LOUD. Additionally, the backlash from loaded to unloaded in every gear was audible. The next morning all was quiet again.

If this is inherent to the design, I would expect people in the southwest US to experience the same phenomena. If no one else notices a heat related problem, I should probably bring it up at the first service, coming up. If others have had this happen, at least I know "they all do it".

 

[Connor]

I'd just go to the dealer now

 

[westcoaST]

California is a desert, and I brought up the sounds my car makes in +110F weather to my dealer. I was told that they all do this. I don't think my noise was excessively loud. Mostly I get a squeaky clutch pedal now. I changed my trans fluid after 10K miles to Motul 300, and most of my trans noise issues went away. This gear oil seems to be a better fit for the FiST trans.

 

[me32]

I haven't had any of these issues an I live in norcal an work in sac an cars been fine in 100-112 f. No issues AC blows cold and the car runs fine. Only thing i notice is the gears are a little notchy but any manual car in heat will be like that. Nothing unusual

 

[wrongwheeldrive]

Motul 300 in mine too. I notice my transmission is the most rough when it is cold (Southern California cold... 60-70 F) and is the loudest/clunkiest when it is warmed up on a hot day.

 

[sdewolfe]

Motul 300 in mine too. I notice my transmission is the most rough when it is cold (Southern California cold... 60-70 F) and is the loudest/clunkiest when it is warmed up on a hot day.

Thanks to all who replied. I will mention it to the service writer; I don't expect there is a "fix", but it will be recorded. I just don't want it to lead to expensive post warranty repairs.