Cold weather = rock hard shift boot

01rtgurl · Post by **01rtgurl** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:44 am

Anyone else have this problem??

I got in my car, started it, let it run for ~10 minutes. Pulled outta the drive, took off.... shifted to second.... and then barely made it into 3rd. The shift boot was SO cold that it refused to move. By the time I got to work, the front of the boot was above the console, looks like the 2 little plastic pieces that hold it in, came out. Everytime I shifted to 1st, 3rd, or 5th, I got a nice little pop and insane effort!!

Anyone?!

It's a stock boot, and a stock R/T leather knob... wtf?!

Post by **jonnymopar** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:01 am

Is the R/T boot the same as the SE/SXT boot? I've never had a problem with mine. It gets pretty stiff, but not enough to affect shifting.

edit: On second thought, mine is crunched down a bit due to having the shifter 1.5" shorter, but still using the stock knob. In fact, I machined that shifter just before it got cold last year, so I don't know.

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:06 am

I think I have that problem but I don't know if it's the boot. It's a pain to shift in the mornings, but I thought it was just because the car was cold. Maybe the source of the resistance was the boot.

01rtgurl · Post by **01rtgurl** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:17 am

Yeah... after driving the Miata, my 2nd/3rd/4th gear shifts seem.... "crunchy". Dunno but the added effort from the hard boot sucked in addition to the 'crunchiness' lol.

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:58 pm

I don't know about the boot but the STS in my car is extremely hard to shift when it is this cold out. I've had to double-clutch a lot when driving the car after a warm-up.

fusion210 · Post by **fusion210** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:00 pm

The ATF+4 Dodge started putting in sucks in the cold. I've had the original mopar fluid, redline mtl, and aft+4. I'd prefer them in that order. Also never going to run atf+4 again.

Generally the neon trans feels like stirring a box of rocks.

01rtgurl · Post by **01rtgurl** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:26 pm

I was told by the dealer to "NEVER PUT ATF+4 IN MY MANUAL TRANNY!!" Like that. So I paid ~$17 a quart for the original stuff???

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:30 pm

Amsoil Synchromesh FTW

Post by **jonnymopar** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:56 pm

SlvrACR wrote:Amsoil Synchromesh FTW

Not if you want transmission failure covered under warranty (and with the inherent differential problems, that's a serious consideration). After 70k miles, then yeah, but your warranty is void if you use any other fluid than stock. My warranty is up in 5k miles and I'm not switching it before then.

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:30 pm

My stock fluid was the clear fluid not the ATF red. The dealer was even the one that suggested it to me. Plus there is no warrenty still on this car so I dont care. I got 68k and tranny is still strong so thats the fluid that stays.

Post by **racer12306** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:19 am

its kind of funny that the dealer said never put +4 in the manual trans, but dodge went ahead and did it anyways.

also amsoil should cover a failure if it is deemed a lubricant problem and your manual trans came with +4.

personally i run Redline MTL. switched to that at about 60000 miles.

also, ive never had a problem with my boot being too stiff to move.

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:19 pm

How much does the Redline run? I havent seen any in our stock so it was never a choice

Post by **racer12306** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:09 pm

$8/qt i think

i got it from summit racing when i got my wires so the shipping wasnt too bad. they charge $10 handling for every order, but have free shipping

OB · Post by OB » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:19 pm

doubt its the boot. more likely a linkage problem or possible something with the bushings.