I just picked up the 2001 GV.  I noticed that going into 2nd gear is kind of rough.  I have to kind of force it in there.  Does everyone else have an issue like this or is there a real problem with the gearbox?

Thanks,

Jay

You may have a worn synchro.

However - what I have found is that the tranny on my GV does NOT like to be "hustled" through the gears -  if you fight it (which my wife does), if fights back and you'll grind the gears, but "caress" it into gear and it'll shift smoothly - it's not a second gear thing for me, happens with every shift - it's a matter of not grabbing the shift and wrestling into position, just guiding it works better.

Everyone I've asked about this has reported that theirs behave in a somewhat similar fashion.

SGV...do you have the correct amount of clutch pedal "free-play"? A 1/2" - 1" is plenty. Much more and you won't get full clutch disengagement, which can hamper shifts.

Have you also tried switching to a synthetic gear oil like Redline brand or ? That will provide smoother shifting too. 

I've read about the synthetic oil.  I'm gonna go to the mechanic and ask him.  It only happens in second gear though.  All the other gears seem to be fine. 

Some Japanese gearboxes (my Cappuccino for one) develop a crunching habit on a particular gear (2nd in this case) - the complete cure was a Castrol fully synthetic gear oil.  Marketed here as Castrol SMS-X, but being replaced by Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90.

Some Japanese gearboxes (my Cappuccino for one) develop a crunching habit on a particular gear (2nd in this case) - the complete cure was a Castrol fully synthetic gear oil.  Marketed here as Castrol SMS-X, but being replaced by Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90.

That IS a worn synchro - the synthetic masks it, but the correct fix is to replace the synchro ring, but the synthetic is so much cheaper and easier - I did the same thing with my Swift (switch to a full synth - I used Mobil1), and that thing shifts like the proverbial hot knife through butter - you really can feel the difference in the way it just slips into gear - unfortunately - the full synth does not have the same effect on the GV transmission.