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From: piner@pur-phy.UUCP (Richard Piner)
Newsgroups: net.auto.tech
Subject: J car transmissions
Message-ID: <1958@pur-phy.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Feb-86 02:19:59 EST
Article-I.D.: pur-phy.1958
Posted: Wed Feb  5 02:19:59 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Feb-86 06:07:02 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Purdue Univ. Physics Dept., IN
Lines: 24


  I'm still looking into new cars. Reading the CU Reports repair history
indicates that the GM J cars have more than average problems with the
manual transmissions. The problem is, there are two manual transmissions,
the five speed and the four speed. So my question to the net is, which
of these transmissions are the trouble makers? I tried getting information
from a couple of Chevy dealers. They stone-walled, claiming there was
nothing wrong with either of them. Right now, I'm leaning towards the
five speed, but if it is much worse than the four, then I will go for
the four speed. Does anybody know the answer?
  As a side note, I have test driven the five speed. It seemed smooth.
It up and down shifted through all five gears well. It seemed quite solid.
The linkage had a good feel and a reasonable throw. But the 2.0 liter
EFI engine was very quiet and I had trouble knowing when to shift.
The idiot shift light is a crock. I couldn't hear the engine until
I had it wound out pretty tight. A tach is a must for the manual
transmission. Just try finding a car in dealer stock with a tach. Ha!
The fifth gear is an overdrive, by the way. At 55 the engine was
only turning maybe 1500 RPM. No tach, I'm only guessing. You for sure
had to down shift to forth if you wanted to pass. The 5 speed will be
most handy if they raise the speed limit on the interstate.

						Richard Piner
						piner@pur-phy.UUCP