Hi, my 2003 SR3, which has the manual shifter, does not consistently downshift. It upshifts perfectly, but when engaging the lever to downshift, it feels like there is an obstruction. I can not find one. I changed direction of downshift (from forward to downshift then pull to downshift), checked all the linkages and it's all fine. This problem is, crazily, intermittent. During a lap, I might be stuck in fourth, but then over time, it'll eventually go down a few gears. I have not been able to find a pattern. This happens regardless of whether the clutch is depressed or not.
I've called around and most suggest the next step is to check inside the gearbox. This is outside of my expertise....
I live near Detroit. There is a dealer in Chicago, but perhaps there's an option closer to home? I will remove engine and deliver. Engine compression, btw, is consistent across all the cylinders so I'm hoping to avoid a full rebuild.
Any ideas welcome. This is a bummer as I got the car for my 19-year-old and I to do track days. The car's been a PITA, frankly.
Thank you, Larry
Hi Larry, Sorry to hear that you are still having problems with the car. I strongly recommend that you send your engine to one of the Radical Overhaul centers to be inspected. I strongly suspect that it is time for a complete overhaul. Do you know how many hours are on the engine? Shifting issues are usually a short lived precursor to gears flying through the cases and turning a moderately expensive repair into a very expensive repair. I have always use Spring Mountain for my engine overhauls and have had very good luck with them. The other two certified overhaul shops in North America are Radical Canada East near Toronto, and Team Stradale near Chicago. I have heard lots of people say that they were going to save a little money by having "Joe's Hayabusa shop" down the street do the overhaul and unfortunately nearly 100% of the time a few months late they are complaining that somehow the engine let go. Radical makes changes inside the engine that allow the car to survive in an automotive application and the Local Hayabusa shops just don't have that knowledge and they can't get the Radical unique parts.
In my opinion you will save money in the long run by going to a Radical Certified shop. The one exception that I am aware of is RLM in the UK has a stellar reputation doing overhauls. You might want to reach out to Dan@RLM and see if it would be worth shipping your engine over there?
Thanks Charley. Makes total sense. The timing part is the issue. By the time I get it somewhere, they fix it, and send it back and I put it back in the car, the season will be over. Sigh.....
