Grinding going into 2nd gear after cold start

We had a problem with that on the '63 VW we had a few years back.  It turned out to be a bad (and I mean broken) syncro.  You are using a VW transaxle, right?  This was a constant problem, though, so your symptom sounds different.  

Isn't that a new Rancho gearbox?  If so (or even if not) did Carey use Rancho's LAT gearbox lube?   That stuff is a synthetic mix and is like pouring honey.  They say it's 90 wt. but it pours more like 110 or so.  

If THAT is the case, then the synchros aren't winding up fast enough to align in the time you're attempting to shift because the oil is too stiff at the lower ambient temp, and I'll bet that the shift lever is acting stiffer, too.

There are two answers to your conundrum:  (1.) drive it in temps above 40F or (2.) Replace the LAT stuff with something similar (or even different LAT) of a thinner viscosity, like 75w80.  That should fix it.

As a #1a., you could start it up and let it idle in neutral for a few minutes in really cold weather (anything under 40F) until the gearbox oil gets warm......

Thanks Gordon.  You're right on the shift lever too.

I just pulled this off the web before getting your response.

I will try warming it up with the car in neutral & letting it warm enough that the idle drops when shifting.  Both ideas make complete sense to me.

"If they say there is nothing wrong you might have to amend your driving a bit on cold mornings. I suspect the motor is running at a faster than normal idle when cold. This causes the motor speed to not fall much when you make a shift until the motor warms up. I suggest you let the car warm up a minute or two in neutral with the clutch out. Having the clutch out gets the trans gears spinning and helps warm up the trans fluid.

When making your shifts when the car is cold make the shift slowly. This allows the motor speed to drop and makes it easier on the synchro to match speeds without a grind. The double clutch technique is good too.

A little grind now and again won't do significant harm to the trans. The gears are "hardened" and made to handle an occasional grind. I think with more time getting used to the car you'll find a way to minimize the grinding"

Tom, in my small experience with trannies, I find that Red Line synthetic and other synthetics sometimes cause trannies synchros to act up. I had combinations of synthetic,  and semi synthetic in my 87 535 and in my subie tranny etc and sometimes old fashion or as they say dyno oil seems to work the best.  I found when cold you could move the stick with synthetics but when hot the synthetics made the shifts sometimes notchy. I went back to dyno oil for me it makes the tranny quieter and as long as you warm them up in colder weather your good. my 2 ¢... Nice torque on that Subie eh!  Ray

Woo hoo!  Just went for another drive.  I let her warm up until the idle kicked down in neutral (rather than my usual routine with the clutch pushed in).....problem solved!

The nice thing about Subaru engines is that they warm up very quickly.  It doesn't take long for the water temp. to get up in the normal range, which is great for cold weather driving.

Yep! What Bob said! Tom that's what I did with my N/A motor too.   For some reason the turbo is different, it idles smoothly pretty much at all starting temps.  I don't know why

Thanks for posting this Tom, and get all the kinks worked out in the next month.