i have an 03 6speed that when cold hates to be down shifted, and im not even talking about powering down, the tranny hates to go into 2 at 17 miles per hour. i need a good fluid that works well in the cold, any recommendations?

 

anyone?

 

IMO, a certain small amount of what you're describing is normal while warming up, or at least every manual I've owned has been that way. You can try switching to another synthetic gear oil such as redline, which couldn't hurt. I changed to redline and can tell a slight difference. See the tutorial on 350Ztech if you want to do it yourself. Just curious, have you tried double clutching when you downshift? Although at the speed you mentioned this shouldn't be necessary.

 

I don't drove mine through the winter but the temps do get down below freezing before I put it away. When I leave it outside my garage I notice it is quite stubborn with shifting period until it is well warmed up. I run Lucas synthetic which I note is less notchy in the summer.