I just watched a youtube video on it and I'm sure I don't have that, but it's something similar. Once shifted into 2nd (assuming it misses), it will free rev and you can hear some sort of whirling. I actually think it's past the grinding point where the synchros are totally shot and just not catching anymore. Weird that its only 25% of the time though.

 

Yeah, it didn't register when I first read your original post that your condition is like a false neutral in that trans is not engaged in gear and engine revs freely when the issue does occur. But now I get it.

Another thought that occurs to me is what if the shifter isn't fully into position when the issue occurs. That its mostly in neutral. On the bottom of shifter is a plastic bushing that is a sort of ball end. It can crack and break. That would give slop in the shifter, and its possible you could pish the shifter as far as it can go, but that islts not far enough to reliably engage second.

Its easy to check, and cheap enough to replace. Buy it, and the urea grease used to lube it, then remove your shifter and inspect bushing.

Reason to buy up front is then you don't have to put it back together to drive, then do remove again once part arrives.

 

the symptom ur describing is when the gear isn't fully engaged. It will pop out and rest on the the gear itself making that light whirling sound( not in neutral). If the fluids didn't help then I recommend to just live with it and replace the trans later on.

 

Thanks for the info guys I'm in the same boat as sexis2k

 

Try changing MTF, it helped a bit. Just changed the clutch fluid too, but haven't driven it yet. That's about all you can do to try to fix the problem without swapping tranny.