trouble shifting

[L_Carter831]

i have a '98 5 speed. recently its been having a lot of trouble shifting into 1st gear. at one point i had to turn it off, put it in 1st gear, start it and then take off from there. i don't know if its the clutch fluid because its very dirty so i do have to replace that anyway. but sometimes it shifts but its very difficult and doesn't feel or sound good. sometimes when i go from 1st to 2nd it kind of grinds. i don't know what to do so i could really use some help on this

 

[pluton]

Had that same thing on my old truck, W56 trans. Gradually got worse over time. Turned out the clutch wasn't fully disengaging...in my case due to input shaft damage from the PO's cheap clutch job.
In your case it could be incomplete stroke on the slave cylinder. Time to bleed out that old fluid and make sure there's no air in that system. Cheap, mechanically easy, and, if you don't want to do it yourself, cheap to have done by a shop.

 

[R.E.]

With 273,000+ miles on my 4Runner, I have had the same problem a few times. The standard transmission shifter has washers that wear out and have to be replaced. You can get the parts from a dealer. They are not expensive and not very hard to replace if you are a bit handy. Take the shifter knob off and remove the boot. YouTube will show you how. When you take it apart, you will probably find that a washer is missing because they can deteriorate and the pieces fall into the transmission casing. That's not a problem. If you wait to do the repair, shifting will get worse and you will not be able to get it into 2nd.

 

[jeremyc74]

With 273,000+ miles on my 4Runner, I have had the same problem a few times. The standard transmission shifter has washers that wear out and have to be replaced. You can get the parts from a dealer. They are not expensive and not very hard to replace if you are a bit handy. Take the shifter knob off and remove the boot. YouTube will show you how. When you take it apart, you will probably find that a washer is missing because they can deteriorate and the pieces fall into the transmission casing. That's not a problem. If you wait to do the repair, shifting will get worse and you will not be able to get it into 2nd.

I think his problem is probably more clutch related. If it were the washers being worn out I don't see how turning the engine off would make any difference. His issue sounds like the clutch isn't disengaging from the flywheel. I'd suspect the hydraulic circuit isn't working properly. Could be as simple as bleeding it and putting in fresh fluid, or it could be that the master or slave cylinder is worn out. The dirty fluid is probably due to deteriorating seals.

Op, does it make any difference if you pump the clutch a few times before you try to go into first?

 

[L_Carter831]

Had that same thing on my old truck, W56 trans. Gradually got worse over time. Turned out the clutch wasn't fully disengaging...in my case due to input shaft damage from the PO's cheap clutch job.
In your case it could be incomplete stroke on the slave cylinder. Time to bleed out that old fluid and make sure there's no air in that system. Cheap, mechanically easy, and, if you don't want to do it yourself, cheap to have done by a shop.

thanks my friend thinks it might be that too but i just wanted to make sure. I've tried pumping the clutch but it seems almost impossible when its cold. ill get the fluid repaved and bleed it out soon thanks for the info!

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

Another thing to consider is the condition of your transmission fluid. Old fluid can cause trouble with the synchros. I have had small grinding issues with one of my old cars when it was cold out. Changing to new tranny fluid solved it.
Your issue does sound worse, and different than mine, but new fluid could help after you've taken the other advice here.

 

[L_Carter831]

I'll check it out. I don't know if this has anything to do with it but sometimes it grinds a little from 1st to 2nd but then i take it out and shift a little softer and it goes in.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I would guess that there's an issue with clutch engagement/disengagement.

Is shifting into Reverse an issue as well? Also if you sit on flat ground with the vehicle in 1st Gear and the clutch pedal pushed in all the way, when you rev it to say 3-4k does the vehicle creep forward?

 

[L_Carter831]

well shifting into reverse has always been tough but I've never tried to rev it. are you saying to rev it with the clutch all the way in?

 

[St Runner]

Check your clutch adjustment. The top of the pedal should be 6.5 to 7 inches off the floor, adjust with the cruise control switch bolt. then adjust the free play in the rod to the master cylinder until there is just a tiny bit of play. Make sure it is bled properly and that is really all you can do from the outside. As already recommended change both the clutch fluid and transmission fluid if more than 60,000 miles. If none of this helps you could try replacing the master and slave cylinder. If that still does not do the trick you are going to have to drop the trans

 

[UnderFire]

Hard shifting is usually just because the clutch needs adjusted, a quick adjusment and bleeding should fix it up quick, if that doesn't work make sure your slave cylinder is throwing fully, which it should be if you're only having troubles in 1st.

 

[brisamh]

Similar issue

I'm having a similar issue in my '00, 260k miles. It's new to me but was in pretty amazing shape when I got it. I've seen a lot of posts saying that sometimes this happens when it's cold but after driving it warms up and the problem goes away. Seems to be the case for me, that beings said, how can you tell if it's just a case of the cold start or a bigger problem?

I'm not sure i wanna go digging into my panels to diagnose a case of winter start ups (i'm in WA state), but I also don't want to neglect a problem that could get worse.

Thoughts?

 

[brisamh]

My problem got worse; was the clutch slave cylinder. Replaced that and master, problem gone.

 

[One Sick Puppy]

My truck (2000 t4r) has been having a hard time shifting into 1st for at least a year now. Recently started having trouble starting with clutch so I had to use the bypass button. Just checked and turns out this bolt was loose. Fixed the starting issue so far. Haven't driven it, yet. Hopefully will help with the shifting, too.