for some reason all of a sudden it is starting to become very difficult to put it into gear sometimes. especially first gear. does anyone have any idea why this could be happening?

 

Did you recently change your oil? If so, did you use strictly GL-4? I can't find ANY GL-4 in town so I had to put GL-5 in and it's pretty hard to shift when it's cold. Especially first and second.

 

Hows the fluid in the clutch cylinder?

 

i have never changed my transmission fluid... and i will check the slave cylinder level tomorrow.

 

lol well then I have no idea what could be causing you transmission problems. It's a mystery.

 

I'd recommend not just checking it, but also flushing it with DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid.
If it's low and sucked air, or is contaminated in some way, that could limit the throw of the release arm and not fully disengage the clutch when you press the pedal.

 

is this a manual or a stick? If manual maybe the shift seat bushing finally cracked and a piece is binding.

 

Manual or stick?

lol I had to say it. I'm just assuming it's a manual by the way he was saying it's hard to shift into first, but I guess he could still be talking about an auto.

 

Get some more sleep Robb.

Simplest thing to check is the shifter seat and bushing. They wear out and shifting becomes crappy. I'd try that first.

 

sorry to bring this up alive.. just bought 89 regular cab and im having the same problem all th sudden.. having a hard time putting into first and second...i didnt see any oil leak by tranny... where is that shifter seat and bushing located?

 

in the seat of the shifter. also look into the clutch pedal bracket. it might be cracked, or the clutch pedal might be out of adjustment.

 

the shifter seat and bushing is where the shift lever pivots. remove the shifter boot. looking down at the transmission, the shifter enters the transmission through a circular clip. push down on the clip, and rotate it counter clockwise untill it stops. it should then pop up, and you'll be able to pull the shift lever out. the bushing is on the end of the shifter. the seat is on a machined lip just below the two studs that the shifter locks in with. if the seat is not on this machined lip, it has deteriorated and fallen apart, falling into the trans to be ground into a million little rubber pieces...

 

thanks guys... hopefully i wont have that problem later.. ill check on it tmrw...

 

im trying to get the shifter out but i cant it only pushes down a few cm and it wont turn any ideas on how to loosen it?. will wd 40 help?...im trying to get this done now so any help will b greatly appreciated.

 

ok i thought i wont have this problem anymore.... since i havent driven the car in a while.. all i did to the car is change engine oil... didnt even touch tranny or clutch fluid... but a bit more detailed of my problem: it happens when i drive the car for a while say about 35miles.. then i start having trouble getting into any gear , i have to really jam it to put it on any gear it will go, once for example it goes on third while still having clutch pedal depressed, it goes into second smoothly... but once im on a stop and let go of clutch pedal, and go on first or second or even third, it gets really tough... so when i park the car and shut the engine off, and depress the clutch pedal, it goes to any gears no problem.... so i leave the car in parking lot for about 4hours and come back driving it , its fine then around 30 miles later, it starts happening again... what the hell...

im suspecting, maybe slave cylinder? clutch fluid? getting maybe air when oil gets hot? not sure... help me out guys

 

anyone guys?

 

Your truck's symptoms mirror mine exactly.
A little history: Bought my truck in 2001 with 142K miles; Now I have over 250K. From the beginning, there was a very slight resistance to putting it into 1st gear when stopped. Over the years that resistance has gradually gotten worse. Now, once the truck warms up(30+ min of driving, highway or street) it can be very resistant to going into gear. Clutch is fine, shifter seat is fine, gear oil is MT-90(GL-4).
I have concluded that the sychronizers are just about worn out in the trans, and a rebuilt unit is in my near future. I wonder how much longer the trans would have lasted if the the original pothead owners had EVER checked, added, or changed the trans oil. I'll never know that one!
Band-Aid fix: When you are having trouble getting it into gear, try depressing the clutch pedal, moderately rev the engine while applying light force on the shifter toward the the gear you want to enter. On mine, this usually eases it into gear without having to force it.

UPDATE: Talked to experienced trans service tech today; he demonstrated that as far as he could discern from the trans behavior, it was the (30K mile)clutch not disengaging, not a synchro issue. The plot thickens... I'll report what happens, but it might not be until next week. -KB-

 

Like they said above: check the clutch pedal bracket. They flex and crck and flex some more. Eventually shifting becomes impossible because the clutch isn't disengaged when you push thwe pedal in. Also not unlikely the bushing in the shift linkage in top of trans is worn-out. Both conditions were present on mine at 150,000 miles.

 

thanks guys so much... ill double check the clutch bracket... i doubt it is... im leaning towards the tranny itself...

 

whats the word?