5 speed manua transmission hard to shift

How about reverse?

reverse is fine

It could be caused by a number of things. Mechanical, lubrication, ambiant temperature. Try the simplest and cheapest solution first. I pulled the rubber boot off my old 85 Pulsar and squirted some oil on the bottom of the shift rod mechanism where it goes into the transmission. That worked for me.

I would do Bill's suggestion, and then I would also have the fluid changed. Consider replacing the tranny fluid with a synthetic, such as Redline.

That's odd as if it was a clutch issue, reverse would be affected even worse. When you say difficult, is it upshifting and downshifting, noisy, stiff through the whole movement or just at the edge of going into gear etc.

When I shift into 1st or 2nd gear, I have to force it into position. At times it works fine, but now with the truck having 89,000 miles on it, it seems like the 1st and 2nd gear shift positions are not going into position smoothly with the clutch fully depressed.

Try changing the transmission lubricant. And, if you feel like spending the dollars, use Redline synthetic lubricants. Makes all the difference on my Maxima 5-speed. Redline lubricant costs about $8/quart and my Max takes 5 quarts ... but it's worth it, especially on cold mornings here in Denver.

Live long, and prosper Jerry L. Gubka

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Is it grinding the gear a little, especially when cold? If so, I'd bet your clutch is starting to go. Try the 50 mph 5th gear test to see if it's slipping too. If there's no grinding and no slipping, just put some Redline MT-90 in there. You should notice a big difference.

Sark

Like several others have said, a fuild change might help. Could be a clutch starting to fail as well? Since I can't drive it, I have no way of knowing how much force is needed and if this is a serious problem or not.

Just off the top of my head.. I'm thinking shift linkage adjustment..

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Some WD-40 and duct tape? I heard they fix everything. :)

I also am having slight trouble shifting the same truck. Especially when it is cold. I changed my transmission fluid to R Line and it got worse. Thought it would help. Any ideas?

Are you sure your clutch isn't dragging (failing to disengage completely)?