No grinding just hard to get into gear with clutch all the way down. While at a stop, effort is less if you go from 2nd to 1st gear then let out the clutch. My syncros ? Trans oil and rear diff oil have recently been changed and there is no difference.
Has it always been difficult, or is this a recent change.
Yes, it sounds just like a worn 1rst gear blocking ring (a part of the
1-2 synchronizer assembly) Block rings can wear in two common ways to cause this. The external teeth can wear down (makes synchro sleeve engagement difficult) or the internal grooves that ride on the 1rst driven gear can wear smooth (makes it harder for the block ring to slow down or speed up the driven gear to match cluster gear shaft speed to main shaft speed).I don't know of any pattern failures for this trans, but it is an outside possibility that the shifter mechanism bushings or seats in the top shift portion of the case are worn in such a way as to make 1rst gear selection difficult. I would bank on the synchro assly though.
Toyota MDT in MO
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