I just acquired an older car. I am sure that the clutch is working well. When I first drove the car, I had no problems shifting. Then, after a few days, I began having problems shifting into 1st gear. Not every time, but on a regular basis, the stick will not go smoothly into the first gear position. It will go partially into that position. When the stick is partially in the first gear position, and I let out the clutch to put the car into gear, if I take my hand off the stick, the stick will be thrown automatically out of gear into neutral, but if I continue pushing the stick into position while letting out the clutch, depending on how skillful I am with it, it will either pop hard into first gear or grind into it. Other times, without letting out the clutch, I can put the stick into what appears to be the first gear position and then push it very forcefully against some added resistance to get into the actual first gear position, but this doesn't always work. There are also other times when it shifts completely normally. The other gears appear to shift completely normally although I think that second might have been jammed a few times. What are the possible problems that I am having. Is this expensive to repair?
Sounds like the linkage needs adjusting. The 'throw' on the 1st gear linkage probably has decreased due to age & use. Adjusting to move 1st selector arm further in its direction of travel towards engaging should solve the problem. Also, put it into high momentarily before going to
1st--should stop grinding if it is not synchronized in 1st (from the factory). HTH, s
Is this a floor shift lever or a column shift? Of course, older stick cars do not have synchromesh on first gear, but that does not seem to be your problem. It sounds more like something in the shift linkage, which is why I ask if it is a column shift lever.
If it is a floor shift the problem is likely something inside the box itself.
You know, the previous owner knew about these problems, and probably did something to temporarily mask the symptoms, with a little help from someone.
Believe it or not, this is normal. It sometimes takes time for the synchro mechanism to match the speeds so that you can push the stick in all the way and mesh the dog clutch.
But what you are describing is abnormal.
Never let out the clutch until the stick is fully engaged. What happens is that there is a little bit of travel from the point that the stick passes thorugh the synchronizer, before the teeth actually make contact. If the clutch starts engaging at this point, the gear will lose its synchronization! Then when the teeth make contact, they will grind.
If the stick won't go in, there is no point in doing anything with the clutch. None of the additional problems that occur after you've started letting out the clutch (like grinding) prove anything since that's incorrect technique.
The stick won't go in because something is blocking it.
What could it be?
Maybe a blocker ring that is stuck: it intermittently won't release when synchronization occurs, so the gear selection cannot be completed.
Maybe the synchro is okay, but the clutch doesn't fully disengage when the pedal is all the way down, so synchronization isn't achieved? The pedal may need adjusting, or maybe the hydraulics or mechanical linkage of the clutch needs to be looked into, etc.
If it's clutch-related, another possibility may be that the clutch disk's hub does not move smoothly on the spline shaft! The clutch disk's hub, or the spline shaft, can rust. You press all the way to the floor, the clutch mechanisms do their job, the pressure plate backs off, but the darn clutch disk doesn't slide along the shaft, away from the flywheel, and thus takes friction from the wheel,
Could such a clutch disk problem be specific to one gear? Maybe. If the disk is not separating from the flywheel, what will break it away, if anything? The synchro. Higher gears have more torque in the reverse direction from the drive shaft to the clutch, and synchros that are typically less worn, too. If the car is moving, shifting into third gear will apply greater torque to the clutch than first gear, because it's a lower gear ratio in that direction. Whatever torque the synchro manages to exert is multiplied by the gear. If you were to stop a spinning, flat wheel with the friction of your finger, would you do it at the edge or close to the center? Of course at the edge, where the kinetic friction translates to more torque!
These are just wild-assed guesses.
Could it be as simple as the gear selector linkage needing adjustment?
If you shift fast, you will often feel the resistance of the blocker ring before the gears are synced and you can connect them. But that resistance is brief, and more or less predictable too.
Wrong question. The question is: can you go after the previous owner of the car? Did you sign any "as is" type document?
You bought the car thinking that it had a working transmission, and then a few days later, these problems happen. It seems that you were ripped off!
That car has to go back to the whoever sold it to you, and you should be looking for another car.
How very nice! Many people fancy an "older car", as do I.
Would you care to help those here to help you by telling them what year, make and model this motor might happen to be? Or would that information endanger some aspect of national security?
If you try to put the transmission into first before the car is stopped, you will likely encounter significant resistance. If the car is stopped, it should slip right in. If you hold the shift lever at the point at which resistance is felt, it will slip into gear when the synchros have the gears meshed.
If the symptoms you describe occur when the car is stopped, then it could be a dragging or misadjusted clutch, worn synchros, bent or misadjusted shift linkage, or worn shift linkage bushings. Dan
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