SC/SL/SW :: 5 Speed Manual Transmission - 97 SL2 Won't Shift Into First Or Second Gear
Jan 3, 2012
My 1997 Saturn SL2 with 5 speed manual transmission won't shift into first or second gear. When I shift into the location where first would be the car is in third gear. It shifts into 4th, 5th and reverse just fine, though the shifter is in the wrong position for those gears. I can wiggle the shifter in neutral and get it to move into the position where 5th and reverse are normally found, but it is stiff and makes a clunking noise when I move the shifter over to the far right side.
I have removed the center console and the bushing appears to be intact. Both cables are in their proper positions inside the vehicle and at the engine. One of the cables (the top one in the engine) has some wear and tear on the boot, but does not appear to be binding. Other than the stiffness and the clunking noise, the shifter seems to be working fine too.
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I have a 2010 accent blue model with stick shift. been fine for 50k miles. Lately i have noticed an issue where i am in first gear and then when i push clutch in to go into second, the lever won't budge. it does eventually go in but it just isn't like it used to be. it happens say about 25% of the time. Since at higher rpms it won't do it but normal rpms it will.
Also, i just had a new short block installed, perhaps something is binding? If I sit in the car, stopped, i can shift into and out of all the gears perfectly. Maybe my 1st gear synchros are going?
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2004 Jetta 1.8T w/5 speed manual transmission. Bought the car this way, mostly for a parts car, but everything else runs and drives good, so if it wasn't for this issue it would be a decent driver.
Won't/can't select first gear. Seems like there is no "spot" for first, or that the shift mechanism has no where to go., locked out. All the rest of the gear selections work perfectly. Tried the cable adjust ritual, but it was fine-as I suspected. The shift assembly works/moves perfectly from the tranny end and the shift lever end. Not a synchro, it won't go in stopped, moving, running or shut off.
So, what's the probable best guess or best way to come to a diagnosis? Shift tower parts broken somewhere, or something like a shifting fork bent broken? Seems like if it was internal there would be other gear selections that would be affected. Any links to some diagrams?
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1993 Geo Prizm with some odd 275,000 miles on it. Was at a stop sign, in first gear, and gave the car some gas. Very quickly it jumped out of first gear and stopped moving abruptly. Tried to get it back in first gear and it just stayed in neutral. Had to push it to the side of the road. Tried putting it in any gear and it wouldn't go. Then tried to have the car running in neutral and let up on the clutch and as soon as I started letting up on the clutch, something (like metal) started grinding. Pushing the clutch it (in neutral) stops the grinding. So, do I need a new clutch? New transmission?
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My 1985 BMW 635, standard transmission suddenly developed shifting problem. It will not shift into 1st, 3rd or 5th gear. It will shift into reverse,2nd and 4th gear. The car is not driven on any frequent schedule, infrequently. I can't remember the last time the transmission oil was changed.There has not been any mechanical distress,grinding of gears,etc. you just cant engage those gears. They all are moving the shifter from neutral to a up position. Is it possible that sludge could be blocking the movement of the synchronize r?
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I have a 2000 F350, Turbo diesel with 223 000 miles. 6 speed manual transmission will not shift into reverse or low.
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I have a 2003 Passat 1.8L with a M/T and 70K miles. For the last 6 months or so, I've found it hard to shift into 1st or 2nd gear when the car is in motion, even at slow speeds. When completely stopped, there is no problem shifting into any gear. I even had difficulty shifting into 2nd from 1st. Where to start troubleshooting?
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I just got a 2000 accent. The problems is that sometimes when I shift into 2nd and 3rd is notches sometimes. But it does not do it when i shift down. Also if I shift fast it will occur less often as when I shift low. When my friend drove the car it didnt do it for him. So maybe it is how i drive or something. I make sure the clutch is down all the way.
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I have a 1.8 Jetta and I realized yesterday that my first gear won't turn on what could be the problem..
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Long time listener first time poster. My wife has a 2009 Vw jetta 2.5 with a manual transmission that is very hard to shift. It has 80,000 on it and has had the clutch replaced once. She told me that she never had any problems shifting until she let it sit for two weeks while she went to cape cod. I have driven it myself and can confirm that there is an issue. Sometimes it just will not go into gear. No grinding noise at all and very very stiff when moving the stick shift laterally from first to fifth. Not actually shifting from 1-5 just moving the stick across the range it feels like cement. I have already changed the transmission fluid and used the Vw oem oil. I also removed the shift boot and lubed all the moving parts with a high quality grease. Tomorrow I am going to bleed the clutch slave and have a good look at the shift linkage. Is their something I am missing?
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I have a 2004 manual transmission Santa Fe. I've maintained it very well since new.
About 6 months ago I noticed it was getting difficult to manually shift gears. It wasn't grinding or anything, just "hard" to get it to go into the various gears while driving. Before, I could shift into any gear with just 2 fingers on the gearshift and it was smooth as silk.
I went in and had the gear oil changed. This was something I didn't even know needed to be changed and the guy said most people never do. They showed me the oil they took out and it looked more like black water than oil and smelled kinda funky. They changed the gear oil out, but still no difference, and in fact it's getting worse.
The best way to describe it is the only way I can really shift gears now is to find that "sweet spot speed" where the gears will change on their own (so to speak). I find it particularly difficult going from 1st to 2nd, such as when starting from a stop light. People almost rear-end me now as it takes me longer to get it into 2nd gear.
Once in gear it runs perfectly, no problems. The clutch seems to be working normally, except perhaps while stopped in 1st gear, it sometime seems to jerk a bit, and I find this most noticeable if I'm stuck in very slow moving heavy traffic with the constant stopping and then moving forward slightly and such.
It is almost impossible to "gear down" into a lower gear unless I'm at the speed where it would normally go into that lower gear on it's own. The best way to describe it is how it is possible to drive a standard transmission car WITHOUT a clutch if you shift at just the right time/speed. But I DO use my clutch, but if I'm not close to "that speed" it's really, really difficult to force it into another gear, and the few times I do try and force it, I'll often get a bit of grinding.
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I went on vacation for a week and left my car at my parents house. I came back and now it has become extremely difficult to shift between gears. It's nearly impossible to get the car into reverse, extremely difficult to get it into first, makes a thud when pulling it out of first, is semi difficult to get into 2nd, but only a mild nuisance to get into 3rd through 6th.
For more information, the car is a 2012 Volkswagen GLI with just shy of 40,000 miles. The car ran just fine before I went on vacation and the car was not moved while I was on vacation. I did notice that a little ticking kind of sound when I had the car in neutral with no clutch. So the throw out bearing was starting to wear, but it was a very slight. But I haven't had any other problems.
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I'm trying to diagnose a problem with my dad's 93 F250 7.3 diesel 4x4 with a ZF S5-42 5 speed manual transmission. It seems to not want to shift back into gear once the truck has warmed up, with 1st, 2nd and reverse being the toughest gears to get into. We've done a transmission fluid change with the required dextron/mercon substitute but the problem existed before the change and the change didn't seem to solve the problem any.
This problem didn't exist until I did a couple hundred miles of towing with it, some of which was done in 5th gear (overdrive?), so I'm hoping the 5th gear towing didn't ruin the transmission. From a cold start the transmission has no trouble shifting into any gear as well as with the engine off when either warm or cold, but with the engine idling and the truck at operating temperature it can be difficult to impossible to shift into gear, especially reverse.
I think heat has something to do with the problem because the shifts were worse a when its driven longer and during the tow/driving that was done in the last part of summer. It sat most of the time since then but we took it out today to test some things. Hot or cold the external hydraulic slave had roughly the same range of movement, but the drive line seems to jerk more noticeably like power is applied to it during a shift when its warm.
This all makes me think, even though the clutch hydraulic system is working like I think it should, that the clutch is not fully disengaging when at temp. I'm not a transmission guy so before I start throwing parts/labor at a problem.
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I am in the nasty position of having to remove my 6-spd manual transmission to investigate the nasty whine in it. The dealer says $2300 to fix it and the parts are $100, so I am going to do it myself. I have been unable to find a repair manual yet for the 2010 Camry and I was wondering for step by step for removal of the tranny. I don't need a lot of detail, but it is nice to know the order in broad strokes.
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Got in the car today and moved the gear selector into the manual shift mode. Usually there is no play forwards or backwards. Today there was about 3/8 of an inch travel forward before the spring tension started. I'm taking the car in tomorrow to have the console latch replaced but was wondering why encountered this anomaly in the shift mechanism?
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I have a 2005 Nissan Frontier with a manual transmission (~6500 pound towing capacity). I rented a large wood chipper this weekend. On the ride home from the rental pickup, the transmission started shuddering when shifting. It is most noticeable when shifting into first gear from a standstill, and less noticeable on each successive shift. Once the gear is fully engaged, there is no shudder - it is only when letting out the clutch that there is the shudder. The truck only has 50k miles on it.
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On a manual car, I know it's not the best thing to go from neutral, completely bypass 1st gear, and shift to 2nd gear. As well as 3rd to 5th bypassing 4th. However, is it the same for downshifting into neutral or another gear? Will it hurt the transmission to go from 3rd to neutral (bypassing 1st and 2nd) when coming to a stop? I do know that shifting from 4th to 2nd gear and bypassing 3rd will harm your tranny. I just want to double check if I'm right...
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I have a 2006 Toyota Matrix. I want to change my manual transmission fluid in it. I have called dealerships and auto parts stores and keep getting different answers. I was wondering exactly what kind of fluid do I use and how much fluid do I use. I am not going to pay $219 for the dealership to do it but I want to make sure I put in the right kind and the right amount.
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Why my vue manual tranny only goes in first third and fifth . Can't get it in second fourth or reverse . Bought it like that .
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1997 Saturn SL ... It's like 3rd gear is where 1st used to be and 4th is where 2 used to be. 5th and reverse work but are more towards the center. It's as if the stick shifted over to the left.
Is it possible for the shift stick and it's linkage to become displaced? The temp did drop today about 40 degrees and it snowed but the car stays in the garage and was only parked at my work for a couple hours after a 2 mile uneventful drive.
No warning lights that I can see but the check engine lite has never worked. The engine is a 96 rebuild but the transmission should be a 97 like the rest of the car.
Great mileage and otherwise drives fine.
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I am loosing gear oil through an odd place . There appears to have been a rubber boot or cover over this area that got cooked by a hot exhaust (whole other story there). This is left (passenger side) just above where the axle enters the gearbox. Not sure what this is and how I can resolve the issue. I have temporarily used silicone to stop the flow and have topped off the gear oil, but am still leaking a little. I have already done some damage to the bearings I fear, as the tranny really whines when I get up into 4th and 5th.
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