2001 5-speed 5th gear issue

I have just purchased a 2001 Tacoma with a 5 speed manual trans, and am having an issue when shifting into 5th gear (but only at higher road speeds, say over 50mph). I get a bit of a "graunch" when going into gear. I suspect this is a synchronizer issue? I'm wondering should I have the trans rebuilt or try to locate a good used one, maybe a 6speed (will the 6speed fit?)? The engine is 2.7l with which I am well pleased. Money is a BIG issue and I would be doing the removal and replacement of the trans myself.

 

Welcome to TW. And congrats on your Tacoma.

A couple of years ago, I was having issues with my transmission: hard shifting, "graunch"ing (if I understand correctly what you mean by that), and just an overall bad feel of how it felt when shifting. I didn't know if my transmission was going out or if I needed a new clutch, slave cylinder, etc. I was on a budget, so I started with something simple and relatively cheap. I changed the transmission oil to Redline MT90. So much better. It felt like a whole new transmission. Granted, it was something that was long overdue.

About a week after that, I decided to change the shifter seat and socket with the parts from Marlin Crawler. Again, it wasn't an expensive thing to do. The socket was still there, but the seat was completely gone. Doing that made it even better, as the stick was more solid and didn't have that flimsy feel to it with a worn seat.

 

Yea my dad had a 1st gen that a bushing was worn in the shifter causing to to come to it of gear. I'd try messing with the shifter or double clutching if you think it's the sincros. Just jumping to replace or rebuild the transmission would be pretty expensive.