2003 regular cab 2WD - 2.4l, 5spd - hard to shift issues

2003 regular cab 5 lug w/175k miles
2.4l, 5 spd W59 - original clutch - slave cylinder replaced at some time.
Stock tire size.

Wife bought it in 2008 with 30k miles & was parked in late 2017 with 174k miles so truck had been sitting up ~4 yrs. Previous to that she drove it all over the lower 48 on long road trips due to her job.

Replaced fuel pump & a lotta maintenance & clean up to get roadworthy again. Was planning on selling it, but it's worth more as a back up vehicle.

If I drive the truck more than a few hours (~3-4) it gets hard to shift, especially into 1st, 2nd & Reverse without much force & foul language.

I changed shifter bushing & cup - bushing was completely disintegrated except for hard black base. Way better shift feel than before, but the issue remains.

I've also watched my RPM @ 55, 60, 65 & 70 and it runs about 75 RPM higher than it should be based on several online calculators for RPM based on gearing & tire size.

Pretty sure it's time for a new clutch & fluid flush, just hope it isn't anything internal.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

It seems to have no problem shifting into each gear if the engine is not running.

I'm gonna try to change fluid since that's cheap & easy. The wife thinks it may be the synchros.....hope she's wrong - altho there's a first time for everything.

Also gunna get a quote for a new clutch kit & probably fork & fulcrum since I've viewed a few posts & videos that they crack or wear thru. Prolly unneeded, but since it's apart, may as well replace it for the peace of mind.

 

Anybody have any suggestions??
Hard to believe nobody has replied…..

 

I have a 2002 regular cab 5 lug w/99k miles, 2.4l, 5 spd W59

Just replaced clutch and had the transmission rebuilt with a NBK kit. Reason for all the work was it started whining in all gears except for 4th. Got it back with everything 100% new... and it still whines in all gears except for 4th. Seems to be a common problem with 1st gen 5 speed trannys even new ones from Marlin. Side note... these things can be very notchy sometimes.

After checking and refilling/replacing the clutch fluid, transmission fluid and shifter bushing... in my opinion you have two paths:

#1 Drop the transmission and replace all the clutch parts (clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot bearing, release bearing) and have the flywheel resurfaced. While everything is open you might as well as replace the rear main seal, fork and pivot ball. Then eveything will be new. Replace and bleed with new clutch fluid.

#2 Then have the transmission rebuilt by a reputable builder with a full kit.

The issue is if you only do path #1... you might get everything back together and find out the issue inside the transmission. Then you will have to drop the transmission again.

The only other thing in the system is the master and slave cylinder.

 

May I ask a dumb question? How old are the spark plugs? Edit: and driveshaft center bearing?

 

Maybe refill the trans with Redline MT90 before spending lots of money/time just to see if it helps.

Made my 2nd gen a good bit smoother, but it's still kinda notchy sometimes.

 

I have an 03 in almost identical configuration and i dropped the tranny and replaced the rear main seal in my driveway last summer. I never had any whine though and while I was at it I put in a new clutch kit, changed the transmission oil, and had the flywheel resurfaced. Mine has about 165k on the clock. It’s not hard but there’s a lot of donkey labor and took me longer than it should have as it’s a giant hassle to remove the driveshaft, exhaust, and transmission.

I tell you this because if I didn’t have the leak and had to do it over again I think I’d try what an earlier poster said if the whine bothers you that much. Try some Lucas gear oil additive, or Redline, in the tranny and see if that helps first before you go to all the trouble of dropping it. It can’t hurt and it just might save you some trouble buoy can still always drop it later if necessary.
Good luck.

 

Mine is not "notchy" it simply won't go without some force and a bit of grinding at times.

Seems as if I could kill it, put it in gear, then crank it back up and then let off the clutch and go.

Funny thing is, it goes into gear easy if it's not running.

 

I adjusted my clutch pedal....see this thread here

It had 1 1/2" of play....we'll see how it goes.

 

^ ^ ^ That and bleed the clutch hydraulics. I somehow let mine get low and had the exact same symptoms, bled it out really well and all is fine.

 

Drove it about 5 hours the other day - longest I've driven it yet - ad had no issues so far.

So far so good, I'll drive it again Saturday and we'll see how that goes.

 

Alrighty.....

Drove it again today, running errands and such. I noticed that the clutch pedal has started to develop play in it again. Shifting to 1st & reverse aren't as bad, but reverse had that grind a bit a few times, 1st is starting to be a bit hesitant to go into.

I bought a pair of needle nose vise-grips to hold the rod while tightening the lock nut. I'm going to adjust it again tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I didn't get the nut tight enough last weekend.

If it's dry enough I'll try to get under it to look at the slave cylinder (can we still call it that?) To see if it's leaking. Prolly just buy a new one just to be sure.

It's always had the play in the pedal ever since I've been driving ( since July of last year) and it felt so much better without it.... Now that it's back I can really feel the difference in the clutch bite point and harshness of shifting.

This is my first time working on a truck with a stick shift, I'm learning some things as I go.

 

I drive a 2003 4wd and the shifting was stiff (140K miles) until I replaced the fluids in the tranny about a year ago. Recently did a new clutch and the center bearing and now it is real smooth in all gears.

 

I plan on changing fluid once it warms up here a bit. A new clutch will be the next thing on the list as well, but I'm going to try to squeeze a few more miles out of this one while I save up more cash. As far as I can tell the clutch isn't slipping and works fine as long as the pedal has no play.