06 Tacoma Manual: difficulty shifting into 1st or reverse

Hey guys! This is my first post; wish it was for better reasons.

I have an 06 Tacoma base, 2.7 I4 with a manual. Pretty much as basic as you can get.

For the last few months, I've been having difficulty getting the truck to go into reverse from a stop. Honestly, it was annoying, but I didn't think much of it. Usually what I'd do is kick it into first, roll it forward a few inches, and then it would slip into reverse with no problems.

Yesterday, I had to head out of town on a trip of about ~100 miles away. When I left that morning, there were no problems - it shifted and drove just like normal. But when I pulled off the Interstate at my destination and stopped at a light, the truck refused to go into first gear. I was at a dead stop, had the clutch pedal pressed all the way to the floor, and it took me pushing as hard as I could to get it to shift into first. It was a bit difficult to get it out of first and into second, but not nearly as difficult as getting it into first. Eventually I discovered that it was a bit easier to just start in second.

Realizing that this was not normal, I set course for the nearest dealership, which fortunately was only a few miles away. I pulled into the service lane and went inside to talk to them. But, it being Saturday, they were closing in a couple of hours and the service manager recommended that, if I could limp it back home, that would be ideal.

So I went back out to the truck, pressed the clutch in and started it, and now it was refusing to shift into either 1st or reverse. With the pedal on the floor, trying to shift into reverse just caused a whirring sound. The service rep came out and tried at, reaching the same conclusion. However, with the engine off, there is free movement of the shifter. He was able to shift it into reverse, start the truck and back out.

My sister picked me up at the dealership and we went to our meeting. While there, I got a call from the dealership saying that they had checked all the "common" things - brushings, fluid levels, pumps - and everything was normal. He said he "suspected" it was a clutch issue, but that they would have to drop the transmission to tell for sure. So I ended up with a rental car for the weekend since they aren't open on Sunday.

So I guess my question is, what is this? Has anyone seen this before? They're gonna call me to tell me tomorrow what the find. Considering they want $820 to replace the clutch, I really fear what they might charge if it's more serious.

 

In my last car, a 5 spd jetta, I found once in a while the same problem... if i put it into 2nd or third then back to the gear i wanted id have no problem. No clue about the inner workings but what i designed in my head is that i was "lining" things up

 

I'm putting a nickle on clutch hydraulic actuator.

The tipoff is that you canshift fine with the engine off bit not with the engine on but clutch "fully" engaged.

Let us know what they find.

 

Check the hydraulic clutch fluid and check that the slave cylinder is moving the lever on the bell housing. Sometimes if i can't get in low or reverse i let the clutch out and push it back in and try to engage a gear while things in the transmission are still turning