Hard to get into 1st

I've got a 2004 V6, 5spd and on a cold day it is hard to get it to go into 1st gear and if im rolling slow and try to put it into 1st sometimes it will grind, it only lasts about 5mins though and after that it will shift fine. does anyone know about this or have a similar problem?

 

I have the same issue on my '10 4 cyl 5 spd. It does not do it all the time, but enough to be annoying. I do not have an answer to this.

 

I found that the Redline MT-90 gear oil in the tranny helps a lot!!

 

I will go all synthetic when the next oil change is due.

 

I give mine time to warm up, usually the fluids are just cold.. and if its still not shifting when rolling slow, hit the clutch and rev up a little before you shift down.

 

Mine does it too minus the grinding. Just stop all the way before putting it in 1st.

 

x2 on the Redline MT90. I just put some in, and it is a lot smoother in the lower gears.

 

Whenever I experience trouble going into 1st or into reverse, I just throw it into second gear. Then to the gear I want to go into, just don't force it.
Pretty typical of manuals to do this.

 

how hard is it to change and where do i buy the oil???

 

Its hard to get in gear only because the transmission is simply cold, thus the gear dope is cold which makes it thicker. To ease your problems you must finesse the transmission and synchronize it. You can do this by jiggling the shifter in neutral or putting it in another gear and then going to 1st. If this doesn't work, you can hold the shifter in 1st with easy pressure and slowly let out on the clutch until it falls into 1st gear.

 

If the V6 tranny is anything like my 2.7, its not hard at all to do. Just make sure you loosen the fill nut first to make sure you can get it filled back up before you open the bottom drain nut. I forget what size socket you need, maybe a 24mm?

 

try lucas possibly, and check the plastic bushing at the end of your shifter, they get old and dry rot and crack/fall apart.

 

thanks for the input, does anyone know how much fluid goes in the tranny?

 

double check but i believe its 2.7 quarts of

$30 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 gear oil

 

x2 and I got my MT-90 on Amazon. At the time they were the cheapest. Just do a google search for Redline MT-90

 

2.7 qt for 2wd, 2.3 qt for 4wd. Use Redline MT-90.

 

Step 3, picture 2.

 

My '05 6 spd does it if it's really cold. I just give it time to warm up and it's usually fine. If it does it I usually just roll forward (or backwards, depending on which way I'm facing) and then it'll shift fine.

 

Yup. The drain is on one side, the fill on the other. You need to get the aluminum crush washers to replace the ones that will come off. Torque to 27 ft lbs. 24mm socket. The plugs can be stuck on sometimes, so you may want a breaker bar. You can also hit the edes of the plugs with a wire brush and WD40 to help unstick 'em.

It helps to have a little pump or a suction gun to get the oil in there. You can get one for a few bucks at any Autozone etc.

The Redline MT 90: I got mine from a local place called Tognotti's for $9.99 per quart. Funny thing about the bottles, they have very narrow necks: the pump I mention doesn't fit too well, so I cut off the top part of the bottle's neck so the pump would fit/work better. Can you tell I just did this two weeks ago?

While you're down there, just do the transfer, too. Same oil, same plugs same crush washers, same torque. If you don't have these tools, it is a wonderful excuse to buy them. You can use them on the differentials, too.

And what the other guys said, yeah, sometimes I have trouble getting into reverse when dead still, you just monkey the shifter into 1st, 2nd, whatever, then try again. Standard manual tranny stuff, and this isn't a little sports car. Don't see any reason to try to shift into first when you are rolling.

 

Just to show it doesn't seem to get any better 6 years later.......

On my 2010 5 speed if I am going under 10-12 mph the truck lugs in 2nd. Even with blipping the trottle to keep RPMs up it still lugs hard which means I must attempt to shift to first even when going 9mph - very annoying. It does not like to go into 1st(even warmed up) untill almost stopped(which is normal to me) but this makes driving in the city hell. If the car infront slows down too much below 10, I must stop all the way and enter first.

In most vehicles as long as you are rolling well you can start off in 2nd with no issue. Not the case with this truck. I figured the torque on the 4cyl would not have issues at these low speeds and decent RPMs.

If the truck would start off in 2nd while rolling under 10 I would have no issue with the difficult 1st gear.

O well.