Having trouble going into gear

Hello Tacomaworld. I have a 2004 tacoma 3.4 5speed, and it has trouble going into gear. When the clutch is to the floor I will not be able to put it in gear. I can push where 1st gear or reverse should be and feel the syncros activate. It does not always do this, and when it does i can usually jiggle the shifter and push the clutch in and out a few times then it will allow me to put in gear. What do yall think this might be? I just want some advice. thanks in advance

 

Old, contaminated clutch fluid.

 

Mine does this sometimes when it's cold. I gently apply pressure on the lever and slowly let out the clutch a hair and it seems to get something to line up. It always goes into gear on the second try after doing this.

 

Thanks! will try on the way to work in the morning.

 

Thank you. Will take a look soon.

 

You can use a turkey baster to remove fluid from clutch master cylinder.
Keep doing this over time till the fluid stays clear.

 

Just to clarify, I only let out the clutch a bit while giving it a little gas while pushing lightly on the lever, then re-engage the clutch and let off the gas. Then shift normally. It seems to be enough friction to rotate something internally in the trans, but not grind the gears. It's just a weird quirk I've gotten used to.

 

Ill give it a shot.

 

Sounds like you should properly service the brake/clutch hydro system. Replace the shifter bushings. And eventually replace the clutch. These trucks will last forever, but you do need to keep up on the 20 year old parts every once in while.

 

Greetings,
I am experiencing the same issue with my 2002 TRD. It is often difficult to get it to go into first gear when at a dead stop. I replaced the trans grease and used a synthetic, not sure that was the thing to do. If the truck is moving just a little it will go into gear just fine. I have a feeling it is the synchronizers, after all its 20 years old. For a 20 year old, I am still fairly low mileage, just 150K. Anyone else experienced this and how did you fix it? Thanks

 

If you have a lot of slop in the shifter then you probably need new shifter seat and bushing. These are pretty common wear items and can cause issues getting into gear.

if that’s not the case and you still have issues a trick I use on my old worn out 350k tranny when trying to get into 1st gear at a dead stop is to drop into 2nd then back up to 1st. This seems to do the trick for me.

 

Thanks, I am having the carrier bearing replaced on the 28th and they will check the seat and bushing also. I often do the same, going into 2nd then 1st. That works pretty well.

 

This sounds pretty normal to me. 1st is a finicky gear. First thing to check would be the shifter seat bushing, it's very cheap and easy to replace, the stock one crumbles over time and will make going into any gear more difficult.

 

I just ordered the seat and lever bushing. The local dealer quoted me $90 for both. I thought that was outrageous, so I found another dealer in a town near here and saved $30. I hope this fixes it!

 

I would just keep in mind that 1st gear is always a finicky one to get into, it's never as smooth as the others in my experience.

 

Every old car I've driven always had a finicky 1st/Reverse

 

I have all new clutch, rebuilt transmission, rebuilt rear differential: When the season changed and the weather got cold... I started have difficulty getting it from 1st to 2nd and then down shifting into 1st. Reason: Dino oil viscosity. Once everything warms up its fine. Like eon_blue said... I think its normal. Truck is 21 years old now.