Manual won't shift into 1st and gets stuck in reverse

Hi all, thank you in advance for your help.

I have a 98 Tacoma SR5 manual with 250,000 miles on. I bought it second hand a few years ago and have put a little less than 10,000 miles on it in that time. It can be very difficult to shift in to first gear, whether stopped or moving, it often takes multiple attempts to get into gear, and even then it takes a little force to get it in. Both reverse and forward experience the same issue where I have to come fully off the clutch, then back in, in order to get it back out of gear. If I let off the clutch just a little (say in traffic to move forward just a little or backing out of a tight space), pushing the clutch back in will not disengage the gear and the vehicle will be stuck in gear and still be propelled by the engine, even with the clutch fully engaged.

The guy I purchased the pickup from seemed to be reasonably honest. He was forthcoming with all the other issues with the truck and I have not had any surprises. He said first was always difficult to get into and he replaced the clutch right before selling it hoping that would fix the problem, which it did not. I have no way of verifying whether or not he actually did replace it. I replaced the master and slave cylinders right after I bought it which did improve the situation, but it has since degraded to where I am now. I live in an area with high traffic and lots of parallel parking, both of which are very unfriendly to this driving complication. I have tried bleeding the clutch and it doesn't seem to be helping at all. The clutch has always required full depression to the floor to shift gear. Shifting in and out of 2-5 gears works perfectly fine.

I am considering replacing the shift lever ball seat and the fluid based on other forums I have read. Are there any other suggestions.

 

It may just be time for a new tranny to be honest. That's a ton of miles and lots of shifting. I'd be suspicious of the synchronizers myself causing the issue. It's typically cheaper to replace the transmission than have it torn down to put new synchros in.

 

Difficulty shifting into 1st or reverse usually means it needs to be bled or there is a leak somewhere. Even if you say you have bled it, bleed it again. Use a vacuum bleeder and an assistant. Sometimes one or two bubbles in the line will cause that symptom.