Hard getting into 1st gear

[Soupy]

74000

I have an 88 Wrangler, 5sp, 6 cylinder. I had a new clutch put in about 1 year ago. Now, I'm having a problem getting it into 1st gear. Sometimes, 2nd & reverse. There's no grinding or jumping out of gear. It's just hard to get into. It consistently gets worse after I've driven it for awhile, 5 - 10 miles or so. I've taken it to a trans repair place and they took it out for a test ride but he said he wouldn't know what the problem is unless they pulled the transmission. The problem is, i've got 132k miles on it and would like to keep the jeep since it's in good condition but it's going to cost $300 just to pull the trans just to see what's wrong and then whatever it's going to cost to fix the problem. Could be $500, could be $1000, who knows. I have a few other things to get get fixed so I'm trying to decide whether to fix or sell.
One item I had a question about was that he said he thought it was clutch related. If there was a clutch problem, wouldn't that problem be for all gears and not just 1st, 2nd and reverse? I'd appreciate any feedback or just some reasonable questions to ask a mechanic.
Thanks, Soupy (S. NewJersey)

 

[beachjeep]

75000

Try following the clutch line from the cylinder down to where it meets the transmission. If the line is loose (ie. it pulls in and out the trans) that may be the problem. Im not sure what the fix is though. probably just a bushing.

 

[KYJMAN]

76000

If you are running the T-5 5 speed, you need to get rid of it and upgrade. I suspect the syncros are wore, and maybe even some teeth are off 1st gear. If you are mechanicaly inclined you could do the work yourself and save a ton of bucks. If you dont need any hard parts, the rebuild kits run between 95.00 and up...of course the more bucks, the better the quality of parts you get. Hope this will help.

 

[offctr]

77000

Have you checked to see if the Hydraulic throw out bearing needs to be bled or is leaking ( as well as the clutch master cylinder itself)look for traces of brake fluid running down the inside or outside of the firewall below the cyl or pedal(it can hide in the carpet backing) It can run down quite far before you notice the effects such as you describe.
The lines move in and out becuase the hydraulic throwout bearing mentioned previously floats around the input shaft of the transmission. have someone step on the clutch pedal and see how they tighten up.
If the bearing is leaking your mech will want to do a clutch as well while he has the transmission off.


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93 YJ & 2001 Cherokee Limited.Past Jeeps : 94 Cherokee Country,79 Cherokee Chief ,87 YJ Sahara,75 CJ5 Golden Eagle , 82 CJ7