Hey, if you were saying that 1st gear was crunchy, and the rest you had to jam, you might take a look at your seat bushing for the shifter to see if it's trashed; pretty common; $25 fix.

Give this a read and see if that's what you're experiencing.

http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=186539

you know, after I changed out my master & slave cylinders, that was the FIRST thing I checked when it was still crunchy! haha

I probably wasn't clear enough in my symptoms. 1st and Reverse are crunchy/grindy, and everything else requires a little finesse. I can ease them in with speed matching if that makes sense? rev up a little bit? you know what I mean? it's the 1st & Reverse I need to jam a bit, though I find that going into 1st first, then to Reverse helps.

the local source has agreed to my $50 offer for the old transmission. should hear back from the shop guys tomorrow letting me know what they'll do the inspection and build for me for.

Snow -- yeah, not saying I'm gonna skimp out or skip out on the items with potential for failure. I imagine we'll prob. do bearings and synchros. I was thinking more along the lines of the actual gears, though, heheh, looking at that kit above, there really doesn't seem to be much else, does there? heheh

Yodta, if the hard parts are intact, then all you'd need is the bearings and synchros. 'Hard' parts have a coating of a harder metal on them; once you start seeing metallic gunk in the tranny oil, you can pretty much bet on a complete overhaul; good thing to ask the shop about when you stop in.

Good luck!

I'm seeing good globs on the mag plugs on pretty much every transmission oil change. you think maybe that's ground up gear bits?

is a complete overhaul new gears, too?
if I start into that, you think I'd be better off with a whole new box?

How many miles on it? Sounds like it's been around awhile, at least for water crossings eh?

Have the shop clarify what comprises an overhaul; also ask about a rebuild warranty. Get a WAG on the estimate, and make your decision from there. A typical warranty these days is 12 months or 12K miles, whichever comes first.

Just keep in mind that with doing exchanges, the folks you're getting the 'new' tranny from will be expecting a REBUILDABLE exchange; make sure any extra shipping is worth it or not.

If the local guys can support you, go with them; at least that way if there are problems, you can go straight to them, instead of dealing with distance and communication hassles.

Just my POV, given as I live about as 'at the end of the road' as you can get. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

yeah, it's got probably 300k on it at this point, and the P.O...., well let's just say he wasn't very attentive to it so no telling what it went through before I started fixing it up.

good points. I'll post back with my progress.

Can't get it into 1st or reverse? Sounds like your clutch isn't disengaging.....

I thought that at first, as well, but it's got plenty of throw.

My 5 speed was about the same way. I adjusted the clutch PEDAL under the dash and now it shifts smooooth!

New fluid can help too.

Id try adjusting the pedal to give it more throw. Adjust it as far out as you can and go from there.

How do you get to that adjuster bolt without removing the dash?