I have a 1995 F150 with 300CID six and a M5R2 manual transmission. Here's my problem. It is hard (almost impossible) to get the transmission to go into any gear after I have been in reverse. It does not grind. It just feels like it the shifter is hitting something. Sometimes I have to shut off the truck to get it in gear, it goes in just fine when the truck is not running. The truck shifts normal while driving, maybe a little hard sometimes, but it never grinds or slips. I plan to take the top cover off the transmission in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions what might be causing my problem that I should be looking for?

Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum! Does anything change if you press clutch pedal several times before shifting?

 

No, It doesn't change anything if I pump the clutch.

 

Could be a broken fork. You said the clutch doesn't change what is happening with the tranny, but I would double check. Your slave cylinder my be slowly going out, but only if it is sticking to the floor. I would think it is a broken fork or a syncro.

 

The clutch pedal returns well. Maybe an inch or so free travel at the top. I do plan to check the forks and syncros when I remove the top. I am pretty sure I could recognize a bent, worn, or broken fork, but what should I be looking for to indicate the syncros are bad. I haven't done much internal transmission work, but I'm pretty sure I can fix the problem if I can diagnose it correctly.

 

I'd start with the clutch, because it's more common part to wear out than syncros. Syncros would make cracking sound while shifting first, and you never mentioned it. There's a strange way to check cyncros - warm up the truck and have it rolling at about 10-12 mph in neutral and slightly push shifting stick towards 2nd gear without pressing clutch and gas pedals. if it will shift without any additional sounds - it means at least 2nd gear syncros are probably fine. It's not a 100% test, but it might help to figure out what's going on. Other gears syncros may be tested same way on higher speeds. By the way - you've mentioned that sometimes you have to stall the engine to shift to 1st gear - does it feel like idle RPMs are lower than in neytral with floored clutch pedal while it's in 1st in such cases? If so - slave cylunder doesn't seem to push the bearing far enough.