I have a 1997 F150 with the 4.2l v6 and the 5 speed manual transmission that is RWD. I was driving this morning and I heard a slight grinding sound when I was in third gear. Then when I left for lunch, it shifted fine for about 1 minute. Once I stopped and and started going again, it would shift out of first and I would have it in neutral. Now, I only have 3rd to 5th and reverse. I can put the stick into 1st and 2nd, but nothing happens. It sounds like it is not "grabbing the gears." It sounds different then if I put it in 3rd or 4th. Also, it isn't smooth when I put it in 1st or 2nd, but doesn't make a grinding sound when I put it into those gears. It was also driving perfectly fine the day before, and i drove for over 2 hours with no problems. I need help on diagnosing what it could be.

 

From my Chilton manual it says check linkage. Have you checked the linkage ? Or does yours only have what some call a tower ?

 

I tried looking and I did not see anything wrong from what I could. Do you know what I would need to look for?

 

Some of these have a "tower". No linkage. May need to find a video on how to remove/replace tower.

 

Ok. I will try to look around for a video or information on how to remove the tower. Thank you.

 

The other possibility if the tower shifter is working, and there are no linkage issues, is the forks inside the transmission are malfunctioning. Then it's off to the transmission shop for repairs.