Just about 270,000 mi. and running strong. I knew I needed to replace soon, but procrastinated as usual. Driving home one night it started slipping real bad, I could only get it in gear if the car was rolling. By the time I finally / barely limped onto my street and up the drive way my cloths smelled of clutch and my hand was numb from the vibration coming through the shifter. Normally, I would have had it towed home but this was one night I had to make it buy a certain time!! Due to an important family matter.

 

I have been starting it once a week for the last 6 weeks to keep the battery and fluids alive until I had time and money to fix it. I attempted many times to put it in first gear (engine running and off) over the last month, but was unable to. I figured the mess that I made in the bell housing was the problem and all would be well once repaired.

 

Today I completed the clutch job. Nothing to surprising or worse than expected in my findings. The disc had thrown a few springs and their were a few ball bearing along with inner and outer races left behind from what used to be an idler bearing. Of course quite a few burn marks on the pressure plate and fly wheel (I had it turned) from me abusing it all the way home that night. Oh and the magnet in the drain plug had a tiny bit more material on it than I expected, I've seen worse! Although....The gear oil was very metallic and glittery.

 

It still is not going into 1st gear!!! All the other gears are no problem. I tried everything. No check engine light, no grinding. I'm installing A new driver side axle in the morning and I'll take it for a "gentile" test drive then and see what happens. This will be the first time on the road since I parked it 6-7 months ago.

 

Is there a lockout of some kind for first gear. I replaced numerous bushing in the shifter linkage?

 

If some fresh gear oil gets pumped through it, will it clear up and let me shift into first again?

 

Dose this happen if the oil is low?

 

OR did I ruin it?

 

Please help!!

Transmission is shot - replace it. Nothing about the clutch will prevent it from going into gear with the engine off, and the metallic swirl in your gear oil is a sure sign of doom. 270k is a good run for an EJ 5MT. It's dead. Find a used one.

 

GD

my hand was numb from the vibration coming through the shifter.

 

Did you have to keep pushing on the shifter for some reason? Why was your hand on the shifter long enough for it to become numb? You should complete a shift, then remove your hand from the shifter, otherwise the pressure on the shift forks from your hand resting on the shifter wears them out and can cause problems like this. If you were forcibly holding the shifter into first the whole way home, you may have smoked the first gear syncro, jammed the blocking ring, or bent the shift fork inside the tranny.

 

You can shift into the other gears while the engine is running? If the other gears including reverse are easy to grab, then the clutch and pilot bearing in the flywheel are working alright, and it's a specific first gear problem. If the other gears are hard to select, or if reverse grinds when you go for it, then the clutch may not be disengageing all the way or the pilot bearing may be seized and dragging, causing the input shaft of the tranny to keep spinning.

 

Does first gear grind? Does the shifter still move to the first gear position? Or does it just seem like it won't go in?

 

If you smoked the syncro and jammed the blocking ring, you may be able to get it to pop back loose by parking on a hill, shutting the engine off, take your foot off the clutch pedal, and attempting to jam the shifter into first while rolling backwards slowly (2mph or less). This will load the blocking ring in the opposite direction of how it was loaded when it jammed and may pop it loose.

 

There's no fixing a bent or broken shift fork if you did that, and in that case the shifter will move into the first gear postion but nothing will happen.

Seems to me the main shaft roller bearing going bad allows the main shaft to move fore/aft which will cause it to not engage certain gears correctly. This would also explain the heavy glitter in the oil. Rebuild or new transmission time! Make sure you get the right diff ratio.

Feels like 1st is totally blocked, wont even go in that direction. No grinding or anything! It will go into 2nd but will pop out as I let up on the clutch, then just kinda sits between 2nd and neutral and grinds very lightly. All other gears work great as far as I can tell. No problems with linkage and clutch is all brand new and working as it should.

Just replace it - good used 5 speed's can be had for relatively cheap - around $200 or less typically. The metal swirling in the oil means it's days are numbered even if you find 1st gear. Just find another.

 

GD

Yeah, if it pops out of second as soon as you load it you screwed that tranny.

 

Find one with the matching ratio for your rear diff and swap out.

Thanks for all the info everyone.

Now....Anyone have a 5mt, 4WD they want to sell me?

 

Diff says 4.111 on the tag I found underneath 1/2" of mud and rust.

Yes it will be a 4.111 - all the 90 to 94's are 4.111.

 

You could also use a newer Outback tranny - 97 to 99 - typically they are more expensive but if you happen opon one.....

 

GD