Quote:
Originally Posted by motorstereo
...before shifting into first , “pretend” you’re going to shift into 4th. Don’t actually shift , just touch the four position on the H. Then, it goes into first super easy...
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Just to be clear, you are saying that if the car is sitting still with the engine runnings and you push in the clutch, it is hard to go directly into first? And if instead you push in the clutch and, while holding down the clutch you move the gear leaver over to forth without actually going into 4th, and then back over to 1st, the transmission then easily goes into 1st?
There is probably nothing wrong with your transmission.
The issue is almost certainly that your shift coupler bushings are worn or even completely disintegrated.
Since the bushings are worn out in the shift coupler, the momentum you give by going toward 4th and then back to 1st helps the coupler rotate a little more than it does just by going directly to first. This is why your procedure makes it easier.
You can easily check to see if your bushings are worn in 5 minutes with just a phillips screwdriver. This process below is super easy, just 4 screws and then take a look.
If you see that the bushings are bad, you can then decide to DIY replace, or take the car to a shop for them to do the work. You will be amazed at how precise the shifting is after you replace the bushings.
Get in the back seat and lift up the carpet that goes over the central tunnel, you will see an access panel with 4 philips screws, like this:
Remove the screws and lift up the cover, you will see something like this. There may be a rubber cover over the coupler that you have to push back a bit, push it back and you will see this:
Now, take a close look at the coupler, it should look like this:
Notice how in the picture above there is a center shaft with dark grey bushings around it? The above picture shows a coupler with good bushings.
If it looks more like the picture below, then your bushings are shot and need to be replaced. Notice how in the picture below the bushings are just gone and the center shaft is loose:
See the next post for info on replacing the bushings.