[focus176]

OK i just bought a 2001 ford focus 5 speed has a 2.0 twin cam.... Bought the car and the guy said he just replaced the tranny on it and the clutch was new everything has fluid ive tripled checked. Now for my problem. When going into 1st the clutch all the way down if i push real hard it wont grind but that only works sometimes even when pushing hard sometimes it still has a little pop/grinding noise its the same for 5th. Now 3rd is impossible it wonr go into 3rd no matter what i can push real hard and it still grinds...2nd and 4th work just fine no noise or nothing nice and smooth i need help please thank you[V][V][V][V]

 

[Leora83]

Sounds like the synchros on 1, 3, and 5 are done. My '01 had bad synchros in 1 and 3 from day 1, but I got tired of Ford telling me it was just because it was cold out. Should have made them fix it...but I just double-clutched those gears. Finally around 320 000kms something broke and jammed. Replaced the whole transmission with a decent used one.

So either the guy didn't really replace the tranny, just the clutch, or he got a bad one. If the latter, and he had it done at a shop, he might be willing to take it back there and get it done right at their cost.

 

[sailor]

I can't quite figure what the OP is doing. Almost sounds like he's trying to hold it in gear, and it barely goes in to 1st/5th & not into 3rd.

Could be as simple as the shifter forward/back cable adjustment if there isn't adequate throw in the forward direction.

 

[focus176]

So i dont know alot about manual tranny can u just replace the Synchros for 1 3 5.... and im pushing the clutch all the way down and the shifter all the way into the gear but just grinds. what would be my best bet??? replace synchros?? or just another tranny? or can i drop the tranny and fix it myself

 

[sailor]

Keep grinding & it'll be simple - replace the transmission.

Check the shifter/cables as suggested to get the proper "throw" to put it in gear (assuming it isn't toasted already).

 

[Leora83]

I didn't quite understand the post either, but your take makes more sense, Sailor...shifter cables didn't get adjusted with the new tranny.

At least that's way easier and cheaper than new synchros...unless they're already done from repeated grinding.

 

[sailor]

Just startin' the guessing at the cheapest/easiest/most likely end of the possibilities (and the symptoms fit).

Last one that had trouble getting into 1,3,5 it turned out to be roll pin in the shift tower - would barely shift at all by the time he dove into it.

Shifter - cables/adjustment - shift tower/roll pin - transmission. Order of attack from easiest/cheapest/most likely to the other extreme.

 

[SterlingSVT12]

well, as with anything on any car, you can either listen to the advice of the people that have been there before, or you can, expensively, go through the physical process of elimination. Start at the top and work your way down. The shifter is your first locaton: everything is determined by it. If it's even slightly off, it could be screwing everything up. Then work your way to the cables, clutch/pressure plate, and finally the synchros.

The synchros should be your absolute, "holy crap its nothing else," option. If it's the synchros, the better option at that point will be to replace the transmission. Personally, replacing the synchros is really only something that I would do on a car that I had invested months and hundreds (or thousands) into.