My transmission is suddenly not able to go in first. If I accelerate, she will do a clunking noise and the shifter will bounce. However….she drives in second and third and will drive in first if I downshift from 2nd to first. I checked out all the linkage and made sure she was engaging properly, everything looked good. Anyone have an idea what it could be?
It would be nice to know what transmission we are talking about. If it is the stock Ford-O-Matic in the 55 Ford of your avatar, it starts in second. If it is some other transmission, you need to let us know.
Is the clutch not releasing all the way? That transmission probably has non-synchronized low gear, so you won't be able to get it into gear if the input shaft is still spinning when you try to engage it. But since 2nd and 3rd are synchronized, they will engage. Sure would help to get a more detailed description of what's happening.
Can you shift it into 1st with the engine shut off? If you can, then see if you can start the engine with clutch engaged to see if the car lurches forward. If it doesn’t and you can move forward. Could be a worn part in the column.
A bad motor/transmission mount can cause this and may not be obvious. As well as clutch issues, like a worn clutch, excessive oil on the disc, bad clutch hub or excessive play in the clutch linkage.
You need to be one of us old farts to remember that these old cars don't have a synchronized first gear.
Thank you so much for all your input. I went back to look again and noticed this lever has some movement. It’s the release lever I think, should it have any movement? I can easily move it up and down. please go easy on me, I’m learning as I go.
That lever is allowed to move up and down a little. Do you understand what clutch pedal free play adjustment is? That's how far the pedal moves down, before you begin to feel a change in how hard you have to press it. It should be about one inch. Check what the pedal free play is, and let us know.
I assume you are referring to the clutch fork. Some up and down as well as front to back movement is normal, as the fork is designed to pivot. More information would help, but guessing it is a stock 55 unit with column shift? As previously stated, check all the shift rod bushings and slop in the column shifter mechanism. A simple test is to go under the car and put both shift levers into neutral. Look at the alignment of both shift levers at the bottom of the column. They should be parallel. The "clunk and shifter bouncing" is a good indication that the transmission is not all the way into first gear.
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