[OUSooner]

Bought an 2000 Xterra for my son 1.5 years ago with 180,000 miles.
Manual transmission. Only work done since we bought it was rocker cover gaskets.

I just got a text from my son saying

"On the way to school, first gear popped out and when I put it back in first gear, it acted like it was in neutral with a chatter. So I put it into 2nd gear and didn't use first gear again. Online it looks like a synchronizer is the problem."

Any ideas? Is this easy to fix ? I work on brakes, alternators, water pumps, etc... I have changed a clutch one time, but it was a 77 Ford Pickup. I am not sure I want to change a clutch on this car since it looks like you have to tilt the engine.

 

[OUSooner]

Someone at work said to check the manual transmission fluid first and said I have nothing to lose by changing it out (approx 1-2 quarts).

Does that sound right? What happens if the fluid is low, or old and sticky? what are the symptoms?

 

[BadnewsMike]

its not the clutch. its the gear, these trucks have VERY fragile 1st gears.
at this point only way to fix is rebuilding the transmission or grabbing a junk yard one and swapping it out

Changing the fluid would have prolonged the life, but if it feels like its in N when in first the Teeth are gone on 1st.

 

[OUSooner]

When I got home, I checked it out... Either the first gear is bad or the synchronizer is bad. Took it to the shop....

 

[netdobeiras]

you don't have to tilt the engine or jack it, or put any engine hoist to support it when removing the tranny. I didnt do that for my clutch job and the engine barely moved. good luck with that, i can never get my truck into first gear without coming to a complete stop. sometimes people ask me " why are you stopping?" i simply reply " to get the truck into first gear so i have some torque."

 

[cuong nguyen]

Beer garage has a good rebuild guide.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[OUSooner]

Thanks for the advice. If it was the clutch, sure I would pull the transmission, but it was the gears. That's not something I want to do.