could anyone give me advice on my problem... i have a f1ta 5 speed trans on my 4.9 and when i press the clutch in and shift into 1st gear it makes a grinding noise then goes into gear after a little patience. but if i press the clutch and wait a few seconds, then shift into 1st its fine and goes right in.... maybe syncronizers not meshing or theyre worn? or could it possibly be a low fluid prob? idk, it just started happening.... thanks.

 

Welcome to FTE!

Your transmission is probably the Mazda "M5OD". IF you have really low first gear, it will be the ZF.

The Mazda had some rubber plugs for the shift rails that can leak fluid. I would check those plugs--top of the trans--and check the fluid level. The Mazda uses ATF.

More info than you will ever need here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/2...nsmission.html

As far as grinding going into first, most of the transmissions I have ever driven take a little effort to get into first when at a stop. This is especially true when cold. You are asking the synchro not just to synchronize two gearsets, but to bring one to a complete stop. Grinding is not unusual when you get into a hurry.

I got into the habit of running into one or two higher gears before going to first. This is standard for a non-synchro first gear trans, and will help with yours as well. Don't always use 2nd, as the 2nd gear synchro leads a hard life as it is.

Back to fluid--how long since it's been changed? May be time for a change anyway, and that could help clear this up.

 

sounds like u have a 5 speed manual with hydrolic clutch? if it grinds when engaging because the trans is spinning despite ur disengaging the clutch and waiting the 1-2 secs for it to slow down ur clutch may be dragging a bit and need adjustment. however if u have a hydrolic clutch there is no adjustment. Measure your pedal- how far do you have to depress it to feel a disengagement? i dont know what the spec is for your truck but usuall it is an inch or 2 and grows larger as the clutch wears. when it gets so large that youre bottoming out the pedal and you have no adjustment its time for a clutch. Its been a while but i think thats how it was.

 

Cable, hydraulic, linkage--the transmission is going to spin with the clutch in regardless. There is enough friction on the pilot and clutch disc/pressure plate to keep things moving in almost all set ups.