1st gear disappeared

[mzmtg]

1st gear just quit working in my Xterra. I went to accelerate from a stop sign and there was a bit of a lurch and now first gear will not engage.

When I try to engage first normally, there's no noise and no movement of the truck.

If I lean hard on the shifter, it will grind like it's partially engaging,, but I can't push the lever hard enough to get it all the way engaged.

Luckily, I can pull away in 2nd most of the time & 3rd through 5th are working fine too.

I probably have the skills to rebuild it myself. But I don't have the time or garage space.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to start looking for a used or rebuilt transmission?

Sent from my StarTac

 

[Silver dude]

I chipped the teeth off my 1st gear. Seems a like a common weak point. I had a lot of issues sourcing used transmissions. Sure they were on ebay, but with identical mileage to what I had. Or ridiculously priced. I priced a new trans from a dealer at $1500 which is cheap when you figure its a brand new transmission that shifts like new. But, instead chose to rebuild to learn from the experience and save money. In the end no regrets I gained a lot of credibility from peers as well as costing significantly less. At times shifting brings a smile to my face as it was a such a great accomplishment and shifts so smooth now. It ran me about $800 but I'll admit I replaced a few parts that most likely would of been fine.


Attempted to fill this thread with knowledge of the rebuild.
http://xterranation.org/showthread.php?1846-5-Speed-Manual-transmission-rebuild

 

[Silver dude]

Www.car-part.com is another resourceful option for used transmissions.

Ben

 

[mzmtg]

Thanks man, I saw your rebuild thread the other day.

Car-part.com is probably going to be the way I go. I know I may be looking at another busted transmission in a few more years, but I just don't have the time, space or money to go with a rebuild (by me, or someone else) right now.

 

[mzmtg]

On the upside, having no 1st gear to use has improved my fuel economy by 5%.

It went from an average of 18.2 mpg to 19.2 on the last tank.

 

[Silver dude]

Hahaha but increased clutch wear I would imagine. I am curious as to how your transmission looks on the inside. Best case could be fine just a bent or loose shift fork. Worst case missing chunks of gear.

Also frontier transmissions should work if they prove easier to locate.

Ben