Hey everyone, new account for me here but scratching my head at the moment on my vehicle. I got an 1987 iroc 305 with the 5 speed for a really good deal, been spending the time getting it all ironed out to throw it on the road and have some fun with the thing. it’s got 224000km on it so things are worn and that’s to be expected.

As of recent 1st gear has been giving me trouble. It will pop into gear, release clutch to get moving boom grinds and kicks it out of gear. Okay that’s fine i’m not here to pick your brain about what could possibly be wrong inside my tranny without tearing it out that’s unreasonable. But what I am wondering is, is there anyway to adjust the shifter linkage on these 5 speeds? I’d like to atleast take a swing at that maybe it isn’t pulling the linkage far enough into 1st gear and it’s not making proper contact with the gear? Anyhow if anyone has any insight on that would be amazing. can’t find anything on it in my manual. Other than that will be pulling tranny this week diving into it if that doesn’t work will post pictures if anyone is interested

 

No, there is not.

It's not impossible that this is happening, butt even if so, it's most likely not due to the shifter itself. If it's the stock shifter still, it's a steaming bucket of dog plop, and you'd do better to just change it out for something decent, if it's worn or otherwise farkled.

The shifter moves forks, which engage slots in the sleeves, which are what actually engages the gears. The forks have little plastic pads on them. Those pads wear and fall out or otherwise disappear. It's conceivable that without one of those gone, the sleeve might not be getting slid all the way back fully into 1st. They can be replaced by removing the top cover, which has the whole shifter mechanism built into it. The forks come out with it and you can just slide on new plastic pads.

And of course put a decent shifter in it while you're at it.

 

Without trans. removal / disassembly:

Check for an aftermarket shifter with stops. Back those out so the stick has full travel.

The isolator cup under the shifter could be worn or damaged, preventing full internal rail travel. Easy item to replace on a T5. I prefer stock plastic over brass.

 

Thank you for the insight. Makes sense then why the manual doesn’t touch on any adjustment then. I appreciate the explanation of how the transmission works. it is helping me picture what to expect and what to look for as I get into this thing in the next couple of days what to trouble shoot for. Looks like i might be looking at forks and a new quality shifter. It’s probably about time for the old girl

 

Awesome I will keep an eye out for this when i get it dissembled probably replace it while i’m in there cause of the mileage. Will definitely look for the stock style if you got the experience with it. Thank you for your help