Looking for advice

[CheeseEater88]

I own a I4 MTX tranny 02 cougar.

I was wondering what the cause of my stick magically leaving 2nd gear...


I have heard from various knowledgable people.

some say syncros... some say something needs to be tightened down.. cant remember what....

but other than that its really hard to get it into gear... I have to hold it for a few seconds (ie... 2-5 secs) to get back into first while at a complete stop.

and no I don't jam gears... but there are multiple drivers before me on this. My dad for instance.... "had" to drive it... he managed to stall it several times on a short trip... and he had to take it on the freeway.... after that... it was a pain to shift. he is very aggressive... thats why he has to have a 4000 lbs+ car to keep himself safe and endanger everyone else's lives.

I have a short throw, and I shift gently with only a smooth actuation from my wrist. I will admit on occasion I am a little harder on it.... but I don't force it.


should I be looking for a junk transmission? oem parts?... a wrench?

[B3NN3TT]

Could be a few different things.

Cables might be out of adjustment. Those can be adjusted at the ends where it attaches to the transmission.

The plate that holds the shifter into the tower could be loose. Easy to check if you pop the boot off.

Start with that.