BJ7 Hard to find First Gear when G/Box is hot

[Tassiedave]

Gear selection works fine for first 30 minutes or so of driving then it becomes difficult to find first , second and sometimes reverse.
Have topped up gearbox with oil. Any suggestions as to why this has just started to happen.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Difficulty getting into first is common, almost ubiquitous, because it has no synchro. Standard advice is to 'kiss second;' i.e. start to go into second until it just starts to engage then shift into first. It's much easier to get into first if car is barely moving forward, so I creep up to stop signs if possible. Reverse is also often a bit harder to find, but difficulty getting into second while moving could be a worn synchro, as second gets shifted, and downshifted into probably more than any other gear and is most likely to wear its synchro ring. What brand/type oil are you using?

I almost always shift into neutral at stoplights for a couple reasons, mostly to reduce wear on the release (throwout) bearing, which have finite lives (though I've picked up the habit in my other manual gearbox cars). I usually use the 'kiss second' method to ease getting into first. What's really fun is getting into first when the car is rolling backwards.

 

[PAUL161]

Putting it in first when the car is rolling backward is not a good idea. Easy to chip a tooth.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Well, I assumed braking first. Got to be more explicit, I guess.

Getting into reverse quickly, when trying to back away from a lady in a FWD Volvo spinning her wheels as she tried to stop rolling backwards on Hyde St. in San Francisco--the backside approach to famous Lombard St.--can be an experience as well.