My car sat for about 3 months while i waited upon various paperwork and parts to fix the clutch. When the clutch was put in, i got the car back and it wouldnt go into first gear, which it had when i bought it. Now, a few days later, i tried to put it into first, and it grinded a bit, but i backed up and tried again, and now it works. Anyone have any ideas what could have happened, and it also makes a rattling noise now, only in first though........its sounds like it might be like a metal chip or something in the tranny that just gets banged around. Think it could be that, and if it is, could it go away, or do you think i'm going to lose first again?

 

I'm going to guess you have a problem with the reverse assembly inside the trans. Maybe a broken spring which is allowing the reverse gear to float around instead of staying in the fully retracted position. The rattling noise could be the reverse gear bouncing off the side of first gear. In any other gear, first gear is further away from reverse. Thus, it only happens in first. Other than that, it could be bad trans bearings. It definately sounds like an internal trans problem. Just my thoughts. Out of curiousity, will the car stay in reverse or does it jump out of gear when you back up?

 

it stays in reverse just fine

 

Your car grinding in first gear indicates that the clutch is not fully disengaged. Who installed the clutch and did they set it up after the install? How does the clutch feel? Is it low or high on the pedal? Do the clutch slave and master cylinders functioning correctly?

 

the clutch is fully engaging, first was the only gear it grinded into...all the other gears shift perfectly, i'm going to change the tranny fluid, hopefully the rattling will die down, or cease........if not, it couldnt hurt