Manual transmission hard to shift in first and reverse

magnum? a RAM 1500 pickup, i guess magnum is engine jargon?
well it is not really stuck in reverse (well unless is. blush)
but 99%^ of the time that means the clutch is 100% dead.
learn this trick
have a buddy wiggle the truck on say flat garage floor, (no brakes set)
jug it forward and reverse the whole car and you wiggle the shift lever to N
see it does N.
the box has hard cut gears and synchro dogs. and if under pressure huge
the shifter level sticks. all manuals do that, with a dead clutch.
can do it.
do not gorrilla the shift lever or wreck the gear dog forks inside. box.
fix the clutch.

the clutch actuator is dead,. never replace any clutch first
gee my 4wd is 15 hard hours labor to that and I never do , unless MUST/
the best plan on any 22 year old car/clutch is a
new master cylinder and slave kit. first
and learn now to bleed, clutch lines, that are a horror to do .
ok? the fluid in the lines run up/down verically
and the air bubble float up,. making bleeding super hard and confusing to many
. there are tools that make this easy , Pressure bleeding kits.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2001,ram+1500+pickup,3.9l+v6,1366578,transmission-manual,clutch+master+&+slave+cylinder+assembly,10290


we make sure this is working first. 100% full stroke or the clutch is useless.
and locked up fully engaged.
at the least it must be bled fully. off all air.

is your clutch pedal soft? If so you could have a slave cylinder leaking or maybe just in the the system bleed back up. Might be that the clutch drive disc is burned up making it hard to shift

Hi,

First, congrats on the most detailed problem description I have ever seen! Seriously, it does assist us.

All this is completely consistent with your clutch not releasing properly, meaning that the gearbox is still turning when the pedal is depressed. The syncros in the gearbox will then keep you out of gear, that is what they should do. You can indeed shift into higher gears however when driving as the gearbox revs more nearly match to what is needed. The jerking forward when you hit the starter is due to the poor old starter motor having to move the whole car instead of just the engine, because the clutch has not released !

Now as to why, it is likely that the clutch release fork has broken, inside the housing. I had this once with a Mazda, and symptoms were exactly as you describe. The gearbox has to be removed if this is the problem, and you should also then take the chance to renew the clutch, pressure and driven plate both, unless quite new.

Also a possible cause is a complete loss of clutch fluid if a hydraulic clutch, or a broken cable if that type of clutch. Loss of fluid in a hydraulic clutch can be easily checked in the fluid reservoir, and can occur if a hose splits
..

2004 doesn't have a modulator valve . An if it did it would affect all gear operation , Shift hard , but would still go into gear. You have an internal transmission problem !
No Reverse, Slips in Reverse
Checks
Causes
Reverse Clutch
No apply or slipping
Piston and Seal Assembly (457)
Binding, cracked, or leaking
Inner Seal (456)
Plugged orifice
Clutch Plates (460-463)
Worn friction or broken splines
Snap Ring (459, 464)
Out of position
Housing (454)
Cracked, plugged feed holes, or broken tangs
Housing Retainer and Ball Assembly
Missing or out of position
Springs (458)
Binding
Reverse Clutch Fluid Routing
Fluid leak or restriction
Driven Sprocket Support (95)
?€¢
Leaking seal rings

?€¢
Porosity, damage, misalignment

Channel Plate and Gasket, and Valve Body, Gaskets, and Channel Plate
Porosity, fluid leak across the channels, misalignment, damage, or fluid restriction
Low and Reverse Band and Servo
No apply or slipping
Servo Piston (69)
Broken or binding
Servo Piston Seals (71, 72)
Leaking
Servo Pin (67) and Springs (66, 68)
Binding
Servo Cover (73)
Broken, loose, or leaking
Low and Reverse Band (111)
Broken, worn, or out of position
Anchor Pin (64)
Broken
Fluid Feed Tubes (83)
?€¢
Broken, bent, or plugged

?€¢
Missing or leaking seal rings

Transmission Case (1)
Porosity, fluid leak, or restriction
Shift Linkage
Disconnected or misaligned
Manual Valve (800) and Link (802)
Disconnected or misaligned
#1 Checkball
Missing, no low band fluid
Fluid Level
Low
Fluid Pressure
Low
Refer to High or Low Line Pressure .
suggest you take to an ASE certified transmission repair facility !

Hopefully only your linkage, but may also be your throwout bearing going pain to change but with right tools couple hrs work might as well change clutch and pressure plate as well cause that\'s a usual if changing bearing or clutch pressure plate needs to come off. But as I said I\'d check linkage first. Hope this helps

pressure and clutch plate (clutch set) need to be inspected and probably replaced. be prepared for a transmission repair as well if the problem has been going on for months.

if its slipping it needs to be replaced there is no adjustment if it was a hydraulic failure it wouldn't go into gear

If you're sure that the clutch hydraulics are working properly ... then you are going to need to pull the transmission to see why the release isn't working .... bad throw out bearing, problem with pressure plate or ??

Trouble shooting here:
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1993/clutch/1troubles.pdf

Some speed sensors will help the transmission know when to switch gears, but with some of the things you describe, sounds like after driving it that long, damage to the transmission has occured. Also, it could be a bad torque converter. There is also something called the transmission torque converter clutch solenoid, causes the car to buck and cut off. Hope this helps, any questions just contact me.

tranny overhaul!