Problem going into gear

a stick shift.
ok ill do stick shift 101..... (repaired many a box i have)
first off it can be 3 things, the stick bad. the box and the clutch.
so can you shift all gears , engine off, and parked.?
Q1: yes/no.?
if yes, can you shift to 2nd gear, parked & engine off
and then start engine and move in second gear using the clutch pedal.?
ill stop here, as most get lost , if i post the full diagnosis..... end.
we can go way beyond this. easy.

do you mean it wont go into gear ? if so what gears ? it could be the clutch going out , if the pedal is soft or easy to push down than it probably needs a clutch. next time it wont go into gear try pumping the clutch or putting it from 2nd to 1st or what ever gear it has problems with

sounds like your clutch is not disengaging. when you press on the clutch pedal you should feel the resistance of the clutch pressure plate. There is a pilot bearing in the flywheel when it goes bad it continues to turn the transmission mainshaft not allowing your gears to line up for a shift, but you have noticed a bad noise if this were the cause. Or your clutch hydraulics have gone out. check your fluid level. if low you may have sucked some air into your system. you will have to bleed the lines as you would for car brakes. The other possibilities are bad clutch master cylinder or slave cylinder,

should be able too!

yo it could just be out of fluid!

Sounds like you are having a clutch problem. The sudden looseness in the clutch pedal indicates a problem with either the hydralic system, (slave or master or line) leaking or clutch pressure plate going out. Check your clutch fluid resevoir first, if low look for a leak under the vehicle, have a friend push the clutch and get underneath to find leak.

It's possible the master cylinder could be it, if it were the slave cylinder you'd be losing clutch fluid.. Are you losing the fluid too?

yes it could be also check the fluid level!

I will bet it grinds when you try to engage first or reverse. When this happened on my car, I adjusted the clutch and it improved. You need about a half inch of free play when you first touch the pedal with your foot. If you have a slave cylinder, (hydraulic clutch). You may need to bleed the system. With air in the system, you can't get enough clutch to fully disengage the trans from the motor.(Clutch and pressure plate) It's like you only pushed down half way on the pedal. If it's not hydraulic, it should be adjusted with wrenches. If clutch is fine, It could be a loose shift linkage. It would seem extra sloppy when moving shifter, It would just not go in gear, with out the grinding.Hope this helps. lbreen

I would first bleed the tranny lines, if that doesnt work then your tranny is out and need to get it replaced. FYI with Jeep Wranglers, It is better to get a new transmission then to rebuild them