Hard to shift, grinds when shifting into reverse

Car is hard to shift sometimes...when the car is off it shifts perfectly fine, but when the car is on, and it seems when it is at full operating temp it is really hard to shift, going into first it's like i'm pushing into a solid piece of metal sometimes and then it kindof breaks through.. also when shifting into reverse (all the time) some times worse than others. it grinds. now when i bought the car i was told something with the clutch might need to be adjusted, but i have no idea what that means...if anyone knows what this might be, please do tell. And wtf is up with the slow power windows????!
Thanks in advance..
-Aaron
ps: clutch feels spongy...

it could be that your synchros are going out. i know the synchros for my second gear arent' that great. i don't know if changing your tranny oil would help or not, although if it hasn't been changed for a long time, i'm sure it would. as for the power windows: https://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=98

check, adjust or replace your clutch cable. if that doesn't help, get a new clutch put in.

thats what i was gonna say but my 3rd snycro is shot. every time i go into third griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd dd. sometimes not so bad.but it has never been real hard to put in gear. as for the power windows man thats the beauty of ownin a 3gee. if its cold out i cant roll my pass window past halfway or it wont go back up!

haha yeah my power windows are REALLLLY slow in the winter time. Then again I'm having some electrical issues at the moment with a stubborn battery cable :burn: .

to make shifting a bit easier.., you could always rev match(double clutch). normally you don't have to cuz the synchros do it for you..., but in your case you may want to try to possibly extend the life of the tranny just that tiny bit more.

When shifting into reverse always select a forward gear first. This stops the mainshaft in the trasnmission allowing you to smoothly engage the UNSYNCHRONIZED reverse gear. As for the hard shifting, first gear in these cars is semi-synchronized(according to some members of this site) which would make it hard to go into gear with the clutch partially engaged. That being said, check your clutch adjustment and make sure it is fully disengaged when the pedal is to the floor.

Thanks guys, the clutch is supposed to be fairly new, and the ex-owner mentioned some guy test drove it and said the clutch needed to be adjusted.. bushings a possibility? tranny oil i'll change this weekend, as well as put some new spark wires in, what kind of wires are a good value for someone with a low budget.. my friend keeps tellin me to get some 9.3's they sell at kragen, not sure what brand they are, in the 50 dollar range which is about what i'm looking for..as for the windows...is it me or is the electrical kinda funky in these cars? (owned mine about a month, and it was down for 3 weeks of that)

Adjust your clutch and that should eliminate 90% of your problems. Look below your intake ducts on the right side of the battery and you'll see an adjuster on the end of your cable. Tighten it about a half turn at a time until you can go into first gear smooth. hope it helps.

thanks pendejo, is it cool to adjust the clutch while the car is on? (it only does this when car is on and heated up.
-Aaron

yah, you can adjust it with the car on or off.., just don't burn yourself with the coolant hoses if its on ;)

Sounds like clutch adjustment or tranny is low on oil and as it heats up things get a little sticky inside. Check tranny underneath and at the driveshafts for fresh leaks. Check tranny oil level and adjust clutch so you have about 1 inch or so of free play at the top meaning if you push the clutch with your hand, you should feel no resistance except for the return spring for the first inch. When pulling away from a stop, clutch should ingage about 2/3 of the way up off the floor. Spray shifter linkage bushings with WD-40 then engine oil after a few days. Good Luck. Mike

FYI I have just converted to stick and I have observed the following:

1st gear will not drop in smoothly untill you get to around 15 mph or less, I think it's a safety design so you don't "upshift" to 1st by accident and blow the engine, just like how it locks you out of going from 5th to reverse in a straight line.
I also noticed that for shifting into reverse you should be at almost a dead stop and also putting it in 1st gear before going to reverse makes it engage smoother.
I dunno maybe it's a problem but I like it as a safety feature, 1st gear is short as hell anyways.