Hard shifting

[Banshee763]

This is my first post on this forum so I'd like to say hello to all you ford fans out there.
I'm a proud new owner of a 2000 f350 w/ a 7.3 ( which is awesome I might add ) and the only gripe I have is in the shifting. It has a zf6 in it and I have a hard time shifting from low to 1st to 2nd. It wants to grind unless I let the RPMs drop to around 1000. No problems in any other gears though. It does is cold or hot, no difference. Don't know if it matters but it has 88,000 miles on it. Clutch feels good, no weird noises coming from the transmission. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[7.3'00]

Have you tried floating the gears when you drive?

[garyeco]

I'm wondering if 99-03 manual trans. linkage is the same as the 94-98? On the earlier models, where the clutch master cylinder plunger comes thru the firewall to inside the cab,there is a plastic bushing that is snapped into the 'eye' of the plunger.This bushing wears and throws off disengaging the clutch enough to cause hard shifting. Might be worth a try to crawl under the steering wheel and take a peek. If you can see any movement on the 'eye' and where it snaps onto, it's an easy $10 fix.