Notchy shifting.
 

My 1st to 2nd shift is almost a two-part shift. It wants to stop before 2nd then I basically have to jam it in. It rarely ever wants to be smooth. The rest of the gears are notchy, but not that bad. I also have a hard time putting it in reverse so I have to put it in fifth, then slap it in reverse and it'll be smoother. This is my first manual vehicle and I've driven 5000+kms since owning and I can't remember if it did this at the beginning. I know it was never that smooth.

What could the cause be and how could I fix it/what do I replace. Could something be wrong with the transmission to cause it to jerk back and forth when I let off the throttle and get back on it? Car has 100,600kms and I would assume the original clutch and bushings etc. Clutch doesn't slip though.

EDIT: Is it normal for this to happen: When in neutral and pushing the shifter towards me and let it go it's slower to go back to neutral and when I push it to towards the passenger side and let go it springs right back to neutral.

Since you have nothing to compare to, it might be useful to have a more experienced manual driver see what she/he thinks.

Your symptoms could describe a bad transmission and clutch or just lack of technique.

My dads been driving stick since he was young, but he also owned old muscle cars which weren't exactly very smooth. He hasn't driven the car in a few months though. He's never complained.

I don't know anyone in this town (I'm here for college) so I can't get a second opinion. I don't think it would be my technique. I got the hang out it pretty fast, I rarely ever slipped the clutch, I've never miss-shifted, but I have grinded 2nd gear twice now because of this. When I shift it feels like it goes into gear, but then there's a notch that I need to pull it through to actually get it in gear.

You describe two causes, the shifting problem is likely synchros, but the having to put it into another gear before being able to shift into reverse sounds like the clutch is not totally disengaging and that is most likely caused by a warped clutch disk or one with loose lining,

and this too will make it hard to shift and accent bad synchros.

the reason that it shows up more in reverse is that the synchros are trying to bring the clutch disk speed to the same speed as the gear you are trying to go to, and the reverse gear usually has no synchros. the synchro is essentially a clutch/brake that brings the input shaft speed to that of the selected gear, hence the name. with good synchros you can shift with out the clutch under power till you ruin them, that could be the first shift.

I could still put it in reverse but it's very notchy and just easier to put it in 5th then into reverse.

Step 1: Check your transmission fluid level.

If your gearbox is NOT low,

Step 2: Switch to Redline MT-90 for the gearbox.

Mine was a little notchy, even after a re-build, with dino-lube. The notchiness went away after I switched to Redline.

If those two suggestions don't solve the problem, the other - more exensive - options have to be explored.

My old camaro had the same problem, where i would have to put it into 5th and slam down to get it to go into reverse. Every once in a while i would have to let out the clutch a bit and it would go in. It ende up being the clutch, it was all burnt up, after i replaced it, it was a ton better. I would check the easy stuff first, your clutch may not be disengaging like someone said above