Transmission Going?

Stock 96 XJ 5-speed manual transmission.

Not sure if anyone else has had this problem, but my transmission has been acting a bit squirrely lately. I will be driving for a while and let's say I get stopped at a red light...I go to shift into first and sometimes I feel like I have to force it into gear. Others time it won't even shift into gear. So I try second gear and third but still get the same result. Pumped the clutch a few times thinking maybe I had a leak in the master, but that didn't work and I checked the clutch fluid levels and they are just fine.

Also when this happens...reverse isn't even an option because it just grinds and grinds and grinds.

Any ideas?

Clutch isn't releasing. Master or slave cyl likely bad. In an emergency you can drive this if you bypass the clutch safety switch. Turn motor off, put into gear, turn key and Jeep will lurch forward and start. By careful synchronization of speed and rpm, you can even shift.

I've got this problem in my Ranger. I suspect bad pilot bearing or throw-out bearing. If this is the case, forcing it into gear can damage interior tranny components.