Hey all,
I'm kind of new here, been lurking awhile.
Anyway... bought my '99 2dr manual Tracker with 156,000km on it in April and while the shifting was iffy, it's never been that bad, but... it's on a steady decline.

It'll go halfway into 1 and R, sometimes halfway into 3 and it'll pop out on those 3 gears, and crunch into 2nd.
I'm 99.9% sure it's the syncros, but from what I've read, the syncro kits available for the '99s don't fix the problem, and when CAMI fixed the prob for '00, they changed the whole transmission? 

I was basically told to drive until I can't stand the tranny anymore (or until the clutch goes), then drop $700-$900 to do the transmission rebuild and clutch at the same time... but it the '99 transmission sucked that bad, then wouldn't I be setting myself up for failure again?

I've done some motorcycle work, but my garage is just not equipped for that kind of car work (nor am I) so I'm limited here...

any advice?

Sounds to me more like a clutch hydraulic problem. Either that or a broken spring in the clutch that has turned and is spinning the input to the trans. I doubt the syncros are going out. Sycnros generally go out in second gear first.

ah alright.  The reason I thought it was the syncros is that they seem to be bad on the "99s" in particular, considering the Chevy service bulletins.  With that in mind, I took the tracker to the Clutch Doctors where one guy test drove it and said he thought the clutch was engaging just fine, it was most likely the tranny and syncros (which I then parroted here) though he had asked about transmission fluid levels, and they'd been topped off 2k miles ago. 
Sorry if I'm a little slow on this stuff, auto mechanics are pretty foreign to me thus far.

Should I get another estimate somewhere?

Most of the problem is just that I have to double-shift sometimes, more often with 1 and R, and downshifting is pretty much out of the question or I grind gears like crazy.

Get a second opinion. Reverse doesnt even have a syncro. For some reason or another your clutch is not fully dissengaging. That is the real problem

Thanks, man.  That was what I was really, really hoping to hear.  the $700-$900 estimate made my wallet cry.

  Good luck

Get a second opinion. Reverse doesnt even have a syncro. For some reason or another your clutch is not fully dissengaging. That is the real problem

Hopefully a clutch adjustment will fix the problem.

Umm... Have you had the shifter out of the transmission shortly before you developed these magical half shift issues? If so, maybe the little poly ring the end of the shifter ball is supposed to be in has moved or split and that might be what is givving you the headache...