1993 escort sticks in 5th gear , any help

what do you mean "it sticks"? You can't get it into 5th or out of it? This is a manual or automatic?

It sticks in 5th gear. so it is hard to get it out of 5th. I have the same intermittent problem. It happens on a manual trans only.

I figured as much. Sometimes a vague description leads in the wrong direction.
So what happens then? Do you just have to hold the clutch a little longer before shifting? Or is it that you have to push really hard to get it out?
When is the last time you changed the tranny fluid?

The only way to get it out of gear is to let the clutch out a little and then yank it out of gear.

same thing happened to me. I'm not sure what it is, but if you pump the clutch a few times you should be able to build up enough pressure to pull it out of 5th gear.

So is the problem with the master or slave cylinder?

or simply low on fluid? on the assumption its hydraulic. Closed circuit or open?

it doesn't show any signs of leakage. What do you mean by open or closed circuit?

if its a closed circuit, it doesn't have a fluid resevoir.