Weird transmission problem

I've been having transmission problems, as most of you know... but yesterday on the way home, I had the weirdest one of all... Well, I've been having trouble getting it inot 3rd or 4th gear...(they're just not there)... well, I can usually double clutch and rev the car, and let it drop into the gears... and I managed to get it into 4th... I live on a road where there's a ridiculously long straight away... and I was traveling down said straight away, got the car to about 110, and went to shift into 5th... the gears grinded terribly, and it wouldn't go... so I dropped the car into neutraland let off clutch... it was still in fourth gear...though I could wiggle the stick around... and it wouldn't engage in any other gears, I was finally able to get it in neutral by dropping it back into the designated area for 4th, letting off the clutch it was still in 4th... then sliding back into neutral... then I was able to hit fifth gear

any1 got any Ideas?

That is weird. Sounds like your shifter cable connection could have a problem. Check in the engine bay and if there's no problem there, pull your shift boot up and check to see if anything is loose.

If not then the problem would have to be internal to the transaxle.

yeah, I've already checked everything external, then I took it to Aamco.. they said they didn' t see anything wrong with the linkage... I am planning on pulling the transmission this weekend to try and do a rebuild... I just didn't know if there was something in particular I needed to look for... I'm already going to re-ring the transmission... but I didn't know what else I might need to be prepared for...

Well the only other thing I can think of being wrong, other than the obvious synchro problem, would be the gear selector forks not actuating properly. You may want to check those while you have the tranny out for the rebuild.

alright... I was thinking a/b that... I thought maybe the damage had compromised the 3-4 shift fork... but I got in touch with drivetrain.com and all they have is the 1-2 shift fork... are they the same... isn't there a 3-4 shift fork?.... IDK... this will be my first rebuild...

yea dude, def. do your syncros while your in there

have the same with my 95 vr4 cept it gets stuck in 1st once and awhile....but i have alot of trannny issues right now...i am pretty sure it is a synchro not disengaging....

synchros that "do not disengage" as you said, are usually cracked or broken... that was a problem I had with my Toyota Corolla.... the transmission got stuck in third when a synchro broke... the only reason I didn't attempt to rebuild it, was that I saw metal shavings in the oil during an oil change= engine bearings...

Yeah, I didn't exactly get the transmission dropped this weekend... There's one bolt (the one that you have to reach over dp and through motor mount to get at) still holding the transmission to the motor... I bought some extensions to reach over dp and get at the bolt, but they snapped... so I had to make due with what other tools I had... and I couldn't get that bolt to come out... any suggestions?....

Also, the reason the dp is still on the car is b/c the bolts are so rusted... that I'll have to cut them off, and I didn't really wanna have to do that... b/c I'll just replace the dp while I'm there, if I gotta go that route...

I'm pretty sure I used a 10" extention on a 1/2" drive wratchet with a 17mm deep socket for that bolt (may have used a swivel adapter too). I'd suggest trying a better brand of extention that won't snap? I used Craftsman, what was yours?

AMPro... I was using a 3/8... for every other bolt that did fine... but this one snapped it... yeah, with a 10" extension, u gotta use a swivel... and it is a 17mm bolt...
Also, did you remove the dp or not? I have been told by others, that I should... but I know I'll be looking at new bolts, if not new manifold and dp

You guy's will never guess what caused the transmission problem... I hit a deer awhile back.. and I guess that was the root problem... but what has been screwing with the gears, is the fact that the roll pin on the 3-4 shift fork was broken... allowing the shift fork to slide up and down on the pushrod... wtc... it was that simple...
While taking this transmission apart, I noticed that there wasn't seals, there was sealant along all the crevices... and some internals have been move around before... so I'm gonna say that this transmission has been rebuilt before... the synchros aren't bad, no pitting, nor cracks, nothing like that... I think I'll be good for at least another 50-60k miles... then I'll need to replace them and some other problems prolly... anyway, I thought I'd update you guys...

P.S.-where can I buy the roll pins?

Dealership had the pins ($.95)... luckily, I had a friend in the water pump industry... he had several roll pins (free)... so I started assembling everything... but I can't for the life of me get the transmission case adapter back on... I'm thinking that the pushrods aren't lining up with the holes, but I'm not sure... and I'm scared of breakinf the oil guides...

Any suggestions, and what kind of gasket maker should I use?...

P.S.- my buddy suggested painting the transmission case, I didn't know if that'd be a good idea or if it would hurt anything, and I figured while I had it out it'd be a good time, so what are your thoughts on that?

any suggestions on getting that case back together... I'd kinda like to know b4 5 o'clock... thanks

I got it back together... I hadn't aligned the pushrods and shafts or somethin... I also held the case a little straighter while putting it on... everything went smooth... well, I had it back together, sealed and all... was gonna turn shaft to test it out... and shaft wouldn't turn... I repositioned the transmission and heard the pins fall out... when I repositioned it... the pushrods turned and the pins fell out... apparently they weren't thick enough... so I'll be ordering straight from Mitsu... and be tearing it all down again...

Hey got the tranny back together... and something went terribly wrong... the gears are all working...I b/l... but it's as though the clutch isn't releasing... the gears are all grinding terribly... I've been double clutching to get in and outta gears... and everytime I shift, it smokes the tires... I even bled the clutch slave... and that added a little feel to the pedal (a lot more than it had, but not as much as there used to be)... I'm not sure what happened... but I know that it's not good... the only thing I can think, is that maybe I didn't get the pressure plate bolts tight enough.. I b/l they're supposed to be 13 ft/lbs... I was using in/lbs... I think I did it to 12 ft/lbs, b/c I wasn't thinking... but I'm not sure, the torque wrench (micrometer style) wasn't working right... and this was my first rebuild, any tips, hints, ideas?

i had something similar happen to me last night. its been about 3 weeks since i got my transmission put back together (after the LSD insert install) and i was racing a friend. on the 2-3 shift, the shifter felt like jello and it didn't slide into the next gear. i let off the gas, pulled over. when turning the car off, thinking i was in neutral, i let off the clutch, but the car died. so i was stuck in gear. turns out the shifter cables had come loose so there is a mounting bracket that is free to move around. this mounting bracket holds the shifter cables tight and secure, but with it loose, there is no ridity in the cables, and so when i move the shifter, the cables simply bend and flex, as opposed to moving the cables forwards and backwards (thus moving the gear selectors inside the transmission). only thing that stumps me is how i overlooked something like this. i'm very particular about disassemlby/reassembly. this bracket looks as if it was never fastened down...so why did it just randomly decide to come loose?

mike, that's my only thought on your situation in which the clutch won't release: check the shifter cables. as i diagnose and look at mine more closely, i'll get back to ya.

aight... I'm almost certain that was a problem... b/c mine was loose.. but if I remember correct... I put it back on and it was on tight...

yeah, the linkage doesn't seem to be a problem... everything there's tight... and the car shifts gears perfectly when turned off... so I don't know...

hmmm. i have gotten a chance to touch my car in a few days b/c of classes. i'll tear into it this afternoon and hopefully have something for ya by tonight.

sorry to hear that your linkage is tight, and that its not the problem. hmmm...i read in your other thread that you're dropping the tranny again. something inside me says check the throwout bearing. not trying to be sarcastic, but you just might check that out. couldn't hurt.

yeah, that's something I've thought of too... but it spun freely when I put everything back together... so I didn't worry about replacing it... the clutch only has about 7-12k miles on it... I have a deep gut-feeling that's saying it's the bolts on the pressure plate... so I'm gonna check them... but I don't really know...

well i finally got some time to look at my car after classes today. the problem was exactly what i thought it was. a bracket to secure the shifter cables from wiggling had come loose. it actually came off from where it was bolted down...or so i thought it was bolted down. i simply placed some larger washers on the bolts to hold the shifter cables in the bracket. i think perhaps the old washers had warped and just given way. anywho, it shifts just fine now, and i'm back on the road!

Glad to hear it... I'm back on the road... but not in my car... the car lot I work for (part-time) has allowed me to borrow a '95 Jetta III.... so I'm no longer immobile... thank God for that much... but I wish my car was back on the road... I'm also thinking about purchasing this Jetta... it's a fairly nice car, decent performance, and 40MPG!!!... I could use it during the week and the Stealth on the weekend... Idk... I'll hopefully get everything there straightened out...

Getting back to my car... It will shift in and out of gears fine, while the car is off... While the car is on... you can't get into any gears... if I cut the car off, put it in gear, and crank it... the car will move... even with the clutch to the floor... and won't shift anymore... so I'm pretty sure it's clutch related... as the gears were working before... I'm gonna check the release bearing again, as well as the pressure plate... Other than that, I don't know where to go with it... I may just run down to Advance Auto Parts and pick up another transmission... and simply replace it... but I am pretty sure it's all clutch-related... as the shifting seems fine while the car is off...