96 escort wagon help

My daughter has a 96 escort wagon, recently it has started, for lack of a better word, slipping gears. When you change gears it easily goes from 1st to second etc. but when you release the clutch pedal the engine revs and the car doesn't move very quick, it almost seems like the clutch is not releasing? make sense? If any one can help, I'd appreciate it. I looked everywhere for a resevoir for fluid and never found it, even crawled under it. It will not go any faster than about 30 miles an hour and every time you change from one gear to the next it is the same thing, engine rev, and slip into gear, but not all the way in. Thank you.

Sounds like you are due for a new clutch. If its hydralic the resevoir will be near the brake fluid resevoir. If the fluid was low it would not disengage the clutch. Meaning the car would continue to want to move forward no matter if the clutch was pressed in or not.

The clutch and brakes share the same master cylinder for fluid.
I agree, sounds like a clutch issue. It could also be from an oil leak at the main seal dripping onto the clutch... had that happen once... still needed to replace the disc due to the oil.

If you can look down at the front of the transmission from in front of the car, you should be able to see where the 'slave cylinder' pushes on the end of the release fork. It sticks out of a rubber gland in a little 'window' in the side of the transmission. If you can find other Escorts with the manual transmission, you can compare where your release fork is in comparison with others. The more worn the clutch is, the further to the left the end of the release fork will be. (Left in this case is when you are standing in front of the car looking below the coil pack; left would be the side toward the passenger side of the car.)
I recently bought a 94 Escort, and knew from looking at that release fork that it needed a clutch -- which I just finished replacing in fact.

Thanks guys, I was really hoping for better news. I guess it will cost 7-800 to get fixed?