My car is in the shop because it cannot shift into 6th gear. not that it grinds in, but while the car is moving, the gate to 6th just disappears meaning it acts as if the car didnt come with a 6th gear, not even a hint of a gate opening. it happened first on saturday. i was driving on the road, not aggresive or even that fast, then tried to get into 6th and i couldnt even find the gate. i messed around as i was driving, and finally got it forced in at a stop sign. after that, it seemed to get loosened up and 6th gear worked for the rest of the day. the next day, 6th worked fine until about 45 minutes into the trip. then the gear stopped working again. i didnt mess around with it as much, but never got it back in gear, ( i had a 6 hour drive and tried occasionally during the whole trip). monday morning i get up and drive into work, 6th gear never works. i call the dealer tell them about it and suggest maybe a syncro is broken or it is low on fluid as someone on the board suggested. I drop it off at 3 & on the way there, 6th still doesnt engage. every other gear works fine, there is no slippage, no grinding into any gear. i get to the shop and drop it off. they call me the next day and say that it worked fine for them. i ask them to try it again and they do and finally the gear disappears for them. they said it only happens after the clutch heats up and since 6th gear is the smallest gear, the clutch is never (dis)engaging correctly so it never connects with 6th. their remedy, buy a new clutch. My though is, if it was the clutch, I would feel a difference in the lower gears as well, but i dont, the car feels the same as when i first bought it. also, the stick would be able to go into the 6th gear gate, but just wouldnt find a gear and be in neutral. since the shifter cant even get to the gate and i cant feel one as i move it around, it makes me believe that there is something else wrong.

any suggestions?

thanks
Dave

 

If it were the clutch, you can verify it by rowing through the gears with the engine off. Try it first with the clutch down and again with the clutch up. If you can get it in, then it "could" be the clutch not disengaging fully, which could then be the clutch master or slave cylinder, the clutch fluid, the release fork or something in the clutch plates themselves. If you still can't find 6th, then it's more likely to be inside the tranny. I'm guessing the 6th gear shift fork or the 6th gear shift piece. One or both of these may be bent.

 

There is a Service bulletin about not being able to select 5th or reverse. The repair involves removing the shifter and lubricating the assembly. I'm not sure if 6th will be affected the same as 5th and reverse, but it would be worth investigating.