can't stay in 5th

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brealmp3

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2001 Mazda Protege MP3
well while driving my car on trip to the beach all of a sudden it just popped out of gear. so i put it back in gear shortly there after it popped back out. well that whole weekend and since then i have been having the trouble. it varies in the time it takes for it to occur. well when i got home i checked the fluid it was a little low, so i filled it up and still having trouble. the only thing i think that could cause the trouble is that about a week before the trip my g/f was driving while i was drinking and she went over a speed bump just a bit to fast and knocked the exhaust loose. well i rehung before i left out of town. so do you think it could be the synchro's, 5th gear is going, or the shift linkage is out of whack? but there is nothing grinding when i go into 5th or anything.... thanks for the help!
 
My fifth gear was popping out constantly on Monday. Once it popped out for the first time, every min or so it would come back out. And is wasn't dependant on my rpms. Sucks. But Im not too worried about it.
 
has it been doing it at all since? my main concern is that 20min of ride to get anywhere is down the highway and with an exhaust that has no cats or resonators it can be a quick headache.
 
When It happened, it was during an hour drive to Miami. Didn't drive the car today, and yesturday drove to my work(5min) from my house and had no problems. Seemed it woud happen when I drove the car for more than a half an hour at a time.

3rd gear started doing it to me about 5 months ago. But only did it on and off for about a week, and hasn't happened in months. But, Im trading my car in and am not looking into it further.
 
yea i'm on the fence about the car right now, and don't really want to get rid of it. If i have to start looking at a tranny too, it will be definately making its way to the lot.
 
Sounds about what happened with me in my Mirage.

Ended up losing 4th and 5th completely and a little of 3rd. Tranny took a major poop. I had to drive keeping 3rd gear pushed in. Took it to the tranny shop and they questioned how I could of possibly messed it up so bad. Good times.
 
Yeah guys had the same problem in my Probe GT, which had a similar gearbox...

It was a worn 3rd and 5th gear with a bent shift fork iirc...was about 500 bucks to repair...I drove with it like that for nearly 2000 miles probably...and noticed I could get it to happen regularly by loading the engine in 5th, and ubruptly lifting the throttle...other than that it would stay in...I repaired only once I was ready to sell the car...

I would suggest just start saving the money now...but you will most likely be able to repair it when you simply get too tired of it...a worn gear is less likely to pop teeth than a sharp one...it could just start slipping in 5th after a while...
 
The shift linkage is right above the exhaust. It might be worthwhile to climb under the car and make sure the actual linkage isn't damaged in anyway. If that is OK just get a bungee cord. Attach one end to the shifter and the other end somewhere under the passenger side dash.
 
exoticracr said:
i'd have to agree. no simple fix. sounds like its time for a tranny rebuild.
Click to expand...
well if there is no simple fix, it will be getting parted out and traded in
 
i had the same problem as you. thurns out that my cv accel was shot i was driving to work in 5th gear going about 70mph and it poped out. the cv accel came out dono how that happens but it did. later on after the dealer fixed it my car locked up in 3rd gear.... took it back they suppositly gave me a new tranny that had 24k on it well 4 mounts later 1st 2nd went out took it to the tranny shop told me they put gear oil in the tranny so i said fix the tranny at my expence i was tired of haveing the dealer **** my car up so i shelled out 2g for a rebuild and a stage 1 clutch well. 2days later i here knocking comeing form the motor bay so i pull over check the oil bone dry im thinking WTF. i knew that there was oil in it befor it went in beacse every week i pull it in the garage clean it out check all the fluids and so on. well when i go to drop the oil after putting 4.5q of oil in it the drain plug was lose im thinking god did they pull the oil plug insted of the tranny...
 
k-lea said:
Sounds about what happened with me in my Mirage.

Ended up losing 4th and 5th completely and a little of 3rd. Tranny took a major poop. I had to drive keeping 3rd gear pushed in. Took it to the tranny shop and they questioned how I could of possibly messed it up so bad. Good times.
Click to expand...

Clearly they didn't check your chromosomes, they answer was staring right at them... (peep)
 
ForBidden said:
i had the same problem as you. thurns out that my cv accel was shot i was driving to work in 5th gear going about 70mph and it poped out. the cv accel came out dono how that happens but it did. later on after the dealer fixed it my car locked up in 3rd gear.... took it back they suppositly gave me a new tranny that had 24k on it well 4 mounts later 1st 2nd went out took it to the tranny shop told me they put gear oil in the tranny so i said fix the tranny at my expence i was tired of haveing the dealer **** my car up so i shelled out 2g for a rebuild and a stage 1 clutch well. 2days later i here knocking comeing form the motor bay so i pull over check the oil bone dry im thinking WTF. i knew that there was oil in it befor it went in beacse every week i pull it in the garage clean it out check all the fluids and so on. well when i go to drop the oil after putting 4.5q of oil in it the drain plug was lose im thinking god did they pull the oil plug insted of the tranny...
Click to expand...
what exactly is a cv accel? i have never heard of that?

thanks,
 
sorry my penmenship sucks its a cv axel the part that connects to the tranny to your bearings that makes the car move lol. but if that went out then the car would go into gear but nothing would move.
 
I have also had this problem. The first time, we could not duplicate the problem, but the second time was during a 600-mile trip (car is at 67 now, was around 66 then). It happened under load in 5th only (when the most force exists between the motor and transmission, as 5th is the hardest gear to "push"). My uncle and I, both mechanics, talked about it and thought it might be motor lash from weakened motor mounts, so I put stiff urethane mounts both front and rear. Did not fix the problem. My uncle suggested seeing if there was a shift detent ball and spring.
Basically, some cars have this feature: You shift into gear (say 5th), pushing the shift lever forward. Inside the transmission, either on the internal shift arm or somewhere else, is a ball and spring inside a cylinder that rolls along a surface. When the shift lever moves into place, the ball rolls over a detent (indentation) that the spring pushes the ball down into. This helps to keep the shift lever in place, and the car in gear.

It is possible, however, that the P5 doesnt have this. This is more common in german cars and the race cars we used to drive.

IF ANYONE has a schematic of the tranny (I saw the shop manual that detailed installation and removal, doesnt have it), I'd love to see it to see if I can find such a detent.
 
well i called the shop, they said it looks to be in the tranny. they did say it should be an easy fix when they have to pull the motor... so i don't which one to look forward!
 
It started happening to me again. Only on longer trips. Driving around town is fine. But when on the highway driving for over a half hour, and over 70, it keeps doing it.
 
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