I have a 98 eclipse 2.0 RS with a star stage 2 turbo kit 5speed. I've recently fixed the boost leaks and have changed the clutch for suspicion of it needing replacement. it had about 2months left of wear.

The car tends to spit the 3rd gear from engine torque. It will randomly holdon to the gears and not let me pull them out with the clutch in or the vehicle stopped. Its been siting for a week now and can not figure out why it would do this. Its like something in the tranny wont let go of a gear or let a gear in. Sometimes when i push the clutch in, it will let me shift but it will grind to the next gear. Its rather frustrating.

I've checked the clutch fluid and topped it off.
I checked the tranny fluid n it was full.
I checked the boot on the slave cylinder and it was dry.
I checked the linkage of the cables that go into the tranny and one of the cables was missing the boot.
I re-adjusted the intake pipe from the inter cooler because it seemed to be hitting the shifting lever closest to the motor.

Nothing seemed to have helped my issue...help please?

Before we start pointing to the inside of the tranny, check the eyelet bushings on the tranny side and the shifter bushings at the shifter. Also, as you seem to be aware of, see if the linkage is hooking up on something.

As I read your post, you seem to say that it pops out of gear also, right?

Originally posted by bullettdsm
Before we start pointing to the inside of the tranny, check the eyelet bushings on the tranny side and the shifter bushings at the shifter. Also, as you seem to be aware of, see if the linkage is hooking up on something. As I read your post, you seem to say that it pops out of gear also, right?

Yes it tends to throw out the gear when i rev up, ease off, rev up again and about the 2nd through 4th time it will spit the gear im in and grind.

I checked the linkage and there was this free floating nut. idk where its suppose to go to. its on the bushing closest to the motor.

I will be spending all afternoon ripping apart the car but im scared to find out if its the tranny needing a rebuild.

well after going through it a second time and doing some research the only thing that keeps haunting me is the internals are damaged. I will have to check with my dad n friend to see what fluid was used for that also seems to cause the problems if incorrect fluid was used.

so far my suspicions are...
incorrect tranny fluid
the cable missing the boot n having a loose nut in the shaft
damanged internal components. (plz god, no!)

I drove it down the street if things are getting worse and yeah...it grinded to a hault n wouldnt engage a gear so limped back on 2nd.

Like Bullet said, check your cables first. If the bushings are shot, clips are missing or the cable is bent it can prevent things from fully engaging. Another thing to check would be for a bent/broken clutch fork. If the clutch isn't disengaging or the cables aren't fully actuating the gears then you'll get the same symptoms.

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G
Like Bullet said, check your cables first. If the bushings are shot, clips are missing or the cable is bent it can prevent things from fully engaging. Another thing to check would be for a bent/broken clutch fork. If the clutch isn't disengaging or the cables aren't fully actuating the gears then you'll get the same symptoms.

Is there a specific way to test the cables? I've put ATF 4+ oil in it and swapped it out twice so far. These problems started happening 2wks after I changed the clutch. I will re-check all of them thorougly and start posting pictures to see if someone can see what i'm not seeing. :D

Where can I order new cables? (junk yards RARELY have this vehicle)
Is there a set i can buy that will replace the cables, bushings, pins?

I took it out yesterday to see if time might of solved the issue, worked before with other cars, and it was working fine till the engine warmed up...so i shifted slowly and revved slowly, never passed 3k, and what happened was the tranny worked fine till i shifted into 3rd gear.

I will take it out again and see what happens if i avoid the 3rd gear all together. 3rd gear gets thrown out and then jacks up the whole shifting by holding onto gears, not shifting and what i hate the most it will engage a gear when i have the clutch in and cause the car to jerk hard so i brake to make it stop.

Originally posted by hernando

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G Like Bullet said, check your cables first. If the bushings are shot, clips are missing or the cable is bent it can prevent things from fully engaging. Another thing to check would be for a bent/broken clutch fork. If the clutch isn't disengaging or the cables aren't fully actuating the gears then you'll get the same symptoms.

Is there a specific way to test the cables? I've put ATF 4+ oil in it and swapped it out twice so far. These problems started happening 2wks after I changed the clutch. I will re-check all of them thorougly and start posting pictures to see if someone can see what i'm not seeing. :D Where can I order new cables? (junk yards RARELY have this vehicle) Is there a set i can buy that will replace the cables, bushings, pins? I took it out yesterday to see if time might of solved the issue, worked before with other cars, and it was working fine till the engine warmed up...so i shifted slowly and revved slowly, never passed 3k, and what happened was the tranny worked fine till i shifted into 3rd gear. I will take it out again and see what happens if i avoid the 3rd gear all together. 3rd gear gets thrown out and then jacks up the whole shifting by holding onto gears, not shifting and what i hate the most it will engage a gear when i have the clutch in and cause the car to jerk hard so i brake to make it stop.

Take out the battery and look very closely at the cables. Look at the horseshoe clips and make sure that they aren't loose or missing. Look at the bushings and make sure they aren't shredded, swollen or just have a ton of play. Look at the cables themselves and make sure there aren't any kinks or bends in the cable and there isn't any unusual gunk on the cables. Sometimes heat can make a problem more noticable or go away, so that's hard to diagnose.

New cables and clips are available from the dealership, or you can try PMing Stangmurderer(sp) He has Miller import parts (you may have noticed the banner at the top of the site here) and often has those things for inexpensive. If the bushings are shot the best fix is to buy a cheap set of skate bearings and swap them out with the bushings.

At least take the time to eliminate the cheap/easy possibilities. In my experience it's usually a simple fix that acts like a big expensive problem.

well after checking out the tranny and cables....we have concluded it's the synchro's. so will be ordering a new transmission -_-