Hey guys. Tracer ('95 5spd 1.9L, 199,930 miles) pulled a fun trick this morning. Went to go downshift, and discovered it was thoroughly stuck in 4th gear. No amount of reasonable pushing, pulling, wiggling etc will get it free. Had to drive it that way for several miles to get home (to get another car). Clutch feels like its engaging/disengaging fine.

This is somewhat out of the blue - a week or two ago, somewhat randomly once I had a hard time getting it into both 2nd and 4th while moving - felt almost like something was blocking the stick from going into those positions - but then went way immediately and no issues since then.

Had to get on to work so I haven't looked at anything yet...
Any ideas guys? Worst case - how hard it is to find a cheapie used tranny to stick in there? Much work?

Hey guys. Tracer ('95 5spd 1.9L, 199,930 miles) pulled a fun trick this morning. Went to go downshift, and discovered it was thoroughly stuck in 4th gear. No amount of reasonable pushing, pulling, wiggling etc will get it free.

Had to get on to work so I haven't looked at anything yet...
Any ideas guys? Worst case - how hard it is to find a cheapie used tranny to stick in there? Much work?

mine started getting stuck in 5th a while back. i foudn that the way to disengage it was to purposefully stall the car, or just clutch very roughly (like what would normally jerk your car) . for instance, to shift into neutral on teh highway, i would push the clutch in and coast down to 45 or so, and let the clutch out quick. the car jerks and the stuck tranny breaks free. im assuming its a transmission problem, not a shift linkage problem (you dont have a stick jammed in there somewhere underneath, do you? ive had that happen too)

i had it replaced with a used tranny for 250 shipped. the escort mod fellow who posted on this forum a week or so ago said you could find a used tranny for 100 dollars where he is from.

the $$ is in the labor for the install, it would seem, so if you can do that you're golden. it is a lot of work.

anthony

Oddly enough, what six legs did to his tranny worked on my friend's WRX when he had problems and it was a tranny problem.

Thanks guys. Unfortunately I tried that trick and no luck. Its really stuck. Tried pushing w/ all different RPMs etc, no luck, even whenn stalling it out.

I took a good look under it, as far as I can see the linkage is in place both att he bottom of the stick, and where the extention rods meet into the tranny housing.
So... only thing left it to get a look into the tranny I guess? So I guess I'll probably be pulling it out.
Any suggestions in getting ready to pull the tranny? Never done it before, but I have pulled a motor.
Looks like it'd actually be easiest to pull from underneath, is that the case? Lookin' for folks who've been there before....

Wait... so you made sure both the rods/cables (torque/extension and shift) are attatched to the stick shift and company? These are easiest to check from inside the car generally by pulling out the center console or just lifting the vinyl/leather flap, though i've never done it on an escort...

sorry, just had to throw in my cents... it's best to just ignore me...

I checked from under the car - the rod and misc couplings on both ends are intact. Did not check from the top down, but according to my Haynes there isn't alot in there. Will go take a look now though.

Nope, everythin gappears intact from the stick into the side of the tranny.
Guess that sucker needs to come out. Easier to pull it from the top or under the car?

Yes, the transmisson is easiest to remove from underneath.

How have you verified that your clutch is working correctly?

I know the clutch disengages and engages like it should b/c I can drive the car - that is, it starts w/ clutch pushed in, when I let off (and give A LOT of gas!) it'll move forward, etc; stalls if I just let go at a stop etc etc.
Othert han the obvious (clutch plate) is there any way the tranny "knows" its engaged/not, such as a sensor of some kind??

Well, it looks like the tranny is gonna have to come out. Don't know yet if I'll have to replace the whole box (easiest), but migh tas well open 'er up and look inside, can't get any worse than it is now!

Any suggestions/guidance on pulling a tranmision from these cars? I have a Haynes in hand, and just purchased an FDM on eBay...

On your question above, there is no way the transmission knows whether the clutch is engaged or not...

And sorry, haven't fooled around with an excort but once to put belt on... Good luck!

Well, so, I finally got that sucker out.
Clearly the biggest PITA part of it is that you have to remove the axles, which means both whole wheel assemblies have to come off... and then, there's not alot of room/good access to pry them out of the differential housing.
Also, since the motor and tranny are supporeted as a unit using the tranny mounts, you have to fab up a way to support he engine from above - I used a 2x4 and ratcheting straps.

Anyhow, hopefully somebody can help me out on this... on teh side of the unit is the pin/slot that the long arm from teh shifter connects to (linkage etc) - now that its out (haven't opened it up yet) I'd expect that you should be able to move this, sliding it through gears etc (no engine/clutch inhibiting movement). In my case, it dosn't... should it?

Are you talking about where the shift fork connects? Yes, it should be able to move in/ out and about a quarter turn in each direction. In/out selects the gearset and the turn locks it into gear. Try turning it in both directions before moving it in/out to make sure its in the "neutral" position. My escort did the same thing with the locking in gear, and I went to the junkyard and got another tranny for around 150. after the headache of taking it out I wanted to make sure I put one back in that worked.

Yep, thats exactly what I mean, and nope, won't move at all. It's stuck in 4th gear, just as mentioned in the top of the post.
$150? That seems liek wuite a deal actually. I need to get on the horn and try some places around here.
Digging around online I have caught a few mentions that the tranny model (A-M5TX) is the same as used in Ford Tempos 91-94. Anybody know if this is true?