Now my festiva is being mean to me.

[lilred]

The other night i was driving the festiva and noticed that when i would try to put it in fifth it would gring and not go in. Then i noticed that it was also very hard to pull out of gear also. I was almost home when i tried to put it in fifth and it wouldn'y go. So i pulled it out and it made a clunk. Then i realized that i had no gears at all. I didn't even have the H pattern. I costed in the drive way and rolled into the garage. I thought that the shift linkage came loose from the shifter but upon closer inspection it was fine. Now i figured the trans is shot. I pulled the motor out and took the trans apart. I found that a plate inside the trans that holds the linkage together had borke into three pieces cuasing the linkage to fall apart. I guess my abuse and the fact that it had over 220,000 miles on it did it in. And to make it worse i had to drive my 66 which has a 4ooc.i motor, no heat and is slammed as a DD until either the cam went soft or a lifter collapsed. So until i get the stiva fixed i am barrowing vehicles to get to shool and work.
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[packrat427]

Sounds like the gate itself broke , not real common , but it happens .

The 89 I bought had that problem , I just bought a 5 speed tranny to replace it , the car had a 4 speed to begin with .(sold now )

I did not want to disassemble the tranny. Is it broke where you can weld it back together , or have it welded by a pro .

Taking the tranny apart is most likely the hardest part .

[Axlander9289]

I took my trans apart with very little difficulty. Manual transmissions are fairly simple, especially if you only have to fix the gate. You needn't bother with the gears or shafts, though it may be a good idea to replace synchros and bearings while you have it apart, if you have the know how and access to a press.

[lilred]

well i was going to fix it until several problems occurred with the trans. First the drain plug stripped out, then the drivers side axle got stuck and no matter how hard i tried it wouldn't come out. I think the little ring on the axle got crossed up inside. So between the axle, millage and drain plug pulling the threads out of the trans and a few other problems i took the trans apart with a hammer. I just broke the case off so i could see what had happened. That steel plate that hold everything together had broke into three pieces causing the linkage inside the trans to come apart. I am getting a low miles trans from david88 tomorrow. So i need to get a clutch and driver side axle and then i can put it back together. if it would of come apart easy then i could have welded it. I am a welding major at my local community college.

[packrat427]

Cool , nice to get a tranny that quick !!

You will be back in business in no time

[lilred]

i just got back a few hours ago from picking up the trans and now i am waiting on the clutch from FMS

[freshtiva]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Glad you are getting it fixed back up.