1990 Festiva won't shift into 1st or 3rd

[TreeTop]

So basically my parents gave my son a 1990 festiva that was used daily in the mountains. He has been driving it for a month now and now it won't shift into 1st or 3rd. 2nd,4th and reverse work fine. We have pulled the bushings at the linkage and look fine with no play. We were told the there was a bar that was "bent" slightly but never was an issue before. I'm assuming it was the bar that goes back to the transmission but I didn't see anything when we were under it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[WmWatt]

1st and 3rd both have the shifter in the forward position? that pulls the shift rod under the body backwards. suspicious? if you can jack up the front end and put it on stands you can try shifting with the engine off or running and maybe see what's happening. good luck.

[TreeTop]

So we noticed, after getting back under, that the front bushings were non-existent so we fabricated some until the correct ones come in. However, still no 1st and 3rd. Sitting with the engine off, we can move through the gears and sometimes after driving they will work but then go back to not working. Could this be from low fluid? I also noticed I can push up from the bottom on the shifter maybe a 1/8 inch or so but there is no up/down play from the inside.

[WmWatt]

Do you know how to check the transmission fluid level? Carefully disconnect the speedometer cable from the transmission and there is an indicator on the connector (like the mark on the oil dipstick). I write "carefuly" because people break off the tab the bolt passes through by not properly seating the connector before tightening the bolt.

[TreeTop]

We recently replaced the instrument cluster, so I do believe we removed the speedo cable during that process. I did not know that was where we check/add fluid. I will check today when I get home. Thank You

[Icedawg]

It is hard to see how the fluid level will affect shifting into some gears but not others, unless the gears have been damaged significantly by a low fluid level, in which case you need a new transmission. You should certainly check the level, and refill it, if it is low. Total capacity is just under 3 L or so. If it only needs a bit of topping up, damage from the fluid level is not likely what has happened.

But there are a few other things that can have gone wrong.

Outside the transmission, where the shift rods attach to it, the rods must clear the sub frame transmission mount. Sometimes they don't, if the sub frame has become twisted, bent or damaged. (My subframe broke one of the rear attachment points and was hanging low and twisted, which made a problem for 3rd gear.)
You should watch it from underneath, while someone shifts into all 6 gears, and see if there is a clearance issue.

Inside the transmission there is a metal gate in the typical H-pattern for a 5 speed plus reverse. It guides where the shift levers can go, to access the gears. It is relatively easily damaged, although the symptom is usually that the gear shift lever can wander all over the place yet still not find a gear, and it typically fails for all of them, not just two. But it could have failed.

I would check that by disconnecting the shift rods from the transmission, making the lever that enters the transmission accessible to you. Put a screwdriver or similar through the vertical bolt hole, use a rubber hammer to knock the shaft in or out of the trans, and twist it to access the 1/2 and 5/reverse paths. It naturally sits in the 3/4 manifold.
Pushing it backward gets it into 1, 3 and 5. You would have to also spin the wheels by hand to find out if it did properly engage.

If it fits well and engages in all 6 gears then the transmission is likely OK.

It is just possible it is the clutch, although that would be weird. But I had a clutch go bad that made it hard to go in gear, yet enough force could get it in some of the higher gears. When it was replaced the new clutch was hard to shift into first for a while, but once it wore a bit it worked fine. (I think that was because they did not resurface the flywheel.) So even though it seems like a clutch problem should affect all gears, it may not always do that. I am not sure how you would diagnose that, except by eliminating the other things.

How much free play is there in the clutch pedal? Can you tighten up the cable connector to the trans and reduce the free play?

[Icedawg]

So we noticed, after getting back under, that the front bushings were non-existent so we fabricated some until the correct ones come in. However, still no 1st and 3rd. Sitting with the engine off, we can move through the gears and sometimes after driving they will work but then go back to not working. Could this be from low fluid? I also noticed I can push up from the bottom on the shifter maybe a 1/8 inch or so but there is no up/down play from the inside.

I just read this again. So, when the engine is off you can shift into 1 and 3? Always? And from spinning the wheels you can tell the gears are properly engaged and they are working?

If after driving it sometimes works, then I suspect this all indicates a weirdly failing clutch, or a clutch cable that needs a fair amount of adjusting, as discussed in my message above. But you should still check the clearances on the full range of shift motion.

[TreeTop]

Thank you icedawg, very helpful. I was able to get the festiva up on Jack's and get it started while someone shifted into gear I looked underneath and realized that the shifter looks to be falling a bit there is play up and down as they shift.

[TreeTop]

So after using the bolt method on the fallen shifter, regreasing the shifter, new bushings, still not locking into 1st and 3rd. Funny thing, twisted the shifter around by accident when installing and seems to go into the gears. Maybe the linkage is bent or the linkage at the shifter is bent?

[TreeTop]

So after using the bolt method on the fallen shifter, regreasing the shifter, new bushings, still not locking into 1st and 3rd. Funny thing, twisted the shifter around by accident when installing and seems to go into the gears. Maybe the linkage is bent or the linkage at the shifter is bent?

[WmWatt]

Nice if you could compare to a known good one or maybe to photos of new part on parts websites.

[Icedawg]

disconnect the shifter from the trans.
put a screwdriver through the linkage fitting on the trans
use a rubber mallet or some elbow grease and try to move it into the two bad gears.

if it works, then your shifter is the problem, if not, it is inside the trans, or the clutch