Just bought a Festiva! But there are a few issues...

[puna_trav]

How's it going everyone. I've been lurking on your board for about 5 years now, and have been a longtime fan of Festivas, but never had the opportunity to have one. I did have a '93 323 with a B8-ME swap, but never a Festiva. Today I bought an '89 EFI 5 speed Festiva for $175. It's got 111,000 on it, and a few rust spots on the driver's door, but the rest of it is cancer free. The interior is kinda trashed, and the paint was done with rattle cans. The engine is a little rough, but seems to be running strong and doesn't leak, smoke or lose rpms.

However, it's stuck in second. I think it may be the shifter bushings, as the shifter seems to do nothing similar to any sort of H pattern. The engine runs decently, and the "mechanic" that sold it to me said he had driven it around in second with no problems, and the car was just hard to shift before. There isn't any grinding or anything, it just refuses to come out of second. Any ideas?

Here's a pic of my new toy.

[mechanicaldj]

if the stabilizer bar's bushing that runs between the shifter assembly and the transaxle is not destroyed,

most likely it is the shift gate inside the transaxle
which you either tear apart the trans and find someone with a replacement
or
get a new transaxle

[Safety Guy]

Welcome!

FYI, the all one color of your car, plus the grille, indicate it is a '91 or newer model. Though it's possible, I doubt someone would go to the trouble to make an '89 look like a '91. It should have the ribbed taillights, too, compared with an '89's "smoothies."

Karl

[freshtiva]

Yeah, unless its a LX, a 89 EFI would be an automatic. A 1989 EFI with a five speed is rare. Welcome to the forum !!!!

[collegeboi]

yo dawg, im on oahu, i was gonna pik it up tilli figured it aws on the big island

[puna_trav]

It's got smooth tails on it, and they are only red and white. The guy says it's an '89 but I imagine that could very well be wrong after talking to him. The stabilizer bar was flopping around pretty badly under the car, worse than the shifter in my 323. The gearshift had some resistance in the upper right corner, but the bottom left felt like it was dangling.

collegeboi, it was just a matter of dumb luck and tax returns that got me this car Once the super ferry starts going to Big Island we should cruise!

[Icedawg]

shift gate

If it were the shifter linkages, they are easy to diagnose from under the car. Located right at the tranny you will be able to see if they are all worn out.
Here is a pic of the shift gate, which is located near the diff inside the transaxle housing. This is of a G series tranny, but the e-series in the Festiva will look the same. This is the most likely problem. While the parts costs are not bad the labour is high, so a junkyard tranny is the better choice. Are you able to get it out of gear? If not, it is also possible it is the clutch. A bad (bent) pressure plate or through out bearing can make it really hard to get in and out of gear. I have that problem now with an Omni. But once out of gear I can put it in another. I had the shift gate problem with a Festiva when I bought it, and the symptoms were the same as yours.

[collegeboi]

It's got smooth tails on it, and they are only red and white. The guy says it's an '89 but I imagine that could very well be wrong after talking to him. The stabilizer bar was flopping around pretty badly under the car, worse than the shifter in my 323. The gearshift had some resistance in the upper right corner, but the bottom left felt like it was dangling.

collegeboi, it was just a matter of dumb luck and tax returns that got me this car Once the super ferry starts going to Big Island we should cruise!

yessur, garentee man

[puna_trav]

I pick up the car on monday, and I'm going to try the shifter linkage right off the bat since it's right there. If it that doesn't fix anything, I'll pull the engine and trans and check the clutch and the shift gate. It might be a week or so before I can think of it getting on the road, but I'm so stoked!!!