91 Festiva manual comes out of 3rd on long uphill stretches...? And bad gas mileage?

[surfnk8]

Hello all,

Shortly after having my Festiva realigned (to repair front-end collision damage that's existed since I purchased it, and to keep the axle from popping out of the tranny, which had become more and more of a problem) I took it on a trip and had some problems with long, steep grades uphill on the freeway...it kept forcing itself out of third gear, even when I was pushing on the shift knob to keep it in.

After this incident, I haven't taken it up any long uphill climbs and it hasn't happened again on short but very steep uphill climbs. What could have caused this? I am planning a long trip this Christmas but will have to cross some mountainous areas...and I'm concerned this will happen again.



Also, I've been keeping track and the Festy's been giving me only about 25 mpg at best...I know the power steering pump isn't working right but would this cause me to get such bad mileage?


Thank you ALL!

[pyrothehitman]

I could be totally wrong here and i probably am, but I am gonna suggest a new clutch???

[georgeb]

Nothing is more annoying than a trans that pops out of gear. Sometimes it is caused by a worn motor/trans mount. Sometimes that particular gear is worn from high miles or abuse. I would try it on a long hill. You can also skip that gear when shifting.

[gauge_half_inch]

X2 on mounts. Or possibly worn shifter bushings on the stationary rod.

[Movin]

Trans will need more than the ebay overhaul kit, consider a "yard" supplied trans and all the goodies you might want to replace while they are out.