Car is stuck in second gear

NITTY358

MEMBER
2006 SUBARU WRX
2.5L
4 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
106,000 MILES

I shifted from first to second pretty hard. Car lurched forward and grinded, I put the clutch all the in and coasted to a stop. Now I am unable to to leave second gear (I have pulled pretty hard to try and get it out). The car will grind when taking my foot off the clutch and not move. When I have pushed it forward it makes a ticking sound from the front right wheel.

1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,560 POSTS

Welcome to 2CarPros. The description sounds like one of two things. First look at the shift linkage under the car. It's possible that something external was bent or one of the bushings is bad and the shifter isn't actually moving the internal parts. The other option is that the force bent the internal shift fork and is preventing it from moving. If the shifter seems solid and doesn't have a lot of play then I would think the problem is internal to the transmission. That would require the transmission be removed, while it is out I would do the clutch and if the timing belt and associated parts have not been changed it might be a good idea to do those as well as the head gaskets as the 2.5 has an issue with them failing.

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