1998 Ford Escort Lost 1st, 2nd, 5th and reverse gears

ANGELASHLEY07832

MEMBER
1998 FORD ESCORT
6 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
226,000 MILES

I was speeding up and tried to shift to fifth when my rpm's went up and I slowed down as if in 3rd gear. I put the car in neutral and tried again, same thing. So I began to slow down to see what other gears I still had. I had 4th and 3rd, but second and first were both lost. I pulled over and tried reverse and that was gone as well. I turned the car off and tried to start it again and it fired up with no problems, so I'm pretty sure it's not my clutch. Do you think it's my transmission? And if so, could it be rebuilt or am I looking at a whole new one?

4 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there.

If you have positive drive in 3rd & 4th the clutch will be ok, the box will have to be dismantled to check this out, but first make sure that the selector is working, can you feel it selecting gears or is the shifter sloppy in the missing gears?

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 AT 11:34 PM

ANGELASHLEY07832

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Thanks for answering.

The shifter is definitely sloppy in the other gears, it basically felt like I had third as far left as first gear goes and as far right as fifth gear goes. And the same thing for fourth gear. It felt like the shifter was cocked to the side somehow.

Is the box a term for the transmission or is that something different? And where is the selector? I really don't know too much about cars, it's my boyfriend that will be fixing it and he knows about it. Do you think he would know about these things?

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Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 AT 11:48 PM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

I will check out a manual and see if I can find some more information on this, and re post a bit later.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 AT 12:34 AM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

I have had a look at the transmission on Mitchell 1, unfortunately this dose not show me what I was looking for, so all I can suggest is that you check the selector linkage for worn or damaged bushes, watch the action at the transmission when each gear is selected, it should be firm movement and a positive engagement, if there is any slack in the selectors this will have to be checked and repaired, otherwise the problem may be internal, but I would even get a mechanic to double check the selectors first.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 AT 5:17 AM