Recent content by Gimptank

so all im gonna say is that something yesterday made me think you had a protege... so i really dont know if you can trust any of the info i just gave you, which is for a protege/protege5...

While removing the hubs to take in for new bearings, i finally had a look at my ball joints/control arms... i realize they should be able to spin freely, but im wondering how much play is considered ok when talking about ball joints. i will replace my drivers side control arm as the ball joint...

im in the process of doing mine and i came here to check how much play is considered ok for my ball joints. i cant tell you for sure if you need to take off all the parts i did to change control arms, but in my case i needed to remove the hubs to replace the bearings. it MAY be possible to only...

so today i took it out for a spin with the gf, and it wouldnt go into reverse. had to clutch a couple times and still took a little effort. then later today i took it to grab the mail and it did it again, was cold the first time, was hot the second so that aspect means nothing.. does this along...

i dont consider it hard to shift into first or reverse. i think i know what you are saying when it doesnt slide in right away. i checked the motor mounts when i got the car, letting out the clutch with the brakes on and the mechanic said they are mint, so i changed the fluid to the synchromesh...

for me it seems to grind (and not like shifting without clutching, just a quick bzzt as it goes into gear) unless im doing between 3.5 and 4k rpm. i guess we will just have to baby it until i get the cash to get either a rebuilt or a used tranny.

Anybody ever had similar problem? im curious about what rpm other people are noticing they get the smoothest shift, or should that not really matter if the tranny works properly. how long should it take the backyard mechanic to change out a tranny? also is there any snags like once i get...

howdy all, new to this forum, not sure if im posting in the right spot. mid february 2012 i replaced my 96 subaru outback with a 2002 protege5. it has 216k on it, (thats 135000 miles if yer from south o' the border). its only the second car ive driven recently with a manual transmission...