3rd gear popping out (yes, another one of these threads : T)

The car pops out of 3rd 1 out 10 times and it's a little hard to shift into reverse, no grinding whatsoever. When it kicks out it depends on the stress, sometimes it kicks out very lightly and sometimes it shoots out hard. So after trying to fix everything outside of the transmission (all engine/transmission mounts, new transmission oil, new shifter bushing and linkage/added 3rd link), the only possible reason for it to pop out of third gear, is inside the transmission itself. I assume it's just worn out synchros as it is a 2002 protege, and I've read that it has some weak components in there. Though I did see in a different website that the components were upgraded in Feb 14, 2002 and my car was manufactured in "03/02", which I hope means March 2nd, not the Japanese way of saying February 3rd.

My question is, what options do I have to fix this issue? Is it as simple enough as replacing the synchros? or would I have to find a new shift fork? If I get a different used transmission wont I just run into this problem down the line? Sorry for all the questions but if this car screws up on me then I wont be able to get another car for a good while. Thanks!
 
99% of the time, yes. When I shift into gear, I begin to give it gas, it engages for moment as I'm letting go of the clutch, but before getting off of it completely, it will pop out . One or two times, it has popped out, once I already had the gear engaged for a good while.
 
I had this issue with my 90 Honda Civic (purchased New). It popped out of 3rd gear only when the car was initially driven. After letting the car sit overnight, the dealer replicated the problem and found a shift fork was out of spec by 0.003” . I suspect your shift fork could be worn out.
 
How many miles? Ever had a wreck that could cause some kind of misalignment?

Used transmissions might not be that expensive.
 
I had this issue with my 90 Honda Civic (purchased New). It popped out of 3rd gear only when the car was initially driven. After letting the car sit overnight, the dealer replicated the problem and found a shift fork was out of spec by 0.003” . I suspect your shift fork could be worn out.

That definitely makes sense from what people have been saying about the weak components in some of these transmission. And honestly that's how it feels. Like the fork just fails to engage the gear completely from time to time. I'll have to look up the part number for the stronger fork

How many miles? Ever had a wreck that could cause some kind of misalignment?

Used transmissions might not be that expensive.

140k miles in mine, no wrecks, but perhaps it could have misaligned from not changing the engine/transmission mounts soon enough.
 
Mine did the same thing, it was motor mounts, particularly the one on the passenger fender. When I replaced it, the motor was "tweaked" just enough that it was throwing the shift linkage out of alignment just enough to pop out of gear. made it hard as hell to get into reverse as well. I loosened the mount, tweaked the engine up and forward a bit with a big pry bar and tightened it all back down as I held a little tension on it. I drove it another 70k miles or so after that and never had another problem with it again.

It's free and only takes 5 minutes, so worth a shot. IF that doesn't fix it then you've got a worn shift fork or synchros and need to open her up.
 
Mine did the same thing, it was motor mounts, particularly the one on the passenger fender. When I replaced it, the motor was "tweaked" just enough that it was throwing the shift linkage out of alignment just enough to pop out of gear. made it hard as hell to get into reverse as well. I loosened the mount, tweaked the engine up and forward a bit with a big pry bar and tightened it all back down as I held a little tension on it. I drove it another 70k miles or so after that and never had another problem with it again.

It's free and only takes 5 minutes, so worth a shot. IF that doesn't fix it then you've got a worn shift fork or synchros and need to open her up.

That's very possible, as the passenger motor mount is the only one I didn't install myself, so I definitely will be looking into this! Thank you very much for the suggestion.
 
Is there any chance that the passenger engine mount was replaced with one for an automatic transmission, either recently or in the past? There's a wealth of discussion/pics on this board about differences between that mount and the one for a manual, and the supply of passenger mounts for sale is overwhelmingly for the automatic transmission. How it works:
Seller says mount is for automatic transmission: The part is for automatic transmission
Seller doesn't say which transmission type mount is for: The part is for automatic transmission
Seller says mount is for manual transmission: The part is for automatic transmission :D

^ But seriously, in that last case, you'd have to check pics, parts numbers, call the seller, buy from a dealer, or just be prepared to return the mount so maybe buy local. I've seen four-mount kits advertised for manual transmissions, but when I looked at the individual components, I saw the automatic transmission part number.

I was a little confused by one post I read recently that said something like if you replaced the *entire* manual transmission mount with an *entire* automatic transmission mount, you'd be OK (don't mix and match parts).

There is definitely the possibility for misalignment using an automatic mount.
 
I was a little confused by one post I read recently that said something like if you replaced the *entire* manual transmission mount with an *entire* automatic transmission mount, you'd be OK (don't mix and match parts).

Yeah, that was me.
I'm not sure about that but someone did say that they used an automatic mount for a manual car and it fit but the mount came with the pin/shaft installed.
Most mounts require you to reuse your pin.





Using the wrong mount does tweak the engine off-kilter.
 
There is definitely the possibility for misalignment using an automatic mount.

It's... possible? The passenger engine is the very first thing I had fixed in this car and it's way before I had any tools, or much of the knowledge about this car. That said when I told reminded the mechanic that there was an automatic and manual version of the mount. They told me there's only one kind and that perhaps the only thing that makes a difference is the bracket that holds it to the engine, so the bracket that was previously in the car was reused. I haven't been able to find an image of the both the ATX/MTX mounts from the side.
 
Last edited:
PCB, do you recall what you're depicting in your photo above with the two engine mounts side by side? For example, is one of the mounts a normal manual transmission passenger-side mount and the other a (bad) manual/automatic "combo" mount?

I would imagine that most people would see that pic and assume that the old one is for a manual and the new one (incorrectly purchased) is for an automatic. If that were the case, then I can't imagine the mounts are interchangeable.
 
Some pics to show mount and alignment

vLWWXhk.jpg

KYR8lPg.jpg
 
PCB, do you recall what you're depicting in your photo above with the two engine mounts side by side? For example, is one of the mounts a normal manual transmission passenger-side mount and the other a (bad) manual/automatic "combo" mount?

That's not my picture, I downloaded it from this forum years ago.

It shows the different lengths of the pin and how they're different.
I don't know which one is for the automatic?

The part that I don't understand is why the mounts have different spacing?
The distance and orientation of the engine and engine bay should be exactly the same between the automatic and standard transmission.

I'm thinking that when the pin is longer, the rubber mount is offset by that same amount so that the mount is closer/further to the engine.

There's lots of confusion about it and I haven't dealt with it personally.


I do remember somebody did manage to install the wrong mount/pin combination and the whole engine was off-kilter so the two different mounts and their pins are really close.

I don't know if you can see the difference by looking at the installed mount? Maybe it pulls on the rubber in a visible way?

Lanky Kiwi just dealt with this same issue, maybe he can shed some light on it.

I think he had the complete mount for an automatic, including the pin, and it DID NOT fit.
 
Some pics to show mount and alignment

vLWWXhk.jpg

That may be the proper mount?

I figure if you loosen the nuts you'll be able to tell if it's under "spring tension" if it floats around freely on the studs then it's probably correct.

PB4's suggestion of realigning it may fix your problem and you should be able to tell if the wrong mount/pin was forced in there.
 
That may be the proper mount?

Yeah sorry, it wasn't possible to get a good side pic of it. Still, I did readjust it yesterday and I was able to move the engine up with just my hands, so I likely is the correct mount. I think the ATX rubber mount is smaller and off-center, this is one sits right in the middle and is fairly large.

Having made the adjustment, the shifter did go into reverse much better than before, but it still kick out, though at much lower frequency.

Another thing I did was tighten the air intake hose clamps, cause it feels like there's a bit of a air leak somewhere, and it definitely feels like that contributes to it kicking out of gear, as the engine vibrates more sometimes.
 
Check your intake tube for cracks.
They eventually break between the "accordion" folds.

Almost everyone here has had to replace it.

 
Check your intake tube for cracks.

Apologies, I should have mentioned, I just replaced it because I indeed had cracks within the folds. I have a feeling the leak is coming from the throttle body. When i first removed it, I had a hard time removing the gasket, so I feel like I might have gouged it when using the blade to pick at the dried gasket. I might have to head off to a junkyard to get a new throttle body, not sure yet.
 
So not too long ago, I replaced the spark plugs because I chose to use different spark plug, and this is how they looked after only about 3k miles.

tNd330q.jpg


I assume this is consistent with an air leak? Also I know that some of these spark plugs have oil in them, the last valve gasket I had one there was stretching and breaking down somehow. Makes me think the engine is running hotter than it should be.
 
Back