New Member, and I need some diagnostic help

[slim2789]

I have a manual '02 protege5, with just a hair over 100k miles on it. I was on the highway doing 70, right around 3500 rpms and it fell out of 5th gear. The shifter didnt move, but the rpms dropped, I took it of gear and put it back and it worked fine, but the engine light is flashing. I'm also having an issue where every now and then I get a strange grinding noise around 2500 rpms, regardless of gear. A mechanic friend of mine out of town thinks it could be the output shaft, but I have no idea.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[RMW Guy]

The flashing CEL means you need to get it looked at ASAP. You may want to try Autozone to have them read the code. That's the best starting point right now.

Does the engine run and rev as normal but for the grinding?

 

[slim2789]

Yep, everything seems to be fine otherwise, aside from the odd rattle every now and then (sounds like something is loose underneath). Also, this isn't the first time it's fallen out of gear on me like this, and eventually it stop. The engine light has been on solid for quite some time now, and I've had it checked and they said it was possibly the catalytic converter.

 

[RMW Guy]

I believe the CEL and the trans grind are separate issues. You might want to look under the car and see if anything is obviousy broken/hanging down.

Check the air intake tube for cracks which MAY be causing your CEL issue. Try to get the code read and post it so we can you help you further.

 

[north42g]

It sounds , to me, it is as though you have two... or more... separate issues.
A flashing "Check Engine Light" means that raw, unburned fuel is escaping the combustion chamber and coming through the Catalyst. NOT GOOD. If the "CEL" continues to flash, shut the car down immediately to avoid further serious damage.
I would bet that your PCM(Primary Control Module) has some current & pending DTC's(Diagnostic Trouble Codes)stored in it.
I would go so far as to say that you may have a P0300-Random Multiple Misfire -and possibly others.

Slipping out of gear could be a few things. Start by ruling simple, inexpensive things out. First safely get under the vehicle to inspect the shifter linkage and external transmission components. Make sure everything is intact and working as it should. -all though from what you're describing, it sounds like an internal Transmission Failure- Pin-point exactly when the problem occurs-exactly. The better you car describe it , the better we can help you. However, from what you are describing, you are sure to eventually need to bring your car in to a specialist.(start looking for a good price on a used Transmission, you may find it cheaper to replace it verses a specialist spending 6 -8 hours disassembling yours at $120 an hour.) -Good Luck.