2000 mazda protege LX 1.6l, Manual transmission. about 130k miles.

Going to work this morning, as i was getting to the last stop light, the car
started jerking and just died.

restarted it and it would not go into any gears, unless i leave it in first gear when i start it.

finally just drove slow, one block to work in 1st gear unable to stop unless i turned the car off.

while on lunch break i drove forward a little, then i put it in reverse and drove back. but then it got stuck in reverse.

only when the car is off it will come out of the gears easy, also it feels like there is alot of play on the stick when its in neutral.

i checked all the fluids and both belts look fine.

anyone have any ideas thanks?

 

first: disconnect battery negative terminal, step on brake pedal a few times. Let sit for 10 minutes, re-connect negative terminal. Start car, let idle for 5-10 minutes. You have just re-set your computer.

If that fails, get a new transmission!

Ever change the fluid? If not go to step above!

 

thanks for the fast reply.

im going to wait untill 11 or 12 tonight and drive my car home
i only go the back roads and live about 3 or 4 miles from work. but i will try that before i leave.

i forgot to mention the postitive battery terminal was a loose when i checked this afternoon, so im gonna cross my fingers on the fix above.

 

Clean it and tighten it. First remove negative terminal.

 

check if your clutch master cilinder is working. get an assistant to press the clutch pedal and check that the clutch release cylinder is fully depressing the lever that releases the clutch. you can see that at the transmission. check that you have no bad leaks. the clutch master cylinder gets its fluid from the break master cylinder. if the clutch release cylinder has no leaks, check and if you can see that it moves the clutch release fork a little, check that there are no leaks at the clutch master cylinder ( you might see a big fluid stain at the pedals area, under the carpet. if no leaks, try bleeding the clutch system (at the clutch release cylinder). if nothing works, replace the clutch master cylinder (not that expensive) me, i would replace the master cylinder and the clutch release cylinder. i had the same problem and it was the master cylinder. now, about the loose shift stick, replace the shift control rod bushings. you will notice the difference. i bet your bushings are gone. a lot of play and the noise of loose metal under the car. the bushings are plastic, very cheap and the job is easy. just get under the car, remove the exhaust heat shield and you will see the control rod, is the only one that moves if somebody moves the shift stick. just need to remove 2 bolts, remove the rod, put the new bushings in place and put it back .

 

well i drove my other car to work and tried the battery method.
started off ok went into a few gears ok but as i started to go home
i lost pressure on the clutch again.

just drove home in 1st gear 10 mph all the way tried not to rev past 2.5-3k.

noticed somthing, i can pump the clutch pedal for pressure and then i can get into the other gears fine. so i hope its just the clutch master cylinder.

thanks juanky i was wondering were the clutch master cylinder was located on the car, but i dont see the area were you add the fluid?

yea noggin i never replaced the fluid, i thought on a manual you did not need it?

 

you add fluid to the brake master cylinder. from there, a little hose gets the fluid to the clutch master cylinder.

 

Didn't think the ecu reset was going to be the solution, but a necessity once in a while. With your car being a standard, the ecu re-set is not as effective as an automatic.
Yes standard tranny's need fluid change, but not as often as automatics.

 

It really looks like a problem of the clutch hydraulics. Master cylinder or slave cylinder or both.
If your fluid is as old as the car you may be lucky and a fluid change fixes the issue.

 

Bought both the master and slave units, they were around $20 each.
at my local auto store.

Replaced the clutch master cylinder first.
1. removed the battery.
2. removed the rubber braided line comming from the brake master cylinder.
3. removed the hydraulic line.
4. removed the bolt on the firewall side, under the hood.
5. removed the white switch from the clutch pedal area, inside the car.
6. removed the second bolt from the clutch pedal area, inside the car.
when reinstalling.
1. started the hydraulic line first, but only get it started finger tight.
2. re-installed the braided line back on with clip.
3. started the first bolt under the hood but only a few turns.
4. line up the push rod from inside the cars clutch pedal area with the center of the master cylinder. (this was a pain in the ... without someone under the hood helping, but you can do it if you left the first bolt loose in step 3).
5. put the second master cylinder bolt in, from inside the cars clutch pedal area.
6. tighten everything up and reinstall the white switch from the clutch pedal area.