My 1986 RX7 Base will not shift into 5th gear. I can try as much as I want, but when the shifter pops into the gate it either makes a slight grinding noise or it pops right back out of the gate.

 

It won't WHAT into 5th gear????

 

thats shift

 

Rebuild time is near. Either that, or just stay out of 5th and run at slightly higher revs.
(Glad to see you put that "f" back into "shift!")

 

haha. yes the "F" is important. So I need to re-build the tranny? because im planing on doing a TII swap this winter (different tranny anyways).

 

Any other ideas? I still need to drive for a while.

 

cant fix it with out pulling it Apart..is clutch pulling back far enough? got enough fliud..sounds like sincros or however you spell it

 

Try changing your tranny fluid. That's better than buying a new one or rebuilding.

 

Yup, your transmission is screwed. It could be that your clutch isn't disengaging from the trans, but I seriously doubt that if it's just one gear. Your synchro for 5th gear is shot. If the tranny fluid was low, or if the hydraulic fluid was low, you'd know cause it would be a bitch to shift into the gears, or it just wouldn't go into any of them at all. My friend just had to buy a brand new trans for his Eclipse. His 3rd gear synchro ground each time you shifted into it, and then would randomly pop the trans out of gear. You might be able to get off with a rebuild and just replace that snychro, but if one of them's gone, usually the others aren't far behind so you may need a full rebuild or a new trans. I would just buy another used trans for 200 bucks. A full rebuild would cost you prolly 900 bucks, and a new trans would be along the lines of 1800 or so. Really it's your call.

 

are we sure this isn't just a bad synchro? can you double clutch into 5th?
try rpm shifting too