ok here is the deal w/ my car...its a 96 rs...i was leavin a friends house last night and when i went to shift from 1st to 2ndit shifted fine. Well i went to shift to 3rd and it won't go...the car is stuck in second gear. The gear shift moves freely between 1st and 2nd but the shift won't stay in either one...i can move it up and down, but it won't even move around in neutral. I can drive the car in second but not in any other gear so basically its stuck in second...any ideas on what it could be

 

Welcome to the site Ms_Kitty.
How old is the transmission fluid? When was it changed last? When was the last time the tranny oil level was checked? Can you move the shifter through all gears with the car off? What is the idle RPM? Does it not shift to 3rd with the motor cold/hot or does it even matter? Does it grind while trying to get into 3rd? How far do you have to push the clutch in to get into the other gears? Can you still shift to 4th and 5th?

Start your car and rev the motor in the 2500-3000 RPM range and shift through the gears. Do this without moving the car. This is only a test.

 

I'm going to guess that it's a manual so there shouldn't be trans fluid but check the clutch fluid level. I thought standards had a grease instead of fluid in them. I could be wrong on this though as I am slightly stepping out of my engine comfort zone here.

I'm going to hope you're not having the same problem as I did with my Sundance. She drove fine then one day driving home wouldn't shift into 3rd. I kept trying and slammed it through just once and after that the transmission self destructed. I was stuck in 3rd till I got it replaced. I actually bent the shift rods in there.

It could be also the same thing I posted to a guy in the 1G section. Check your shifter cable from the trans to the firewall and check for loose mounts for it. they will allow slop in the line and cause erratic shift problems.

 

My bet is the shifter cable.

 

ya'll don't think it could be the transmission shifter itself, happened to my friends neon

 

It could be the shifter too. That was why I asked about the other gears and if it can get it into gear with the car off and into 5th gear, then the shifter shouldn't be the issue. The bracket on the tranny can be loose, the bracket on the shifter can be loose too, but at this point those variables are unknown. I think, until we get some more answers, everything has to be considered.
There is gear oil in the tranny where the gears are, not in the clutch area of course and the "fluid" can cause shifting issues too. That's why I asked about the warm or cold question on top of the others.
Just waiting on a reply, otherwise, nothing is definite and can't exactly be pinpointed.

 

Oh yeah... Forgot about the gear oil. Remember I'm working with RWD cars here both the 'quests are limited slip rear difs and I'm used to the gear oil there so I forget that FWD have it in the trans. Yes the shifter linkage could be loose as well that's why I said to check the cable from the trans to the shifter looking for anything loose.