Okay, so... i have a 1998 mitsubishi montero sport es, 4 cyl 2.4l 5 spd manual transmission with about 180k on it. Bought it as a lien sale months ago and it ended up being a nightmare and half. Paid 1500 cash to start with and now im at 5600+ in it. Had to get a full engine rebuild due to bad piston rings... blah blah blah you dont wanna hear it. ANYWAYS, i have a few questions for you guys!

1) Just got the slave cylinder replaced within the past 3 weeks because it had a small leak. I was expecting the tranny to shift a lot smoother after the replacement, but its acting kind of funky. While stopped, i can cycle through gears like im cutting through butter (except 5th gear.. that always seems to be harder than the rest), but when im in motion i have to kind of search for the gears. ive acquired a good enough feel of my transmission to KNOW where i should be; reguardless, i seem to have to either jimmy it into gear or give it a solid nudge. Its not the worst that ive ever felt a manual transmission and i could live with it, but im curious as to why its so easy to shift while still and not while moving? I dont know the condition of the clutch, not willing to drop the tranny to find out. The clutch engages and disengages fine, pedal play is fine, and my mechanic says they bled the hydraulics. fluid looks fine, and i dont see any leaks. could it just be tranny wear? maybe due for a fluid change? It hasnt been changed for who knows how long...

2) I hear a rattling inside the car while driving. it sounds almost as if the dash is loose and its driving me freakin nuts. i dont know if my subwoofers loosened something up or what but i cant seem to find where the noise is coming from because it seems like the drivers side.. and i cant exactly take my eyes off the road while im driving. any known culprits for this? Furthermore, has anyone acquired a list of things that tend to rattle with a powerful sound system? it seems like every car ive ever owned has some sort of problem with the interior rattling. The storage unit on the roof of the montero is death to my ears when my subwoofer hits

3) Is there any way to eliminate steering wheel slack? it has a little play and it seems like im correcting my steering constantly. Its not horrible, but i know it could be a little tighter.

4)Final question- Can anyone direct me to the cheapest place for interior parts? the speaker grills on both rear doors are broken, missing ashtrays, my cupholders broken, im missing beauty rings for a wheel. cargo liners been taken out (its just bare metal), knicks in paint (W32 Fairy White) etc.

sorry this thread is probably completely gramatically incorrect. i just got off work and im exhausted

 

Bump.

 

1- potentially weakened pressure plate. Given that everything visible is ok.

2- theres a rattle.
Turn the volume up.

3- you mean backlash? Liek if car stopped, you can turn a bit left before wheels catch, and a bit right?
Replace steering rack/pinion.
Steering off would be wheel balance/alignment. Play with tie rods.

4-i cannot. But would suggest china.

 

Thanks for the reply! Where is this pressure plate? Sorry I'm a newbie when it comes to trannies.

 

part of clutch assy.

 

in between engine and gbox.
Involves dropping the trans.

 

Well, then it looks like I'm gonna have to live with the tough shift because I'm never dropping another tranny so long as I live and I can't afford a mechanic at the moment