1996 Pontiac Firebird Lost 3rd gear

Hi jmh286,

Thank you for the donation.

Need some additional info to understand the situation.

Is this a 5 or 6 speed trans?

You are able to shift into gear but it is not transmitting power or just unable to shift into it?

Are all the other gears working correctly?

Are alll the gear shift position similar to what it was before replacement of the clutch?

It is a 6 speed. All other gears including reverse work properly. I can't shift into 3rd at all. The gear positions all seem to be the same as they we before I replaced the clutch.

From the additonal info, I believe the problem is more likely to be from the shifter area. Check if there are any foreign materials preventing the shift from moving in that direction. Here is an exploded view of the shift section.

Remove items 83 and 96 with gear shift in neutral and and test if you can manually engage the gears. Check related areas of Items 149 and 153.

I checked and there doesn't seem to be anything in the way. With the shifter off I still wasn't able to shift into 3rd. It gets halfway there and won't go any further and when I let go, it pops back into neutral.

During removal/installation of the trans, something could have got stuck, might be the synchro gears. Have you started and moved the vehicle around?

If it is the ring gears that are stuck, it might come loose after some movement. If it is a detent bearing or stopper type ball bearings, some force might be required to release it if it is stuck.

I handled the tranny as nicely as I could and didn't drop it or anything. I have been driving the vehicle just without 3rd gear. What kind of "force" would get this unstuck? Could I do it by hand or would that damage something else?

Of course not too much force should be used. Try jerking the gear lever with about 20 lbs of force. The parts are robust and would not give way easily and from what you have desctribed, it should be from the shifter area.

To rectify the problem, the portion would have to be disassembled to check the shifting rods and detent bearings position and wear.

ok thats a little higher maintenance than I am capable of. I'll try getting it to come loose but if that doesn't work I'll figure something out.

Hope it is nothing serious.

Good luck.