Hi. I'm new here and am hoping to narrow down my problem before the credit card comes out. I have a '88 5 speed wagon with 159k miles. While driving at 70 MPH I heard a loud rattle from some where in front of me that only lasted a few minutes. I stopped to look and could smell a burning smell under the hood. After that it started popping out of fourth gear. That was followed by increasing noise while shifting. I took it to a reliable shop who said I needed a new transmission, clutch, etc. The estimate was more than what I paid for the whole car. Later, I checked the fluid level and it was down. It appears to be leaking from the front of the transmission. I drained the rest of it and refilled it. All the noise went away and it was fine except for still popping out of fourth gear. The manuals all point to a worn shifter as the first suspect. However, the noise (which never reoccured) leads me to believe it could be suspect #2, the throw out bearing. What seems most likely? I plan on making the repairs myself. Any direction would be appreciated.

You and Rodney are more proficient than I am. I put all new bearings in my Toyota 5 sp with no serious problems, but my Volvo 5 sp intimidated me. I couldn't even get it apart. A transmission shop tore it down and quoted me $3200 to rebuild it.

Before spending much money on it, be aware that I bought a complete used 5-sp from the Volvo junk yard in Sacramento for $600 with a 90 day warrantee. I put it in behind a new clutch about 5 years ago. No problems since. It shifts BETTER than the original transmission, and I bought the car new.

Hey Bob,
I just got through with this same problem that you are having right now.
The noise that you are hereing is more than likley the throw out bearing.
The shifter jumping out of Fourth gear is a worse problem.one thing that you did not say was it jumps out of gear when you let off of the gas.The shifter fork for 3rd and 4th is wore out.Do this, take the shifter boot loose from the transmission tunnel of the shifter and then drive it.The shifter should stay in gear until you are able to get another transmission.
Rodney

Further info: It will pop out of fourth soon after I shift or a few seconds later. It occurs during acceleration and/or steady driving. With the car OFF (and with the boot off), it stays in second when I tap the shift lever however it pops out of fourth with a tap to the shift lever. I have search the forum archives and have found that I am not alone. Many people reported a fluid change helped (it improved mine but it still pops out of fourth), several mentioned shifter bushings (on order) but many reported internal issues (ouch!). One even mentioned a bad motor mount (one looks great but the other is covered in oil/grease/goo and looks suspect). Do my other clues help the diagonsis?