5MT stuck in 5th gear

[Deez]

I have spent many a hour reading different posts on this site and have solved many problems just reading, but this will be my first post, as I cant find much info pertaining to my problem.

Backstory:
I bought a 91 legacy wagon 5 speed about 2 months ago with 178K mi and I have put about 2000 mi on it since then. She has run beautifully for me since I got her. Its still winter here in AK so it was probably about 25 this morning when I went to start the car, started up fine as I walk walking back to the house I heard a grinding sound and the engine died. I got back in started it up just fine, but when I went to let go of the clutch peddle the engine wanted to die even though the gear selector was in neutral. When I would rev it up and let the clutch go slightly the car wanted to move forward, but I'm parked nose into a snowbank. I turned off the car and with the clutch peddle in I can shift into every gear (as you would expect) except 5t. I jacked up the car and looked at the shifter linkage and that all looks good and tight (except I was surprised to see there is no boot where the shift rod enters the back of the transmission, is this normal I don't know) shift fork and all connecting cables look good as expected since the clutch seems to work just fine.

Questions:
First off I must say my knowledge of transmission theory is limited to what I read on Wiki this morning and dinking around on these forums. Based on what I have read it sounds to me like I have a bad 5th gear syncro what do the knowledgeable members of this forum think? I read one post on this forum where a fellow seemed to have a similar problem and his just went away while driving.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=25009

Should I try to drive my car as is stuck in 5th and hope for the best, or am I likely to make things worse? Seems to me that I'm in for a trany rebuild either way, so wouldn't hurt to try and drive it and hope for the best, or will that make my rebuild more expensive?
Next is a rebuild something I can do, skill set aside I have read around here that parts for these tranys are hard to come by and expensive is this true? Seems unlikely to me but I'm not in the trany rebuilding buisness. I"m hesitant to get a used trany as the only one I have located thus far has 210K on it so seems to me i would be better off rebuilding, plus living in AK makes shipping replacement trany expensive, thoughts?

Also if i go with a used trany are all the gear ratios the same for the first gens (most i have encountered up here are non turbo)?

Thanks for the guidance in advance.
Deez

[Someperson]

used tranny: $300, location?

[jefferson]

I had a needle bearing come apart on one of the shafts in my tranny and even in neutral it would try and move the car. That was with the clutch out and I am pretty sure it was the main shaft that the bearing was on. Sounds alot like what yours is doing.

Jeff

[Deez]

Update:
So I was able to get some help and push the car out while the wife held the clutch in, I got to a point I could drive forward. I started it up with clutch in and as before i let the clutch out and she wanted to move forward and bog so I revved it up and eased the clutch all the way out and the car lurched forward only slightly but would bog if I didn't keep it revved. So clutch in i tried to jam it in first and it went in a little so I kept it revved and eased the clutch out and there was a pop the shifter slipped back into neutral and at this point the transmission started working just as it should.

Thanks for the reply Jeff. So with that needle bearing how much would the car move forward with the clutch out?
Seems to me if a bearing went out in mine that it wouldn't return to normal function again, but I could be completely wrong. I'm still thinking syncro is getting warn.

Any other ideas what the problem might be?

So the next question I pose is how reliable are these 5mt trannys? Its clear that one way or another I will need a new trany or rebuild soon. I have found a few but with over 200K i don't want to dump a bunch of time and money into it only to have a similar problem 5k miles later.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
Deez

[Someperson]

That's really weird lol, but i've heard that they're solid but not "bulletproof" as it were... If ur gonna sink 2k into something, Sti swap it and have it be nigh unbreakable

[rallyak]

I've broke my share of these 5mt, and know how hard it is to find a low mileage 5mt here in AK. For $300 you can buy a core and rebuild it. The problem we have here in and around Anchorage we have tons of subaru's here, but when one hits the auction there are all bought up by two guys. So no junk yard have them, and another thing it more than 10 years old, they just crush anything that old in very short order.

If it was my 5mt I would take it out and have it rebuilt. The longer you drive it the more expensive it gets since there's already a problem, and again trying to find a shop that can rebuild it is a challenge. I know of only one good shop here but it's not cheep, but I've always like the final results.

I also looked at putting 6mt in mine but the price it very steep. By the time one is shipped here I would have $4000-5000 just to get it here. Also not sure if it would last longer, I know it is stronger but bearing are bearings and they wear out. 6mt with the pump might be better but still for that kind of money it better not need to be rebuilt for a minimum of 500,000 miles to make it break even for me.

If you live in my area you can pm me and we can trade phone #s

[Deez]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

So I checked the gear oil and it was a little low but not bone dry or anything. I have been driving the car around since she started running again and haven't had any evidence of the situation reoccurring. Based on what you all have said, I think I'm gonna just put some lucas oil in, push my luck and keep driving it and keep my eyes peeled for a similar parts car (I also have a 90 sedan FWD that needs parts too). Once I get a parts car I will just throw the other trany in pull my current one and rebuild it in my spare time.

Thanks again for all the advice, this forum is awesome.