While driving the engine raced real high & I had no accelleratio when I pressed on the gas pedal; it seemed as though it had popped out of gear; I pulled off to the side of the road & shifted to park; when I shifted to park, I heard a whining noise; I shut off my car, then cranked it up again, and the transmission shifted normally... so I drove home. What could be the problem? Is it safe to drive until I can get it fixed?

Hi there,

The sound you hear, is it a whining, popping, grinding, scraping or rattling sound?
If you drive a manual transmission vehicle and notice a grinding noise, it can indicate the clutch gear is no longer disengaging correctly.

Okay, first check the linkage going from the shifter to the tranny. Block the wheels and have someone watch the shift linkage on the trans while shifting. Maybe it's just loose, broken, or stripped. If linkage is good, it's either your shifter solenoids or torque converter

With the oil light coming on and the brake pedal being hard to press I would say that the engine stopped hence no vacuum -no power assist from the booster.- hard brake pedal. The lock uo feeling may come from the engine seizing up while you were still in gear

I'm not to sure on this one but i had a very similar problem with one of my cars it turned out to the the throttle position sensor had gone bad. In my case though everything was fine till the car heated up. Then I never know what was going to happen. Most the time at lights my care would just stall when i hit the gas. I though it was a vacuum hose issue but there was no leek. If the throttle position sensor is not working or is not working like it should then the engine will not respond to the gas pedal being hit. Or will rev real high when not being hit. I hope this helps you and solves you issue!

possible clutch failure --sounds like clutch is slipping

try removing the floor mat.. sometimes the mat gets caught on the gas pedal and as you apply the brakes it applies the throttle. It would seem that the harder you press the faster the engine races...

bad transmission, it will need rebuilding or replacement. sorry....hopefully this helps

clutch slip

Thats what I thought. Locate your shift cables on drivers side where they attach to transmission on top. The linkages they are attached to are very prone to seizing up because of the location of them. Your throttle valve cable is there to on the very top of that linkage. You need to get lots of penetrating spray (like WD-40) on there and keep working them until they move freely. Eventually you'll be able to move that top part by hand easily, turn it back & forth until it loosens up real good. Once you get them moving freely, give them a good coat of spray grease like with lithium grease. that should last quite a while. You may be able to get at it better by removing battery & tray if it's on that side still & in the way of getting to it. Have you had any hard downshifting or hanging up & revving high before it goes in to next gear when driving?

Here's what I found one my old 95' neon. On top of where the shifter linkage attaches to transmission is another half moon shaped (if i remember correctly) linkage that control the throttle valve operation, for kickdown etc for passing. Mine would seize up occasionally from the weather etc & it would hang in lower gear forever before shifting up, then shift down hard when stopping. It even made my gas pedal stiffer to push. It's hard to see it without removing some things out of the way on drivers side. Anyway, that little piece on top of shift linkage has to move very freely. When you get to it, spray it with lots of penetrating lube like WD-40 and shaft it sits on top of & keep working it by hand until you can move it all the way, both ways, easily. Then apply a good coat of white lithium grease or similar to keep it lubed up. I had to do mine about 3 times in 5 years. Give it a try & let me know. I do have a picture somewhere of what /where it is, so if your stuck or not sure, let me know and I'll see if I still have it.