Toyota Repair: corolla manual transmission, engine rebuilder, shift forks

Question
Hi Ted,

My 2000 Corolla 243K miles, and one engine later, has developed a 3rd gear problem. It will slide into gear fine but pops out silently when the clutch is released about 1 in 3 times. All other gears are fine. If I hold the shifter in position it works about half the time. If I let the clutch out without power, (i.e. engine slows car) and then press on the accelerator it works most of the time. I took the car back to my engine rebuilder but he was baffled. Can you shed any light on what might be wrong? I have recently changed the trans oil but no help. It seems to be getting worse.

Answer
First the shift cables and the linkage on the transmission should be inspected to make sure the fear is fully engaged, if there is no problem there then it's an intermal transmission problem, most likely worn shift forks or gear sleeves and hub. It may be cheaper to just find a used transmission than to try to repair or rebuild this one.