Manaul gearbox troubles

My daily is a 2004 Lancer Ralliart, 5 speed, and has just shy of 75k miles. On my way to work this morning the gearbox started acting up. On one shift into 3rd it ground gears as it engaged. At first I thought I had mistimed the clutch, but after that it continued to do the same thing. A few minutes later it became very difficult to get it into 1st or 2nd from a dead stop, and when I do finally get it into 1st, shifting to 2nd feels rough, and 3rd either grinds when engaging or feels rough. 4th and 5th feel fine still. Before this morning there has been no indication that anything was wrong in the 47k miles I've owned it.

My first thought was that the 3rd gear synchro went, but when 1st and 2nd started giving troubles now I'm not sure. I was thinking of having the trans. fluid changed during lunch to see if that helps any. Otherwise I think it may be time to trade it in to a dealer.

Any other thoughts? Thanks.

check the shift linkage. something may have come adrift.

Failing clutch slave cylinder?

Check the oil level in the transmission. My Mustang did the same thing a few years back. Turns out, all the oil came out at some point (there was no visible leak - it must have happened while I was driving one day). That ruined the transmission (and the clutch, and the flywheel, and the universal joint output).

skruffy wrote: Failing clutch slave cylinder?

That would be my first guess. Could be clutch slave OR master cylinder. Check how much fluid is in the reservoir. -Louis-

The ressy is full and I don't see any visible leaks from the trans case or the clutch slave. The clutch pedal feels weak for the last 1/3 of its stroke. At this point I'm assuming that the seals inside the clutch slave aren't holding pressure.

Thanks for the help.