Mitsubishi F5M / W5M

Mitsubishi's five-speed manual transaxles — in the Eclipse, Mirage and Pajero Sport.

The letters are the layout: F5M is front-wheel drive, W5M the four-wheel-drive version with a transfer output. They appear in the same model in the same year, chosen by the drivetrain, and a listing that says only 5-speed manual covers both.

The turbocharged Eclipse is what these are known for and what breaks them. The gearbox was specified for a naturally aspirated car and is behind engines people modify heavily; the failure is third gear and its synchro, then the gear itself. An Eclipse that grinds into third under load is at the end of its rating rather than badly maintained — the same story as the Tremec T-5 and the Nissan FS6R31A.

A crunch into every gear is the clutch not releasing, which is hydraulic and outside the gearbox, and much cheaper than what it is usually mistaken for.