Here is a pic.

 

It's small wonder why people tend to remove the wrong bolt when they try to put fluid in the trans. Here's a photo from above, mine looks identical to Hytech's:

 

What side of the tranny is the bolt?

 

It's in front, under the battery and the radiator hose. You can see it from the top or underneath. Hytech's photo is underneath, and my photo is from the top.

 

Yay!! ok so i found it. thats the only thing i got to yay about right now. The bolt is securely on there. is that a good thing or a bad thing? my big issue is finding someone in san diego to check out my car and work on it without ****ing me over. im a female and its obvious i dont know much about cars so any tips on finding a good person/place to go?

 

I don't have a good answer for you. I was sure that bolt was loose. Take it to someplace that only does transmissions, and bare in mind that anything over $1000 is not worth is because you can get a good used trans installed for that much money.

Good news! Here's a list of used transmissions around California, complete with prices and mileage, and most importantly, phone numbers. A lot of these places will ship, you have to call. Looks like the run from $150 to $400, which is cheap. Call around to some transmission places and get a quote for a trans swap.

Model Description Miles Part
Grade Stock# US
Price Dealer Info Dist
mile
2002
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L,5 Sp,FWD,Tilt,Floor 000269 $Call Tapatio Autoparts USA-CA(San-Diego) Request_Quote 619-661-1528 / 619-661-5064 Request_Insurance_Quote
12
2002
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra M.T- 89,000 A C033 $Call Dan's Auto Wrecking USA-CA(Fontana) E-mail 1-909-350-2444 95
2002
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra M.T- 89,000 A C033 $Call Dan's Auto Wrecking USA-CA(Fontana) E-mail 1-909-350-2444 95
2002
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra -M.T 116,000 B P443 $350 Mikes Foreign Auto Parts USA-CA(Wilmington) Request_Quote 1-800-559-6453(CA only) 310-830-6200 Request_Insurance_Quote
96
2005
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L 5MT 29,000 A LVS80409 $410 GreenLeaf NV Las Vegas USA-NV(Las-Vegas) Request_Quote 1-800-487-9544 Request_Insurance_Quote 269
2003
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L 48,000 A LVS80926 $380 GreenLeaf NV Las Vegas USA-NV(Las-Vegas) Request_Quote 1-800-487-9544 Request_Insurance_Quote 269
2003
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L 54,000 A LVS71699 $360 GreenLeaf NV Las Vegas USA-NV(Las-Vegas) Request_Quote 1-800-487-9544 Request_Insurance_Quote 269
2006
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L 7,000 A LVS61540 $360 GreenLeaf NV Las Vegas USA-NV(Las-Vegas) Request_Quote 1-800-487-9544 Request_Insurance_Quote 269
2004
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0 5MT 74,000 A LVS90018 $360 GreenLeaf NV Las Vegas USA-NV(Las-Vegas) Request_Quote 1-800-487-9544 Request_Insurance_Quote 269
2004
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra ,M.T.PULL TO CONFIRM 4,224 A E420NE $225 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2006
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0,MT 904 MILES 904 A G1901NG $225 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2006
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra YR 2006 5.000 MILES 5,000 A G1445NG $225 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2005
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 12,000 MILES,2.0,MT, 12,000 A G695NF $200 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2003
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 13 A J1695ND $175 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2005
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 59,690 MILES 59,690 A J1655NF $175 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2005
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 19,000 miles ,2.0L,M 19,743 A G1713NF $175 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote 301
2002
Transmission
Hyundai Elantra 2.0,std 69,766 MILES 69,766 A H073NC $150 Precision Auto Parts USA-AZ(Phoenix) Request_Quote 1-602-232-5146 1-877-703-3583 Request_Insurance_Quote

 

I was reviewing your case again, and I realized that maybe I'm looking at your problem all wrong.

You are saying "it won't go into reverse". Do you mean that the stick shift will go into the reverse position, and the car will not move backwards? Or are you saying you cannot move the stick shift into the reverse position?

If you cannot put the stick into the correct position, then maybe you have a problem with the linkage. Maybe the guy who did the clutch didn't hook up the linkage cables correctly. It's a lot cheaper and easier to fix than replacing the transmission.

 

yeah the actual stick wont go into reverse. and fifth is hard to shift into also.

 

but would it still be a linkage cable problem even if the other gears work; 1-4 do easily; and fifth goes but hard.

 

It's hard to say from here exactly what the problem is, but for sure I'd have the cable linkages checked out before I started dropping the trans or spending a lot of money. I thought the problem was you could move the stick into position, and the trans gears were not responding. It could be a really simple thing, like the cable linkages have come loose. Having problems moving the stick to reverse or 5th strongly suggests cable linkages, though.