I have the manual 5-speed (what is this one called by the way?) transmission and I'm worried it's gone BAD! There are THREE different shakes the car makes while driving. 1. When I engage the clutch at first gear it sometimes makes the whole car shudder. 2. When driving slow the car often goes into a jerky rythm.... looks really stupid. Makes me wonder if the whole transmission is loose or something. Or is it non-transmission related? The axel also makes a rythmical wining noise. I've heard this in other cars but don't know if it's normal...? 3. And last, when I accelerate the trans feels really weak. The gear stick like moves back and forth in my hand.... not much but a little. Is this normal? It's the first summer I've had this car and I'm sort of disappointed.... :/ Somebody reassure me it's a good car please:hail:

1st thing to check is the engine mounts (one on each side of the engine) and transmission mount (on the back of the transmission, mounts to the crossmember).

If those check out, or you still have some of the problems after replacing them, the next bet is the clutch is shot.

Not too likely the transmission itself is the cause of any of this (but, have you checked the fluid level lately?).

Okay, I'll check the mounts.... what about rear-axle mounts? Could the be worn and cause some of this? Is replacing these expensive... the rubber padding I mean?
I did a search and found that when the car shudders when engaging the clutch this could be due to a mis-alignment in the transmission or something like that... could this be true?
I've checked the fluid level... I think. Atleast I saw there where two "bolts" on the side of the tranny and opend the upper one and oil seeped out. I assume it's full...? Another problem with the trans is the reverse.... makes a grinding noise....?

throwout bearing sounds to be bad

BTW your trans is called a t-5