Steve -
I'm really sorry to tell you this, but...
I have a '97 Mystique, 2.5L V6, 5sp, and had
the same problem a couple of years ago, at about
35K miles (!) The clutch didn't seem to fully
disengage with the pedal down. It was intermittent,
but as the incidences piled up, each one got worse.
It got to where I had to kill the engine while in
traffic just to get it into first. Hard shifting
all around, etc, etc.
I was finally able to reproduce it for a mechanic,
then bent over and turned the car over to the shop.
$1600 for a new clutch. I was ready to set the car
on fire. Problems were: 1. Ford stopped making the
clutch, and Borg Warner gouged on the price for a
remanuf. part, and 2. Those little shock-absorbing
springs in the center hub of the clutch disc were
shredded. They were gumming up the mechanism, hence
the appearance of "non-disengaging clutch" symptom.
I blame hard driving and weak design, in my case.
I hope, in your case, that it's a hydraulic problem,
rather than a "shredded internals" problem. Ouch.
