clutch or trans problem?

[kneipperk]

about a week ago i drove my car to work and back, running just fine. on my way home from work i stopped by my house for maybe 2 or 3 minutes went back out to my car, started it and tried to put it in gear but couldn't it grinded.... i kept pushing in the clutch and see if it would shift but no. clutch had full pressure. i shut the car off and started it instantly and it shifted gears just fine. so i babied it and took a drive. ran just fine. next morning i checked fluids and noticed that my clutch fluid was a little low, not empty. i added fluid and bled the clutch until the fluid was clear. drove just fine a for a few days when it decided to not shift gears any more. the next morning i started it up and drove around the block just fine, it was maybe a 2 or 3 minute drive and then came home shifting just fine. later that day i went to my car and once again it wouldn't go into gear. i jacked up the car and checked trans fluid (it was fine) bled clutch again and adjusted my master cylinder rod on the pedal. still wouldn't get into gear and this time the pedal doesn't have enough pressure. eventually we got it to go into gear but after sitting still and shifting through all gears for about 30 seconds it got harder to shift and then wouldn't go into gear. seems like every time i bleed it the pressure gets worse. i even had someone else hop under the car and bleed it while i pushed the pedal, still no difference there is still not much pressure in the pedal. i pulled the boot of the master cylinder and it was dry, no leak, and very clean. traced the clutch line and it was dry and clean the whole way. we pulled the inspection cover off the bottom of the trans and see the inside of Tran was clean, nothing visibly broken. when you push the clutch pedal in you can see the clutch fork moving. that means the master is doing its job right??? i am stumped, do i replace master and slave, or do i pull trans?
Anyone in the Denver area and would like to help a fellow dsm'er diagnose???

 

[gofer]

No odd sounds coming from the transmission when the clutch is engaged/disengaged? Personally, if it were my car, I'd replace the master/slave cylinder if I hadn't in a few years just to make sure they were working like they should.

How did you adjust the clutch pedal assembly, using a write-up somewhere or the service manual?

 

[kneipperk]

thanks for the response. i used the method from the jacks trans proper dsm clutch adjust video
no funny sounds, trans sounds quiet


ps. wow! am i really getting a warning for bad grammer?

 

[hgould521]

any updates on progress?

 

[kneipperk]

no i just posted this not too long ago, i need some opinions before i do anything further

 

[hgould521]

if you are 100% sure that you have the linkage adjusted properly then it might come down to pulling the tranny if the slave/ master seem good. I know that sucks but its better than having something go way wrong with it. And i got chewed about grammar bad too

 

[kneipperk]

Thats funny

 

[RED AWD GSX]

Do you know if your fulcrum ball in your transmission is shimmed or not, because you might be on the verge of clutch pedal range when you push the clutch in, and if so, then its gonna be a timely fix.

 

[kneipperk]

Do you know if your fulcrum ball in your transmission is shimmed or not, because you might be on the verge of clutch pedal range when you push the clutch in, and if so, then its gonna be a timely fix.

I didnt even think about that. I've had to do that on previous clutch install on my 1g, but unfortanately I bought this car about a year ago and clutch was already installed. I will look into that though thank you for bringing that up!

 

[ChiTownHussla]

You do realize the shim is just a temporary fix right? Anyone who does it will tell you to find and fix this the real issue

 

[kneipperk]

You do realize the shim is just a temporary fix right? Anyone who does it will tell you to find and fix this the real issue

100% realize it and I don't want to do a temp fix. If it is the problem then i know time to replace clutch

UPDATE! I went out this morning and did some adjusting on the clutch pedal. I finally got it to go into gear, and pedal has full pressure. I'm going for a test drive and I will post if anything happens. I have a feeling it will do the same thing again and get harder to shift...

I don't know if I drove it long enough, but the car shifted gears just fine with full pressure in the clutch. The 1 thing that I noticed was that it catches at a much higher spot in the pedal, not at the bottom like normal. If I back the rod out just a quarter turn then the pedal looses pressure. I will continue to drive it for the day and see if it acts up again.

ANOTHER UPDATE! I drove my around for awhile and never lost pressure in the clutch pedal, but the clutch started slipping. Everytime it slipped I would pull over and adjust the rod. Eventually I got it adjusted to where it doesnt slip but the pedal doesnt seem to have much pressure. I will continue to drive it for a few days to see if I loose my gears again because when it first started acting up it took a day before it would act up again.

 

[kneipperk]

Well the car has been running well for the last week or so. I guess between the adjustments and the new fluid I fixed something....

 

[Hitmachine101]

adjustment is key, but the slipping of the clutch is interesting, if things keep acting up, id put a new clutch disk in there, seems like your friciton point is floating around on you, honestly sounds like a lot of things could be to blame but thats an expensive game to play by just replacing things one by one

 

[phunny]

Glad everything seems fine and hope it continues but if it starts happening again I'd go with the slave cylinder. We see this a lot at the shop.

 

[lex]

The last time my clutch was acting up I replaced both the master and the slave becuase they cost less than $50 brand new. Been working fine ever since.

 

[kneipperk]

Ha so I got a update... clutch started acting up again, took the trans out and see that a spring broke out of the clutch disc WTF

 

[ChiTownHussla]

Ha so I got a update... clutch started acting up again, took the trans out and see that a spring broke out of the clutch disc WTF

Least now you know the problem

 

[jimbob_843]

That blows!! My clutch has been acting up similar to the op's. Slipping under boost, hard pedal, soft pedal. All it took was some adjustment and all is good. Works best about an inch or so from the floor. It alllows enough pedal travel to fully dissengauge. Just my opinion.

 

[2ndGenTurbo]

True, atleast now you know what you need to fix it and upgrade if necessary! That's my favorite part about stuff breaking. Upgrade!

 

[kneipperk]

I actually have a 8lbs flywheel and a stage 2 clutch that is going in at the moment. Hopefully I finish it up tomorrow

 

[Bishikid]

hey when you put in our stage 2 clutch, was your clutch pedal softer and release point to the floor? I went from stock to stage 3, and its been acting up ever sense. well the clutch pedal is really soft, and the release point, its to were if that petal isn't all the way to the floor, then I can't shift in or out of gears with out grinding them. just about ready to just say thats how stage 3s are, and just call it a day

 

[ChiTownHussla]

I have a grip force stage 3 clutch and stock flywheel not resurfaced. I dont really have any problems with either....

 

[ChiTownHussla]

Updates OP?

 

[kneipperk]

hey when you put in our stage 2 clutch, was your clutch pedal softer and release point to the floor? I went from stock to stage 3, and its been acting up ever sense. well the clutch pedal is really soft, and the release point, its to were if that petal isn't all the way to the floor, then I can't shift in or out of gears with out grinding them. just about ready to just say thats how stage 3s are, and just call it a day

Yeah the clutch pedal feels much softer with this stage 2 clutch. And also with the pedal pushed all the way down, I couldnt get car into gear. Adjusted the pedal a little bit and all is good.... except for my leaky transfer case....

Updates OP?

Was a broken spring in my clutch. Shredded up my flywheel pretty good on the center part, that clutch doesn't contact.

 

[ChiTownHussla]

Glad to see you fixed it , another one completed.