really hard to get into the gears!

[chavez408]

hey guys i am having trouble with my 93 eagle tsi awd. for some reason it is really hard to shift into the gears. the guy i bought it from said it has a racing clutch and ect. it grinds alot aswell. from a stop i need to slam into 2nd thaan 1st to get off the line. there is some free play on the clutch peddal, i am going to adjust it later on but coult it be the sychros on the tranny? rebuilt? it has 94k on the motor. original miles

 

[diablos991]

Well, a couple of things should be done first.

• Make sure all the bolts are there bolting the bell housing to the engine and torqued to manufacturer's specifications.
• Make sure that the clutch fluid is filled up.
• Bleed the clutch system properly.
• Inspect clutch system for fluid leaks.
• Adjust clutch pedal. (to manufacturer's specifications)
• Drain and replace transmission fluid. (some people say that a nice synthetic brand may alleviate grinding issues)
• Check/replace bushings on shifter assembly/shifter cables.

If none of the above work, you probably have bad synchros in your transmission.

 

[T Money]

I just had the same problem with my car. It took about 5-10 min to adjust the clutch pedal and the car shifts better than it ever has.

 

[HaveSomeJoe]

DONT forget the clutch pedal assembly. Using the search technique will usually solve all your problems. If you look under the dash where the master cylinder rod goes into the pistion, make sure that AS SOON AS you push the pedal, the spring (all the way to the right, above the gas pedal) is also moving immediately with the push of the pedal. Try slowly pushing as well as really fast jolt like pushes. If the spring isnt moving right away, then your pedal has worn.

 

[chavez408]

alright here is what happen today. i replace the transmission fluid with synthatic fluid. the old transmission fluid looked like old grease! i was down underneath the dashboar ready to adjust the pedal adjustment when i notice my master cyl was leaking around its boot. could this be a problem? i check my clutch fluid and it is full. i blead the clutch a little and no air or bubbles in the system. also there is like an inch of freeplay on the clutch pedal/the car shifts like if the clutch does not engage half of the time. you really need to slam the gears for it to get into gear. 1st,3rd and reverse is what i notice that grinds alot more. while cruising you have trouble going into gear, and during wot is almost impossible getting into gear. i just wanted to share the little information i resolved about the issue.

 

[HaveSomeJoe]

well, the master cylinder is bad if it is leaking fluid, you'll need to replace that (and usually the slave cylinder with it. And did you check if the pedal has any wear in it? Because that is very common in first gens. Oh and again, USE THE SEARCH. All your problems have been answered 10000 times.