clutch problem???

[smoore]

i was not racing my car, but went to into 4th and it wouldn't go in and now it will not go into any gear it just grinds.
the clutch pedal is really soft but still comes back to the foot.
first, i think the slave or master cylinder but if this was the case wouldn't the fluid be low or empty? mine is still full.
i went to faq troubleshooting but nothing really of any help.
could it be the pressure plate? also when the car is shut off i can go through the gears with no problem and start it up and drive in that gear only, usually 1st or 2nd otherwise it'l stall.
any help would be great
thanks,
stuart

[This message has been edited by smoore (edited 12 February 2002).]

 

[ilya]

The same thing happened to me just a few weeks ago. The mid-plate cracked and it became very difficult to engage any gear. I had to literally force the shifter into 5th to get home. It grinded when shifting into any gear and was near impossible to engage at high speeds. However, once I was in gear, it functioned well enough for me to drive it to the shop.

When you drive slow are you able to shift into any gears? Is it only 4th, or all?
I was able to shift at slow speeds only. Otherwise it would require a lot of force to get the car into a gear.

Luckily for me, it was due to a poorly manufactured plate installed just the week before so I had it fixed at no charge.

When you have the clutch apart and they replace the plate (if that is the problem), make sure they check the rest of the parts as well like the pressure plates. The mid-plate cracking also damaged my pressure plates and popped one of the springs right out!

Can you give some more description. Can you engage any gears at all... even at very slow speeds? If the symptoms are identical then there is a good chance that is your problem.
I remember hearing that a bad master or slave cylinder has different characteristics. Pumping the clutch pedal usually helps and you are able to engage gears. This did nothing for me.

 

[4g62bt2c30a]

Originally posted by smoore:
i was not racing my car, but went to into 4th and it wouldn't go in and now it will not go into any gear it just grinds.
the clutch pedal is really soft but still comes back to the foot.
first, i think the slave or master cylinder but if this was the case wouldn't the fluid be low or empty? mine is still full.
i went to faq troubleshooting but nothing really of any help.
could it be the pressure plate? also when the car is shut off i can go through the gears with no problem and start it up and drive in that gear only, usually 1st or 2nd otherwise it'l stall.
any help would be great
thanks,
stuart

[This message has been edited by smoore (edited 12 February 2002).]

I had the same problem when 2 of the springs jumped out of the rear clutch disk and got wedged in between the midplate and disc.... New clutch,Problem solved but....We never did figure out why that happend??????

 

[Edo]

It COULD be that you broke a spring in your clutch or some other peice.
I broke 2 springs in my Clutch 2 different times, and it basically made the clutch feel really light, and di not shift at all sometimes.

If you engage and disengage enough times the spring would move around to a place that wouldn't obstruct engagement. But still not a good thing at all.
What year is your car?
How many miles?

 

[smoore]

its a 91' i don't think springs came out of the disk because usally it make a horrible sound as your flywheel spins mine does not do this and i know becasus that happens to me twice on my rm clutch i can go in all gears at a low speed except 5th or reverse. pumping the clutch also does nothing for it the car has around 70k on it and i wasn't sure of the history o\f it as it has been sat at the body shop for a year. in addition the slave cylinder is moist but it still move alot when pressing down on the clutch i believe it is an oem clutch hmmm.... i had that money aside for the bbsc but should i now do clutch/flywheel/r&p?

 

[ilya]

I would guess that your pressure plates may be fine, but your mid-plate could have cracked. What you are describing is exactly how my car ran when it happened.

Good news is you do not need a whole new clutch. If nothing else was damaged, replacing the mid-plate will fix your problem. Unless you think your clutch is old anyway and you may as well replace it.

It should take a good mechanic no more than 4-5 hours to get to the clutch, take it apart, replace a mid-plate and close everything up. I had my R&P installed for $550 and that is at least an extra 1-2 hours MORE work on top of getting to the clutch.

Can anyone hear recommend a good shop that won't rip him off in his area? If you were in LA you could be as good as new for under $400 labor plus the cost of a mid-plate. I am guessing a dealer would be closer to $800+.

I guess there is no better time to throw in the R&P and gears while it's open, but it's more expensive than it seems. Add about $1700 for 4.23 plus shorties plus an extra couple hours for labor.

 

[Barn Man]

Sounds like it's clutch time. The problem is that the disk(s) aren't being released from the pressure plate and mid plate to allow the mainshaft to slow down. This in turn prevents you from being able to shift while the engine is running. But at the same time you are able to shift while the car is sitting still not running because the mainshaft and countershafts are sitting still.
Barn Man....

 

[smoore]

i would just hate to spend the money on labor and not threw a clutch in there while its all pulled apart well i guess i'll find out wendesday morning