HELP! Transmission gone....

[halfnhalf]

I took my 94 out for a spin the day before yesterday, the car felt kinda sluggish, but I didn't think much of it since I haven't driven it in a while. Then yesterday I tried to take it out again, upon pulling out of the garage, I immediately noticed that the clutch pedal is very very soft to a point that there is almost no resistance when I step on it. By the time I rolled onto the road and stopped at a stop sign, I realized that I couldn't shift into any gear including reverse. Eventually after some struggle, I was able to jam the shifter into 3rd and turned around back to the house.

Any idea what's going on? It was fine the last time I drove it and suddenly I just lost the entire transmission with almost no warning. Do I need to have the transmission replaced? The clutch? How much it would cost?

Thanks, I really appreciate any pointers.

 

[DocL]

... upon pulling out of the garage, I immediately noticed that the clutch pedal is very very soft to a point that there is almost no resistance when I step on it....

Any idea what's going on?...

Did you check the clutch fluid under the hood? If not start there. The symptom of a clutch being very soft sounds like a master cylinder problem. I'd bet that you have no fluid in the resivoir.

 

[halfnhalf]

Did you check the clutch fluid under the hood? If not start there. The symptom of a clutch being very soft sounds like a master cylinder problem. I'd bet that you have no fluid in the resivoir.

Dooh.... Thank you for the tip, I should have checked there, didn't even think of it in a hurry to get somewhere. Will do that tonight, praying that's all it is.

 

[hlweyl]

I agree with Doc, classic symptoms of low clutch fluid. If that's the case you probably have a leak in either the master or slave cylinder.

Good luck

 

[halfnhalf]

You guys were absolutely right, there weren't any fluid in the reservoir. I filled it up and have been monitoring it for the past couple days, so far the fluid level has stayed the same.

The car is driveable now, although it take some effort to get into gear and the clutch paddle still has couple inches of free play.

 

[hlweyl]

I would be suprised if you do not have a leak in either the slave or master cylinder. When the master leaks, it does so into the driver's footwell. Usually you can feel wetness under the clutch pedal. The slave is not so obvious. It's mounted on the transmission and often times your garage floor will stay dry.

Keep an eye out, you don't want to get stranded.

 

[halfnhalf]

It's been a few weeks since I added the fluid to the reservoir, and I have driven it a few times. The weird thing is that the fluid level did NOT drop, which is surprising because I was almost convinced that I had a leak somewhere. But the clutch paddle does have a lot of slakc and free play, and it still take some effort to get into gears.

Could it be because air got into the clutch system? Would flushing the system (and how) help?

 

[D'Ecosse]

You need to bleed the air out of the line -
here's the extract from the manual.
If this is something you've never done before, you might want to have someone familiar with the procedure help you, or better yet take it to a shop (any of the national chain brake service shops will do it - you don't need to go a speciality transmission shop or dealer) It'll take a shop about 10 mins to put it on the rack & bleed it while you wait.

 

[drew]

Flushing won't help, at least not for more than a few days/weeks.

You need to find the problem, stuff like that doesn't happen unless you have a major problem somewhere. This is your warning: next time it will probably strand you and it will be a done deal.

Things to do:
1. Stick you head under the pedal cluster and make sure the area around the clutch push rod is not wet with fluid. It likes to leak under the carpet and make a nice gooey mess...ruining everything it comes into contact (including the body pan).
2. Get under the transmission, locate the clutch slave and make sure you don't have a leak somewhere.
3. Make sure there are no leaks/wetness around the clutch master under the bonnet (front of car)

If you DO NOT find a problem, you will need to look harder. It is probably time to replace both the cylinders and the hose regardless. Replacing them *now* as preventative measures is much cheaper than a tow and a trip to the dealer. Get a speedbleeder while you are at it.

Unless somebody turned your car upside down or purposely removed the clutch fliud...you have a problem that needs to be fixed! You have been duly warned...

Drew

 

[halfnhalf]

Great pointers. I will put it on jack stands and check it thoroughly.