2001 5spd base w/ ~70,000 miles.

daily driven, a/x'd and track whored fairly regularly.

I noticed this the other night on my way to vegas, that at certain speeds my 4th gear is locked out, and at other times it shifts fine. When i had my quaife installed 30,000 miles ago, i was told my forks and synchros were in pristine shape, i've been pretty good about MTF changes, and though i beat on my car, i'm generally pretty nice to the transmission (no 6000 rpm dumps, no powershifting, double clutched heel-toe downshifts).

i am thinking it's a clutch issue, and more specifically the slave cylinder or whatever hydraulic components actuate the clutch, since the grind isn't constant. in the worst cases, it will grind pretty hard going into 4th, and double clutching won't stop the grind from happening. It also doesn't grind all the time going into 4th, and i can't tell if it's speed sensitive or not. Driving home last night i noticed that i was locked out of 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and pretty much spent 2 minutes trying to put the car into 5th and it finally fell in. I noticed today while i was clutching for an upshift that pedal pressure was very firm for a split second, and when i reclutched it was back to normal.

anyway, any help would be appreciated. thanks!

 

This is probly way to obvious but check your clutch fluid, I was having issues with lockout a week ago and I was low on clutch fluid... Topped that botch off (to the max line) and now its perfect....

 

check the fluids

 

wasn't there a problems with clutch master/slavew cylinders on 5th gens USDM?

Looks like you've worn your clutch out with all the double clutching :lol: Jk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by forgotmypassword!(OTT) &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wasn't there a problems with clutch master/slavew cylinders on 5th gens USDM?
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I've had my both my master and slave cylinders develop leaks twice, leading to very costly repairs. I don't know if it's just my car or not, though.

Damn I miss the days of mechanical clutches that ALWAYS worked. 100K in a '91 Accord without needing replacement.

 

apparently i was low on tranny fluid. i changed the fluid and it shifts better. just hope i didn't chew it up too much.

 

yeah, but i was wrong earlier.

it's still doing the lockout, but only at higher RPM's. at idle with the clutch in it's making this ugly grating noise. it's not that loud, but i can hear it. i'm glad it's not the gears, and i'm guessing my clutch is dying.

i'll update when i figure it out, in the meantime, i'm getting really good at clutchless shifting.

 

friday morning update:

looking at the clutch fluid, it's pretty dumpy looking. maybe it's time for a bleed, and if that doesn't work, i guess i'll be replacing it.

btw, any special notes on what to use as clutch fluid? i've got a new bottle of castrol GMA sitting around and was just gonna use that.