So heres the story ... I hardly drive my car anymore since I bought a bike but the one day I decided to actually drive it, I'm getting on the freeway, everything's fine then I shift into 5th gear and am cruising right along when BAM! .. sounds (and felt) like I hit something ... no biggie. So I downshift to 4th and realize I can't shift into 4th, and if I can it's VERY difficult to get in. No grinding just hard to get into gear. I come to a stop off the off-ramp and I put it in 1st gear and the car shudders and it feels like the car wants to keep going. Going up through the gears is ok, just downshifting is a pain. All the way home, when I would come to a stop it was doing the thing where, when I come to a stop, would shudder and the car felt like it still wanted to go forward. In neutral was fine ... I baby it home and park it.

Did some work on it the other day, checked the linkage ... it was fine. Checked the clutch reservoir and the fluid was dirty and grimy so we flushed the whole system (even took the reservoir out and thoroughly cleaned it as well) and made sure there was fresh fluid in the system. Same issue. It wasn't really bad since I've let the car sit for a couple months but I know if I keep driving it, it will be hard to drive again. I took it out for a test drive and again, going up through the gears was fine, like butter. Downshifting was still stiff (hard to get into gear), not impossible, just stiff with no grinding or anything. Well, I take that back, I did grind 4th a little.

Question is ... before we rip the tranny off the car ... next, I was thinking of draining the tranny fluid. A few people told me that draining the tranny fluid has completely solved their similar problem. I'm hoping it's just maybe the springs on the clutch itself and not the synchros in the tranny ...

Any thoughts on my issue? Thanks all!

 

sounds like the clutch disc may have come apart. i had it happen years ago to my stock clutch and it made it very difficult to shift and would shudder as well.

you can drain the fluid to make sure it's not infact an internal issue. just check to make sure there is no metal chunks that drain out with the fluid and its not that dirty.

 

Yeah drain the fluid first. Sounds like an internal issuse usually when u destroy a clutch disc u dont go anywhere. Although the disc or presure plate may be damaged. Drain the fluid and check for metal. It should be clean not like used motoroil. Good to change the oil when u change the clutch anyways so if it turns out to be the clutch no biggie

 

happend to my once , cuz my flywheels bolts came loose

 

ok cool, thanks all for the info ... I'll be draining it this week sometime and checking for metal shavings and such. So, just to confirm, if there are metal shavings it would be the tranny itself? Or the synchros? And if it's clean / without metal in the oil than it would most likely be the clutch or pressure plate (or something else besides the tranny)?

 

drained the tranny fluid, it was filthy [some parts were almost a sludge] and only had maybe 1 or 2 small metal shavings in it, nothing major ... does that mean it's more than likely the clutch or pressure plate like a couple of you said?

 

.

 

dropping the tranny tomorrow ... weather permitting. axles are already out ... first time for us, took longer than it should have haha

 

the BAM has me thinking something broke in the clutch. keep us posted

 

me too ... dad thinks I'm a hypochondriac and that it's nothing since it shifts UP through the gears just fine and there are no noises it's making ... but down shifting is ... let's say 'tough' most of the time. Grinded 4th when I was trying to downshift once ... so I suggested we take the thing apart ... will most likely finish it up tomorrow. Rained most of the day today.

oh and me locking my keys in the car didn't help progress either haha

 

turns out my clutch was missing a 'chunk' ... that would do it haha