I need some help. I have a ’95 del Sol with a B-series engine & manual transmission. I did the swap in 2005 (I think) and I've never had an engine/transmission problem prior to this.

I was driving in 4th gear at 40 mph. I went to downshift to 3rd gear, clutch engagement felt like any other engagement, and it was difficult to get it out of 4th. It was similarly difficult to shift into 3rd gear. I then downshifted to 2nd gear and the problem was even worse. It was harder to get out of gear and harder to get into gear. I pulled over at a gas station and started cycling through gears. It got to the point where it took all my force to get the car out of gear and I could absolutely not get it into 1st gear. I turned the car off and when it re-started, it cycled through the gears smoothly and I returned home.

This is the first time this has happened. As I mentioned, no previous problems, except a minor observation. Lately, the clutch pedal has not been returning to full height after the clutch pedal is released (leaving no free play). I have to pull the clutch pedal higher with my foot to end up with free play. I haven’t had any other clutch/shifting problems.

I am going to take it for a spin tomorrow to see if I can gather more information. Does anyone have any advice?

 

if your clutch isnt holding the pressure try bleeding it, and look for leaks on the slave cylinder.

 

its ur slave cylinder. thats gone out on me a couple times hard 2 shift, clutch pedal wont come up anymore, barely any pressure when it does. doubt u need 2 bleed it more than likely u just need a new 1. its easy 2 change but u need 2 people 2 bleed it corectly, and its a cheap cost part.

 

The clutch pedal comes up. It just doesn't come up to the point where it has free play in it. Does that still seem like the slave cylinder?

 

If your pedal isn't completely coming up, then you have an issue with keeping pressure built up in your lines. I'd definitely check out your slave and master cylinders. Inspect the master by looking for leaks under your dash where the push rod enters the cylinder housing. Inspect the slave (located in front of the transmission) by pulling back the rubber boots and check where the shaft slides inside the cylinder housing. I just purchased a well known brand slave cylinder off of ebay for under $25 brand new.

There are other possibilities that could be causing your problems. Worn bushings/spring pin in your shift linkage could be causing hard shifting. The problems may be more severe. Your clutch could be shot...If you have a sprung clutch, it is a possibility that one of the springs could have let go. The clutch's pressure plate could be weak. Your synchros could be in need of changing, or our pilot and/or throw out bearings could be worn.

I would suggest starting out with the cheaper parts if you feel they need replacing. Keep in mind that b-series trannies are junk in my opinion. I've thrown alot at my tranny over the past 5 yrs, trying to get it to shift perfectly. Still not quite there. I've grown to live with it.

Hope this helped and goodluck with diagnosing your issues.

 

master of slave cylinder, check these and bleed the lines. if that doesn't fix it, I think your clutch is shot. time for a new clutch...

my car was acting like this, and I changed the clutch. I found the culprit to be a little piece of metal spinning around inside the clutch that broke off. glory times...

as someone said, check the cheaper parts first.

the answer is already one of the things in this thread. until you start fixing them, there's nothing else to check.

best of luck...

 

Thanks for the help guys. I wouldn't have guessed the clutch would have already gone out. It is an ACT HDSS with less than 35,000 miles on it. I'll see what I find.

 

if your primary seal goes in your master you wont get any leaks but it wont build pressure either

 

First inspection - there is fluid on the pushrod/seal under the dash where the master cylinder pushrod comes through the firewall to the clutch pedal. I haven't checked the slave cylinder yet. I imagine the MC is the culprit and will replace it. I'll also replace the slave cylinder.

I am 70 miles from my garage. I need to travel there to do any work as I do not have any tools here. Hopefully it can make it that far...

 

good call on changing them both at the same time. this should solve your problem!

 

just did that today! replaced the Slave cylinder and bled the fluid. Works fine now. Slave Cylinder only like 12 bucks brand spankin new at your local auto parts store. Good Luck!

 

Just went through this with my b16. Start with the easy stuff first- check for leaks around master cylinder/slave cylinder. Have somebody work the clutch to see if the slave cylinder works. If any of those things arent working, they're an easy fix.

Otherwise you'll probably have to pull the tranny. If its clutch disc you can usually tell by looking at it, check the springs because they're prone to popping out.

If all else fails take it into a reliable mechanic and have them pop it open, could by syncros, or like mine, could be a blown tranny (reverse went and took all my syncros with it- had the same symptoms as yours)

On the plus side, pulling the tranny isn't really that hard if it comes to that, and there are a lot of writeups on it.

Oh- and DONT WASTE MONEY REPLACING CYLINDERS IF YOU'RE NOT SURE IF ITS THEM. Its easy to check them. Check for leaks, try bleeding, and check for super low levels of fluid in the master.

 

i highly bet its not you clutch slave cylinder, i had the same problem, it was my pressure plate form hard shifting... trust get a new clutch kit and thats what it is...

 

Dont waste money on buying parts until you're sure what it is...