short version: it rained hard. i drove through lake erie. got home okay. car turns on but is stuck in neutral and cannot shift into any other gear at all.


long version: it rained very hard last night when i got off work. i drove on the interstate and drove through quite a few large puddles that i did/didn't see . i got home okay and parked my car as usual. i decided to go somewhere about an hour later and the car turned on just as normal. i went to shift into reverse and i heard a crazy grinding/screaching noise. so i made sure i had the clutch in all the way, went back to neutral and tried again. same thing happened. then i tried to put it into any gear but the shifter did not want to go into any gear at all. i pushed harder, but it seemed locked somehow. and as i applied over 20 lbs of presure to put in into 5th i noticed the rpms drop a lil and my lights begining to dim. so i shut the car off popped the hood (it's dark outside and no nearby lights), and said f it and now i'm writing this.

i've heard of a car getting hydro locked. is this what happened to my car??

(92 si)

 

your shifter cables probly popped of the tranny. Give those a check.

 

It might not be related to the rain.

Pop your hood and check your clutch master cylinder and make sure there is fluid in it. If it is empty, look at the clutch pedal, most likely you'll see fluid leaking into the car from a grommit looking thing.

It is pretty common for clutch master cylinders to go out- and it would have the exact symtoms you described (minus the rain). Happend to two of my three cars... and two a friend with a del sol. I'd check that.

I won't be able to reply anymore cause I'm a "TRAIL USER" and I only get 5 posts in a 24hr period. So good luck

 

Just like Turbonoslude said check that first because i know i had the same problem and it might be a posiblity that your tranny is hydro locked THanks

 

Im wondering how a tranny would be hydro-locked? Its not like it has a intake or pistons. Anyways, check the clutch fluid level/cables(for binding, loose or missing parts) try using the tranny without the engine running, if the tranny will go into gear with the engine off but not when its on then its clutch related (clutch itself, clutch fluid, shift cables, clutch pedal.

If it wont go into gear when the engine is off look at draining the tranny fluid to see if water comes out. If the tranny was seized up from rust (bearings) I doubt that you would be able to start the car with the clutch in and not have the engine die or car lurch forward. I doubt its your tranny, the ony way water can get into that thing is through your oil seals or the small 3/8" tube on the top of the tranny thats a vent.

The ony thing other than that would be that your clutch has rusted together or has gone bad... I doubt that though.

Have fun...

 

okay i got it working!

thanks go out to everyone! especially to SuperSH! nothing was leaking or had water coming out so i went to the next step. i again tried to shift into gear after the car was on this morning, but it didn't work (thinking it would magically fix itself overnight ). then i turned the car off and shifted and it worked. so now i know that my clutch isn't gonna kill me for another month or so. i'm thinking of seriously switching to an ACT clutch.

peace, thanks again!

 

Have you tried this, (Make sure theres nothing in front of your car!!!) while the car is off put the transmission into second gear and release the clutch. Next try starting the car with the clutch pressed IN. If the car lurches forward then the clutch is not disengaging causing the trannny to turn and moving your car. If the car dosen't move then I give up.

 

Ok im dumb and diden't read slow enough... Does the clutch work or not? Do you know what caused the problem if it fixed?