Jspd

So last night all is fine with the S and so I stop by a buddies house. I stay for a couple hours and then leave. A few miles later the car just stops going into most of the gears,..particularly on down shifts. I flushed the trans fluid and adjusted the clutch along with a clutch master cylinder flush. Now the car seems to go in to gear on up shifts fine (keep in mind I have not done any high rpm shifts) but down shifting to 3rd and 2nd are still very difficult and it does grind a bit. I have noticed that after hard driving the clutch was not sticking as well so I dont know if that is the issue or not. I need some guidance as this is my daily driver right now. frown.gif

As a side note the car is a MY02 (93K on the odometer) and I do track the car and am very aggressive on the street. I do my own up keep/repairs and meticulously perform all routine maintenance on it. I did however let the trans fluid go for 30K which was unfortunate as I usually do it every third oil change.

Thanks in advance for your help. I am about to pull the trigger and buy a trans and clutch and swap it out just to get this car taken care of.

marcucci

A slipping clutch won't fix the issue. A slipping clutch will keep you from going anywhere and should make it easier to move the shifter, not harder.

Bad hydraulics will cause hard shifting, exactly what you are talking about. Make sure the master/slave aren't leaking. Were you low on fluid when you flushed it?

Usually when something goes bad in the trans, short of running it low of fluid, you have a problem with one or two gears.

mxt_77

Question: Are the clutch cylinders similar designs to the brake cylinders? When my brake master cylinder was leaking, it was some sort of an internal leak. Fluid wasn't low, but brake pedal wouldn't maintain pressure. Could it be the same thing here, even if his clutch hydraulic fluid isn't low?

Jspd

Great feedback! I did not check the slave which was dumb since I was under there earlier today The master did not seem to be leaking but might be worth replacing. Just really odd since it literally went from perfect to PITA..

I did get on it and at higher RPMs up shifts were grinding. Sometimes I can downshift okay and sometimes not. If I slow down while in 6th for example it does not want to go in to 5th, and any other gear for that matter. Just trying to not have to but a trans!


Todd, Do you have Paypal? I want to get you the money for the axles ASAP!! It's been weighing heavy on me and I am not sure how far I want to drive the car with this issue

Gernby

If the clutch master cylinder wasn't low on fluid, then I don't see how it could be a problem with the slave cylinder. You said you flushed the master cylinder, but since you say you didn't check the slave cylinder, it doesn't really sound like you did a true "flush". To do a true flush, you have to pump new fluid through the slave cylinder like you do brakes.

Jspd

^Nice Yes, I ran almost out of fluid approx 2 weeks ago so it is reasonable to assume there is something wrong with the slave. I will have to bleed that as well.

marcucci

they are similar in design but the brake master cyls have multiple seals to prevent leaking out and hence complete failure. Clutch master and slave cyls usually leak out.

If they are leaking, you will have drips forming on the master cyl on the inside of the firewall where the rod goes through the wall. On the slave, it will be dripping from the slave around the boot between the metal body and the clutch fork boot.

I'll PM you about paypal.

S2Dave

We did that last night

Jspd

Oh good God you are right.....I have been going crazy doing all this research and forgot what the hell I did!

Well I will be under the car to check it out again for leaking which I did not do. I just cannot figure this out!

marcucci

Note that it can be leaking and seem to work fine (as long as it's full) and also bleed fine and still have issues with leaking. Whenever the fluid gets low enough to pump air into the system the clutch will not disengage all the way... making shifts very hard. Simply filling it up with fluid will usually provide you with a temporary fix.