Clutch funkiness?

Heavy Foot · Apr 14, 2002

Within the last several weeks of driving around in stop and go traffic, my shifter doesn't shift into 1st very smoothly at a stop. I don't get grinding or anything, but sometimes there's resistance pushing it in, or sometimes it won't go in and I'll have to put it into second or third then into first.

I've recently (within two months) put in syncroshift and I have Dave S bushings in.

My car has 50k miles.

I can shift fine with the car off. No resistance at all. Seems the actual mechanics of shifting are fine.

I don't have trouble shifting into any other gear, although sometimes second gets stubborn if first is being stubborn. Like it won't go into first, I'll try second and it's unhappy going there too.

Clutch pedal feels fine and the free play seems to be in order, about 1/2 in play.

I'm going to take it to my mechanic this week, but I was curious if you guys have suggestions...Think my clutch could be the problem?

Lemme know. Thanks.

Soppie · Apr 14, 2002

I have the same problems trying to get me car into first sometimes. My car also goes in and out off all other gears fine, its just trying to go into 1st that sometime acts up. If anyone could help out it would be appreciated.

Stephen · Apr 15, 2002

next time it happens take note of your clutch pedal, the free play may change as you drive.

killerquake · Apr 15, 2002

i had a problem with first also. mine was that the shift fork was bent and then it eventually broke. does it pop out of gear at all if you dont push it in hard?

HYPED-1 · Apr 15, 2002

Yet another victim of crankwalk. They should do a recall on this catastrophic problem. Hopefully when the lancer comes out they will have eliminated this problem so we can start swapping in the evo engines.

Heavy Foot · Apr 15, 2002

HYPED-1 said:
Yet another victim of crankwalk. They should do a recall on this catastrophic problem. Hopefully when the lancer comes out they will have eliminated this problem so we can start swapping in the evo engines.

Please don't bring in crankwalk paranoia, it's the last thing I need to think about right now. There are a ton of things that can cause this problem, let me deal with those first before I start worrying about swapping engines. 2% of 2Gs is a pretty slim figure for crankwalk, that's pretty damn rare.

Heavy Foot · Apr 15, 2002

killerquake said:
i had a problem with first also. mine was that the shift fork was bent and then it eventually broke. does it pop out of gear at all if you dont push it in hard?

Nope. I can feel when it's in gear or when it's not.

killerquake · Apr 15, 2002

ya dont worry about the whole crankwalk thing... most likely it isnt. as far as not wanting to shift into first like that i would have to say that if it dosnt pop out then its probably a synchro. try not to downshift into first before being stopped. it is really hard on your synchro's. also try shifting into second and then first before you take off. i have bad sync's in my gsx and i find that if i do this first then it will go right into first. hope that helps. let me know if it works.

Brent

killerquake · Apr 15, 2002

Heavy Foot said:
or sometimes it won't go in and I'll have to put it into second or third then into first.

just noticed that... hehe. ya i would say its your synchro's. i have that exact problem and symptoms. my talon did it too, but i have rebuilt the tranny so not anymore. dont downshift if you dont have to. let your brakes do the work. its easier on the synchro's.

Heavy Foot · Apr 15, 2002

Re: Re: Clutch funkiness?

killerquake said:
just noticed that... hehe. ya i would say its your synchro's. i have that exact problem and symptoms. my talon did it too, but i have rebuilt the tranny so not anymore. dont downshift if you dont have to. let your brakes do the work. its easier on the synchro's.

Thanks for the advice, bud. I hope I won't need a tranny rebuild, but I guess we'll see. I'm gonna talk to my mechanic about it tomorrow.

Soppie · Apr 15, 2002

Let us know what your machanic tells you.

Heavy Foot · Apr 15, 2002

Soppie said:
Let us know what your machanic tells you.

Will do.

scotthidley · Apr 15, 2002

If reverse does this to you also, I would say its a clutch dissengagement issue. If your pedal height is low, that could be a possibility.

If reverse is fine, it probably is a synchro, but I wouldn't bother with rebuild for quite some time. If you aren't grinding going into 2nd. I would wait on a rebuild. If you have to force it into gear, you could be wearing the guides off of the shift forks as well.

Pop the side plug off the tranny and dip your finger in the fluid. There should be some fine gold particles in it (thats just typical syncro wear). Look for silver particles (indicating shift fork).

C-Rolla · Apr 15, 2002

Ok, sometimes mine doesn't like to go into first, and sometimes it does the same thing for reverse. Whats the actual problem, and how do I fix it??

Thanks!

Heavy Foot · Apr 15, 2002

Okay, I spoke with Dave (my mechanic) this morning. He says I may not have anything to worry about. He asked me where my clutch was engaging, and I said near the floor, where it is. He seems to think that's the problem without actually seeing the car.

I'm taking it in tomorrow at 9, so we'll see. Hopefully that's it.

Heavy Foot · Apr 16, 2002

Okay, it's all better, my friction point was too low. The clutch pedal just needed some adjustment.

DSMguy3 · Apr 16, 2002

My car has been doing this too, it's getting kinda bad. Getting it into first sometimes is hard to do, like Heavy said, I have no grinding, 'cept once in awhile. But most times it is just difficult to get it into first, like I have to try a couple times. However, when I go to shift in reverse I have been getting grinding alot too, I dunno why.

I just recently had my car in the shop and had the master cylinder replaced, my mechanic also told me that my slave cylinder may need to be replaced in the next few weeks, they had to insert a rod spacer in there. This fixed the shifting a little bit after the replacement of the master, and there was less free play in the pedal. Now though it's almost back down to the floor again when it starts engaging, not as far as originally but still it's pretty close. What do I need to do and get done to get all this fixed??

DSMguy3 · Apr 18, 2002

Lol, anybody got an answer for me??
:rudolph:

scotthidley · Apr 18, 2002

These are all clutch disengagement issues, like I already mentioned. If your master cyl was just replaced, double check to make sure the push rod hasn't moved in, and in turn lowered your pedal height.

Pull the rubber boot off of the slave and see if fluid comes out (it shouldn't), if it does, it should be replaced/rebuilt.

If your mast cyl is old, it is probably leaking, I DON'T CARE how much fluid is inside it. If the inside of the firewall is WET, IT IS leaking.

You can also replace your clutch hose with a Stainless one, although I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

All of these issues have thouroughly and repeatedly be discussed, so please search about the ones that you have questions on.

DSMguy3 · Apr 18, 2002

Ok I WILL check all these things you mentioned. However as far as searching around DSMTalk for the same type of problem...I have done that. Although I haven't found any posts that have the same exact symptoms as my case does, including the violent bucking my car undergoes when I try going off from a standstill. It's weird because I either have to ride the clutch a certain way to get past it, or I have to completely drop the pedal, or else the bucking gets really really bad, and it's just when I try taking off, in like the 1k - 2k rpm range....

Clutch funkiness?

Heavy Foot

Soppie

Stephen

killerquake

HYPED-1

Heavy Foot

Heavy Foot

killerquake

killerquake

Heavy Foot

Soppie

Heavy Foot

scotthidley

C-Rolla

Heavy Foot

Heavy Foot

DSMguy3

DSMguy3

scotthidley

DSMguy3

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