Okay some of you might have read my other post, but ill sum it up:

I was driving my car and all of the sudden I couldnt get the car into 1st or 2nd. There were no warning signs or anything, it just stopped.

I just had a new clutch installed and new 1st and 2nd syncros and a short throw, I originally thought it was the syncros but a few people they told me they had the same problem and they replaced the master cylinder and it worked fine. Could this be my problem also? is there anyway I can check? Im asking because the tranny guy wont be able to look at until sometime next week, and if its not something that he fixed that went wrong , I want to take it to a shop that can fix it right away or mabey if its asy enough I can do it myself.

some other things that might help:
the fluid levels are good
there is almost no resistance between 3-4 (like the shifter isnt even connected)it is connected though.

all other gears work. 3,4,5,R

thanks

 

It will be nearly impossible to diagnose your problem over the internet. take the car to a shop and have them look at it and see what they come up with.

 

but i was hoping to figure it out before next week(when he'l be able to look at the car)

And I was just asking what people thought the problem was, not to tell me exactly what it was, I wanted to know if they thought the problem was the master cylinder and not what I had redone,

 

Well,

The clutch master cylinder is about $30 or so, or you could get a rebuild kit for like $10. Instructions are pretty good in the chilton manual. You could try this. You basically just have do the following:

1. Remove the pin that holds the clutch pedal to the cylinder shaft, (the thing with the fork-looking bracket on the end).

2. Get under the hood and take the hydrualic line loose from the cylinder.

3. Remove the 2 bolts that hold it onto the car.

4. Pull it out and replace it. You could just replace the piston, seals, and springs in you current one with the kit(builds character), but it's just easier to pay $20 more for a new cylinder, just so you don't have to screw with it.

5. Refill the cylinder with dot3 brake fluid, and put the pin back on the pedal. Make sure that the bracket thing on the new cylinder is in the proper place so that the pedal returns properly (I made this mistake).

6. Pump the pedal to bleed the air out. This may take some time.


I have a general distrust for transmission shops. This took me about an hour to do, and I did the rebuild. Back when I more ignorant about cars, I had this happen about 4 years ago, and the shop charged me $300 to this.

That same shop wanted to do a clutch job 6 months ago, when all I had wrong was low tranny fuild, that a (so-called) expert should have seen gear oil leaking profusely from the spot where the position switch should have been.

About a year ago, a friend of mine had some (seemed to be) major tranny problems in his galant. 3 different tranny shops wanted around $1400 to fix his car. He went to a 4th shop that just changed his fluid, and sent him on his way

I could go on...another "back when I was ignorant" story....I had had my car for about 40,000 miles and my tranny was acting up. So I took it to a shop that told me I needed a rebuild, $1200 later I was on my way.

After fixing the gear oil issue myself, I noticed that the symptoms from the 2 situations were very similar. Though much worse the second time. I still wonder to this day whether I actually ever needed a rebuild at all. Back then I didn't even know that manual trannys had fluid, or I would have had it serviced, maybe it would have fixed my problem.

Oh well, live and learn I guess. If you go to a tranny shop, go somewhere where you know somebody, and hope that they don't screw you.

 

look at the firewall right under it as well. you could see fluid running down from mine. also check under the pedal, and if worse comes to worse, just change it. i got one for 25 bucks. it took me less than 20 mins to put on.

 

its only 30 bucks so if it fixes my problem great if it doesnt oh well, only 30 bucks, my freind works at the tranny shop so ill have him help me. what about the slave cylinder? should i do that as well? and i can get it at a decent parts store right? also how much fluid should I pick up, will I lose alot wile disconnecting it?

 

from my experience, when slave cylinders go, they just go. so it's prollly not your slave. . .

 

when it happened to you was it impossible to get it into 1 & 2 or just really difficult? also is there anything that would trigger the master to go or is it just one of those things that gives out?

 

Ok, why don't we check to see if the clutch is getting acuated or not...

Follow the hydrulic line from the clutch master to the clutch slave cylinder. You will see that it is designed to actuate a lever on the transmission. Have a friend push the clutch in and out and see if the lever is moving.

Another question is this:

You are stopped with the engine running. You push the clutch in, and it doesn't go into 1st gear right? Well what happens if you turn the motor off? Does it go in normally?

 

wow, good call. i didn't think of turning the engine off!

be careful though, even though mine was junk, it would still push the slave cylinder so it appeared to be working.

 

enigne on or off with clutch pressed(I checked that it was connected already) it will not go into 1st or second, the rest of the gears are fine and engage with no problem.

 

hmmmmmmmm interesting. mine was notchy into 3rd and 4th as well. . . you can adjust the master cylinder. . ..

 

mine was notchy after i got the STS but now between 3 and 4 there is no resistance, its like its not connected to anything,

 

i know this gen has problems with shifter bushings. . .. .. i dunno. lol

 

I call him today and b!tch till he squeezes my car in sooner, thanks anyways.

 

sounds like my max man...........dude....its not the master cyclinder!!!i dont even kno what the problem is yet!! changed the master and slave cyclinder..still got the problem!!! Some days....its easier to shift...some days....its hella hard!!!! Thought it was my racing pedals...took the clutch one off...still the same!!! guess im stuck wit thaqt now. Maybe its time for a new tranny!!! Or a new car!!!! Hope u figure out ur prob!! When u do....let me kno!!!
bj

 

dude, that was my car! i swear. but master cyl fixed it ok question. how many miles are on the tranny? it might very well be the tranny.

 

The problem is NOT the clucth hydrulics then. Don't waste your time messing with them. This is some sort of problem with the tranny, shifter, or linkage.

Good luck,

 

im bout to hit 168k. damn lot of miles dont u think???

 

sit down young'n, 183 lol

but it ran better then my gxe with 108k

btw there picking my car up this morning so ill find out whats wrong soon enough.

 

so what ever happened to your shifting problem with your tranny.

my 94 se does the same, but in addition its even more difficult to shift when the car is warmed up. Just like the longer i drove the more difficult it is to shift.
let me know the outcome..
thanx.

 

um My car didnt shift into 1st or second at all. turns out the shift fork broke and got jammed, all better now.