Blaxima911

Today I had a horrifying experience. To begin with, I recently purchased this 96 5 speed with no prior stick experience. I've been driving it for almost a week now and I'm pretty sure I have it down pretty well, but maybe I'm missing something. I was pulling out of my dorm parking lot and the damn thing wouldn't let me shift. I parked with it in reverse, so when I started it up I was able to back out of the spot, but then I couldn't shift into 1st, or anything else for that matter. When I turned the engine off it shifted (not too well but at least it shifted), but when the car was running it WOULD NOT SHIFT. Eventually after like 15 min I was able to shift but it was pretty tough. By the time I arrived home it was shifting almost normally. Did I do something wrong? I'm thinking I might not have let it warm up enough, but I doubt it's cold enough for this to have been the problem. It has me confused because it shifted better while the engine was off, almost as if there was some sort of safetly device engaged preventing me from shifting. If the gurus out there could give me some solutions I would be greatly appreciative.

paw-kz1k

Hi, Blaxima911

I know of no safety device to prevent you from shifting the car.

Some questions.

Are you saying that, after you came to a stop in reverse with the clutch pedal pushed in, you could not move the shifter at all? Or was it the case where you could move the shifter but could not get the transmission to go into any gear?

With the engine off, did you try shifting into 1st and then start the engine? (Clutch pushed in.) If so did the engine start normally or did the car try to move forward as the starter motor turned the engine over?

Does the car shift normally after being parked for a short time - so the running gear is still at or close to normal operating temps?

Some thoughts.

Sometimes, if the clutch is not disengaging completely and the engine is running, it can be very difficult or impossible to shift into gear. You can move the shifter but instead of moving completely into its normal position, you feel a resistance and the shifter is stopped "short" of going into gear. If the clutch does not fully disengage, the synchros will try to force the clutch disk to stop spinning. If the clutch is dragging too severely, the synchros won't be able to stop the disk from spinning and you won't be able to put the trans in gear.

Also, even in the dead of winter with sub-zero temps, the transmission should go into gear - although the shifter might feel pretty sluggish until the gear lube warms up. If the trans is filled with lube that is too thick (e.g. 140W), moving the shifter when the trans is cold can be very difficult.

Paul W.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

Sounds like a clutch problem. Check the master cylinder for the clutch hydraulics....if its empty then you busted a line.

http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/802

paw-kz1k

Hey ejj,

I was thinking clutch issues too. Maybe the clutch hydraulics need to be bled. Maybe air-bubbles???

Blaxima911 comments about "Eventually after like 15 min I was able to shift but it was pretty tough. By the time I arrived home it was shifting almost normally" have me wondering if the fluid is gone of too low, then would the shifting ever get better?

Paul W.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

Does brake fluid expand as its temperature increases? If so, that _could_ explain it. It could also be air in the lines. After a while the air may have worked itself out to the top of the resviour.

Blaxima911

Thanks for all your concern and replies guys, I knew I could count on you. When I checked under the hood this morning (it was way too dark when I got home last night) I saw that the clutch fluid reserviour was bone dry. Dough indeed. I need to now bleed the clutch and hope that does the trick. What a convenient spot for the bleeder screw! I had no time to do it this morning so I'm going to do it later when I get home. I can't believe I forgot to check it after I bought it. I thought I had checked all the fluids. Guess I missed one. Oh well, hopefully I didn't do too much damage to the damn thing. Thanks again, you guys rock.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

Be careful to check the rubber lines to make sure that they aren't leaking fluid. Brake fluid won't just dis-appear, so odds are there's a leak somewhere in the clutch's hydraulic system.