I'm having issues with my manual trans and I was curious if someone could tell me how it works so that I may be able to understand for myself what might be wrong with it

 

The clutch mates against the flywheel when you release the pedal. This engages the input shaft. Your shift **** has a linkage which selects what gear you're in by pushing or pulling one of the forks (shifting columns that have the gears on them) into place, the synchronizers on each gear allow RPM synchronization. There are also "detent" springs which help "lock" it in place so it doesn't pop out of gear. The selected gear will be spun by the input shaft and it will spin the differential which will spin your CV axles which will spin your wheels.


There's a good overview, there are parts I didn't mention but I have no clue what your problem is bc you didn't even try to explain it so should I just teach you about everything on the car?

 

Go to YouTube. Enter this search term, "how things work manual transmission". Watch the videos and then go to Google and enter the same search phrase. Read and digest as much as you can. Go to a junkyard and ask for a cheep non working manual transmission. Take it apart and put it back together. Learn names of the parts, by Googling, "manual transmission part names". At this point, you're ready to understand symptoms. Google "manual transmission symptoms and what they mean".

This FAQ taught me how the relationship between a customer and a reputable auto shop can work for the benefit of both ... https://salemboysauto.com/marksalem/faq.php

 

Thank you for your explanation. I didn't explain because I'm hoping to figure out the issue myself but without a full understanding of how my transmission works I'm very confused. But I'll start from the beginning explaining what has been going on with it. To start with my clutch pedal would be intermediately soft. When I would first get in the car it would have a full pedal and release and engage at the top. Then sometimes but not all of the time after driving for a while the pedal would get soft and release and engage at the bottom. But after letting the car sit for a few minutes it would go back to a full pedal. Then one day it started acting like the clutch wasn't fully engaging. The car wasn't pulling as it should've. The RPMs would rev when trying to accelerate. So I thought that maybe the slave cylinder was going out. So I checked it and noticed fluid coming from the boot and when I pushed the plunger in it was slow to come back out. Then after changing the slave cylinder when I put the car in gear and release the clutch pedal the car doesn't even attempt to move. The RPMs rev as if the car is still in neutral. The gears have never grinded nor having I heard any abnormal sounds coming from the trans. The only thing I can think is from your explanation of how it works that maybe it had something to do with the detent springs. Are there detent springs for each gear or do they work for all the gears. Bc if they are for each gear then that wouldn't be it either.

 

The symptoms you describe could indicate a number of possibilities. Did you check master clutch cylinder fluid level? Did you bleed air out the of the system after installing the slave cylinder? Get a friend to sit in the car and press the clutch. You watch the slave cylinder for movement that is firm and consistent with the position of the clutch pedal. Is movement sufficient to disengage the clutch? If the pedal is held down for two minutes does the slave cylinder stay extended? Lastly, in your own words, what is the symptom of a worn clutch plate?

 

Is there any way we could talk on the phone?

 

A reputable repair shop would not give you a diagnosis over the phone. They want to see, test and observe for themselves in order to give you a diagnosis. I'm less qualified than an full time experienced mechanic, so no I'm not able to comprehensively diagnose your single or multiple issues over the phone. My Maxima has an automatic. I've owned two vehicles with manual transmissions and replaced hardware in both, so I have had some experience. I'm here to learn from those with much more knowledge and experience and I sometimes post what I have to offer.