Bigsyke

It started after I parked on a steep hill. When I pulled back into my driveway I let the clutch out a little too fast. Anyway, later on I could not shift into reverse to get out of my driveway, or any gear -- while the car was running.

I noticed the clutch reservoir was a little higher than normal, so I gravity bled it. A perfect stream of fluid came out while I ensured the reservoir never got low. Car shifted perfectly for about 20 minutes until I turned it off at a gas station. I could not shift into any gear while the car was running after.

Bled again, it was perfect. I repeated this about 5 times. The fluid is now all clear. Today I woke up early and bled it properly. Pumped the clutch slowly, waited 10 seconds, released --about 10 times and stuck a pry bar between the clutch and the seat. Cracked the bleeder open quickly, then tightened. Waited 30-45 seconds between each set. The pedal really never came back up on its own, even though fluid was being sucked from the reservoir. I also noticed I could press the Slave cylinder piston when the clutch pedal wasn't pressed. The clutch pedal always feels good and solid, like it always has been. I doubt there is air. Pressing the clutch always moves the fork.

After bleeding, I can start the car and hear the throw out bearing whine, when pressing the clutch, the noise disappears. When the issue is present after driving for 10-15, I can no longer hear the TOB whine start/stop when pressing the clutch.

• No leaks
• Clutch pedal feels great
• Car shifts perfectly without notchiness for the first 10 minutes of driving after bleeding
• Clutch does not slip
• Perfect cotter pin free play, 1.5 threads exposed on pedal side of adjustment rod.

I was thinking it was a slave/master issue, but I've searched every single thread on here with similar issues for a few days. The difference with mine is the car is perfect right after bleeding. I'm a little worried its the pressure plate not springing the slave back to its position....Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

SOLVED: It was a piece of the starter lodged in the pressure plate.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

if it were me, i would do process of elimination....might be the slave and since yours is external it is cheap and easy to replace, if it still does it then i would do the master

Bigsyke

I may try cleaning out the master cylinder. IIRC there is some squeaking when it actually is allowing me to engage into gears while running. When I am unable to shift, I hear no squeaking. It doesn't make sense that I have perfect clutch pressure, the clutch fork moves always to the same spot. Clutch engagement is near the top of the pedal. If I start the car in 1st and start driving, the engagement point is still near the top of the pedal and depressing the clutch makes the rpm's drop.

Fluid flows through the system with no issues. Could a sticking master piston somehow be drawing in air after a while? It seems this is happening (the only clue was clutch fluid over the MAX the first time this issue occurred).

No rebuild kits in my area, so I'm hoping to get the easy stuff out of the way first.

Found an image that sort of shows the maximum amount of clutch fork travel I have with the clutch depressed.



I was also thinking I need to compress the slave cylinder piston before cracking the bleeder valve. Just seems the piston isn't extending far enough after the fluid heats up, or somehow air is being drawn in there.

billydabiller

might be a a little hole in the line because when the fluid heats up it gets thinner I'm not a pro but ya never know Keep use informed with the outcome thank you

Bigsyke

Update: Went and adjusted the Master cylinder piston rod to extend the amount of travel. Made sure I also adjusted the switches accordingly. The Slave cylinder pushes the clutch fork allot further now. I've wedged something between the seat and the pedal and measured any drop/increase in fluid and the length of the slave piston while extended. No changes after an hour. Hydraulics must be good?

Funny thing, now I cannot shift into gear even after bleeding the clutch. There is no air in it. I can start the car in 1st and it will not jump. I can easily pull it out of 1st gear like butter but it will not go back into any gear.

I no longer hear the TOB whine, unless I start in 1st with the clutch in. After I pull it out, no TOB whine. So unless there is something I'm not seeing, or the gates are electronically controlled, it must be internal?

Thanks!

travlee

iTrader: (8)

you should never really adjust that.... now i bet you are not letting the clutch fully engage (or something alone those lines) hence why you can't get it in gear

myfirstzcar

I wouldn't have adjusted that either. You probably just needed to bleed the line. Your hydraulics might be holding pressure on the release bearing now, which means less clamping pressure on your clutch.

92K1500

iTrader: (1)

Did you even read the thread?

92K1500

iTrader: (1)

It sounds to me like a clutch disc problem and not a hydraulic problem. There really isn't anything you did there that most people don't do on a daily/weekly basis.

Bigsyke

I have tons of free play on the pedal. The cotter pin freely rotates, 0 pressure on the rod. I'm worried the extra travel did something bad to my pressure plate.

I don't think having too much travel would cause the clutch to not fully disengage, would it?

I guess a stupid question would be, if the pressure plate did separate from the flywheel, or there was debris stuck in there, could I remove a dust plate of some sort and inspect/fix without dropping the tranny?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

not sure what is going on to be honest, but no, you would have to drop the trans to get in there

Bigsyke

Crazy, just took the car out. Drove perfectly. Didn't drive it long enough for the issue to show up, but I'm assuming it's heat related.

Does something need to be re-lubed which would cause this?

myfirstzcar

I posted my opinion, then I posted something that I thought could be the issue.....You got a problem with that?

OP, you may have a plate issue, but if you can make it work perfectly at all, I'd say your fluid is boiling for some reason or another. If the problem just magically appeared the day after everything was OK, then adjusting things probably won't help....You may have a hydraulic issue.

Bigsyke

Exactly. I took it out twice again, longer test drives. Once I even kicked it sideways by accident. Shifted perfectly and consistent the entire time. I guess I am trying to diagnose if it's internal or external. A messed up clutch/pressure plate/TOB would be constant, right?

Hoping it's just fluid boiling or a master/slave issue. Today was much cooler than yesterday BTW.

Noticed the fluid was a little lower today than yesterday, possible airbubble getting dislodged?

Edit: Just drove it about 30 miles, hard driving. Let it cool down for 30-45 minutes and drove 30 miles back. Shifts perfectly. Hmm...

myfirstzcar

It's definitely hydraulic. try insulating the line or shielding the exhaust. Unfortunately, you may have to replace the master and/or slave. Everything internal consists of "hard parts".....they're either good or broken.

Bigsyke

I thought for sure it was hydraulic. Nope. Wouldn't shift into gear until I actually rolled the car back in reverse and poped the clutch to start it. Took it out, drove fine until I went into the store. Came back out, nothing. Let it cool down and started in 1st. Got home and turned the car off.

Now with the car off I can "barely" put it into gear. Clutch in/out is all the same. It's definately not a clutch issue. Rolling back in 1st will immediately stop the car when I let the clutch out. No slipping. I'm worried I have GL5 in there. Would bad syncros cause these issues? Thanks for the help so far guys.

Update: Too off and cleaned Master cylinder. It was in good shape. Spent all day bleeding clutch. It is solid. Removed pedal stop. Clutch pedal springs then broke. Still wont go into gear running. Pedal engagement is still near the top when starting in gear. Unless my slave is somehow bad and not extending, even though it doesn't collapse or loose pressure over time, I'll be pulling the tranny.

Bigsyke

Solved!

Put car on ramps, peeled shift fork dust cover off, and just so happened to be a large chunk of the starter nose stuck in the pressure plate. It was exactly in a spot I could reach with a rod. A few degrees counter/clockwise and I would be dropping the tranny. I was able to dislodge it after about 2 hours. When I reinstalled the slave, the pushrod sat much further back, giving me the entire travel.

Now I need to find a way to vacuum that piece out of the bottom of the bell housing....Any ideas??

myfirstzcar

Adapt some rubber hoses to a shop vac and suck away!

Big congrats on the problem solving, and thanks for sharing.