HI everyone, this is my first post here, I have a problem with my 88 cavalier
its a z24 5spd

the cluth feels like it is working but isnt doing it's job
I have to start in gear and drive by shifting without the clutch
and if I sit still at an intersection I have to shut off the car

if I leave it in gear with the clutch in, the car stalls as if I forgot to press in the clutch

I checked and the hydralics all seam to be working(good travel)
I bled all the fluid and replaced it and the problem stayed the same
has anyone dealt with this situation before?

thanks in advance guys

Rich

yeah... i have and am right now... my gear box is gone!! picked up a new tranny with 34k on it for 175 bucks... still havent put it in but that was my problem... the clutch feels fine but i looked at the flywheel its gone lol

sometimes it works great for afew minutes and then it starts doing it again
started off just being hard to get into higher gears but then got worse and worse untill it is like it is now

thanks for the reply, any others?

sounds like a junk tranny!

its not a junk tranny, its clutch problems. it realy sounds like a hydralic problem. check under the dash to see if there is brake fluid by the pushrod were it goes into the master cyl for the clutch. also, pull the dust boot off the slave and see if there is fluid in there. if any of those places have fluid, replace it.

it is possible that it is a colapsed pressure plate. what happens is some of the fingers colaps (bend towards the engine) and when you step on the clutch, the release bearing has to travel a bit before it hits the finger, and it doesnt end up pushing them far enough for the clutch to release. the fix, change the clutch.

it is not a tranny problem. bitchinj, mabey you shouldnt give people info when you dont know what you are talking about.

thank you all, I have to agree with Sharky that it isnt a junk tranny because it still shifts fine with out the clutch and all that, I will be sure to recheck the hydralics and I was thinking maybe the throw out bearing is sticking on the input shaft (had the same thing happen on my 91Z28 camaro) but I have to admit that my front wheel drive kowledge is lacking
please keep up the ideas I will be checking this regularly (need the car back on the road this week)

thanks again
Rich

I had a problem similer to that with my 91 Z24, I replaced both Master and Slave but all along it was my clutch.

yup, it was the clutch after all, all is good and well, got the oil pump drive O-ring replaced at the same time (had a leak there) happy to have it back, tired of useing the truck to drive everywhere

My guess would be new clutch time.

Thats exactly the way my 2000 sunfire acted when the clutch was on the way out. What confused me at the time is it only had about 40,000 miles on it, and 90% of that no-shift hiway driving so I thought no way the clutch is toast.

I was wrong.




Rice.....Part of a balanced Pontiac diet.

bleed your hydraulic system and you may need to buy a new master cylinder or slave.

as stated above, I did that first and it turned out to be the clutch itself
it is all fixed now, thanks for the ideas though