OK, I'm *really* worried that I'm not going to like the answers I get to this after searching a bit, but here goes...
To start with, I've got a 1998 Sunfire GT, 92K miles, Isuzu 5 speed. A few days back I started having trouble shifting gears in my car, specifically going into 3rd. Well, I've had some problems with reverse off and on since I got the car at the beginning of May, but I figured that was just one of the wonderful quirks of this tranny. Anyways I made a mental note to check the fluid level a couple days ago but hadn't yet (I've been moving since last Friday and have been awfully busy with everything). Today, I get in the car and go to leave home, and I can tell right away that I'm going to have problems - the car barely wants to go into any gear. Drive for a ways, and it gets a little bit better, then I stop and turn the car off...come back out about a half hour later and it's worse - took about 10 tries (and a lot of grinding, ugh, to get it into reverse finally, then the same sort of thing to get it into 1st). I'm driving along in near rush hour traffic not sure whether the car is going to go into the next gear or not. I get within 2 blocks or so of my final destination (work) and I pretty much have no ability to shift left at all. I luck out and don't have to stop anywhere, make a turn into a parking lot/driveway and coast downhill in neutral to where I work, parking the car without having put it back in gear since I left the road a good couple hundred yards back.
I get out and pop the hood to check and see if I managed to run it dry, and no, there's fluid in there, and it's dead on. However, the first mod I did to my car was to install a strut tower bar, and in doing so, I had to sorta relocate the reservoir - instead of doing it right, my dumbass rubber-banded the reservoir to the strut tower bar, and in the last month or so the rubber band broke, and the reservoir was left kinda dangling there. I cursed myself and went in to work. When I left work I picked up two rubber bands to try to rig it up to get home. Reattached it, and still the same problem. So my car is sitting in the parking lot at work, and I'm wondering just what took a sh!t on me (probably because of my own stupid laziness with the rubber band). With the car completely off, the shifter goes into each gear totally smooth, no binding up or anything like that. As soon as the key is turned "on" but with the car not started yet, it won't go into gear, any of them. And, oddly enough, if I start the car, push in the clutch, and hold the shifter in the direction of 1st or 2nd gear (might work in 3-5th too, didn't try it), the car will creep forward slightly, on level ground. Just before I totally lost the ability to shift the car, the clutch was still holding perfectly fine, not slipping or anything like that one bit. The pedal does seem a little more "spongy" than it did before but to be honest it's always been more spongy-feeling than my last car (a 2001 Eclipse), so that might just be in my head.
I'm thinking, from what I've read, and past experience, that it's the slave cylinder. However from what I see they're crazy expensive, at least to me at this point. I'm totally broke and, myself, can't even afford another tank of gas until I get paid on Monday. My girlfriend might be able to front me the money to buy a part if it isn't too expensive, but a slave cylinder at AutoZone is $168 from what I see (and for us, "expensive" at this point is pretty much anything over $50). Plus, I'm reading stories of people replacing slave cylinders and all I keep seeing is "dropping the tranny" over and over. Please tell me that's something with just the Getrag and not with the Isuzu, because I don't have the know-how to do that either (or the tools...honestly if I had the equipment, with how bad I am for money right now, I'd figure it out, somehow)...and that'd just mean more money that would need to be paid to a shop to do it.
Of course, if it sounds like a totally different problem altogether, someone PLEASE clue me in on what it might be. Maybe a kinked hose or something stupid like that (checked when I reattached the reservoir tonight and at least by feel the hose seemed fine)? Haven't noticed any leaks where I usually park or anything. Can't imagine it would get this bad from just simply getting air in the lines, but could it just be that? (Here we go again, I don't know how to bleed the clutch either, or I'd try that...hell first things first though, before I could try *anything* I have to get the car home. My basic AAA might tow far enough to get it back to my house actually as I live a very short distance from work.)
Any help/encouragement/monetary donations to my cause would be welcome...thanks in advance...
When slave cylinders fail, you dont have any clutch pedal at all, it goes right to the floor, and you cant get the car in any gear, because you cant disengage the clutch.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
I would try bleeding the clutch. With the problem you had with the fluid reservoir it might have sucked air into it.
FU Tuning
Rob S wrote:When slave cylinders fail, you dont have any clutch pedal at all, it goes right to the floor, and you cant get the car in any gear, because you cant disengage the clutch.
Well, I can't get the car into any gear at all, however the pedal doesn't seem to go "right to the floor," so maybe it's not actually the slave cylinder. I don't quite know how to explain it but when I push the clutch pedal in it does seem that it is doing "something," just the car won't go into gear. It'd be great news if it isn't the slave cylinder, that sounds like a pain in the ass, and an expensive one at that.
John Higgins wrote:I would try bleeding the clutch. With the problem you had with the fluid reservoir it might have sucked air into it.
This sounds like a logical first step since it wouldn't require replacing anything. Now...anyone wanna give me a simple explanation of how to bleed a clutch? I'll try googling it and all too - if it's something I can do in the parking lot at work with the car that'd be great...
Thanks for your input guys!
You need 2 people to bleed the clutch. Have some pump the clutch pedal about 3 times and then hold it all the way down. While they are holding the pedal down you release the bleeder valve, and then close it back. Once you have closed it they can pump the clutch pedal again (usually you will have to actually pull it off the floor), then pump again. Do that cycle a good 3-4 times. Also watch the fluid reservoir while doing this and do not let it go dry.
FU Tuning
Well, I mean I kinda already had an idea of the procedure to bleed the clutch, I guess what I should say (puts on flame suit) is that I don't know where the bleeder valve and such IS. That's my biggest problem with cars, I understand a lot of theory and know, theoretically, how to do quite a bit of stuff, but I don't have any hands-on experience. I was just out looking under the hood (got the car home, so I can mess with it now), and I can't see anything that looks like a "bleeder valve." I mean, do I have to access it from under the car, or under the hood? Starting with the reservoir, trace a path to where it is, because the clutch fluid reservoir and the clutch pedal are the only things clutch-related on the car that I know on sight. I know I'm a horrible n00b here when it comes to this, but I have to learn somehow (and want to). Anyone maybe have a picture of where the bleeder valve is - or maybe an online service manual? If I had the money I'd go out and buy an actual service manual so I could find stuff like this easier...but as said before, I'm broke at this point. Such a manual might be bought soon though, it would be a good investment.
