help! cannot get out of neutral...clutch grinds when I try

[gen2lover]

hi guys! today I tried starting my car as always and my clutch pedal is "dead" and I cannot switch into any gear. IT GRINDS BAD.

I tried turkey basting the clutch fluid out,wiped the reservoir good and put new DOT 4 in. Still nothing!

A good guy on here (Dan L.)thinks I just need a good clutch bleeding? (I printed out your steps on that already,bringing it to my local dealership Monday,as I cant get under the car,etc...

I do not drive it hard and there are NO LEAKS under the car at all.BONE DRY>>>> is bone dry a good thing underneath? I am guessing yes!


He told me its either the air/bubbles in the clutch system or I might need a new Master Cylinder (but not Slave as its not leaking fluid)..This sound right? I trust him but I just wanted a second opinion.

ps- Dan said the dealership might tell you you need a new Master even without bleeding it...and to make sure they bleed it first.

my car is near stock,just hit 50,000 km before I put it away in December.I start it up every week,roll it give it load,etc...I know this isn't the best for it but my garage has no electricity for a tender.Weather here is cold dry & windy.

ps Dan still going to call you before Monday.

 

[gen2lover]

oh Chuck said to try the fast pumping action then putting it in gear...thing is it grinds and cannot go into gear and I do not want to break anything.

 

[gen2lover]

BUMP please.

 

[dave6666]

Both the slave and master cylinder could by bypassing w/o external leaks. That is, the pistons have no effective seals to move the fluid. If you can pump the crap out of it and get the job done then one or the other could be the case - slave or master gone bad. Or like you said, try bleeding first.

When my slave went bad it leaked and dripped. Easy to spot the problem.

How does the pedal feel? Drops to the floor with no resistance or what?

 

[99 R/T 10]

You have a bad Master. Typically when the slave goes bad, it leaks. When you have no clutch action whatsoever, the fluid is probably bypassing the piston. Don't try and force it, it will just damage the tranny.

 

[AZTVR]

Even though you may not need the slave cylinder, find out how much it will cost to replace it also. If you do not do your own work, and you plan to own the car long term, consider the hassle factor of having to get the slave cylinder replaced later. My guess would be that the seals in both would wear out at similar rates.

I have found that the seals in the hydraulic systems of cars that sit unused for months seem to wear out quicker. (Or maybe they take a "set" so that they don't seal right.)

 

[gen2lover]

it doesnt sit though...first winter i have had it....

 

[gen2lover]

pedal feels limp but not totally dead. it still moves and comes up right away,

 

[gen2lover]

pumping it like crazy then trying to put in in 1st or reverse is what Chuck said..going to try that after work tonight...is this supposed to get the air out of the line?

 

[RAYSIR]

pumping it like crazy then trying to put in in 1st or reverse is what Chuck said..going to try that after work tonight...is this supposed to get the air out of the line?

It doesn't get the air out it just compresses it so you could get it in gear but it isn't the fix. The air is in the entire system so just using a turkey baster and filling the master isn't going to fix it. Has to have the new fluid run through and out the bleeder on the side of the bell housing.
The clutch master is real close to the exhaust and if the fluid ( brake fluid which attracts moisture) is old the moisture in it will boil and cause the air. If the master cylinder is full and no obvious leaks I would be flushing it with new fluid. Not hard to flush. I did mine by gravity bleeding no special tools. Check the archives there are a lot of post about your problem. Good Luck.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Make sure your brake cyl is bolted in tight. I have seen them come loose, and flop around.

 

[big-n-italian]

i found no signs of leaks when my slave went out. i wouldnt rule the slave cylinder out completely.

 

[dave6666]

i found no signs of leaks when my slave went out. i wouldnt rule the slave cylinder out completely.

Well there we go again. Just more proof that your stuff is just a LITTLE weird!

 

[big-n-italian]

Well there we go again. Just more proof that your stuff is just a LITTLE weird!

how weird is my stuff you ask dave? right now it is snowning so hard that i can barely see the neighbors house across the street, it is also THUNDERING - HARD, AND we have LIGHTNING!

or, in a nut shell, a normal day for me.


for those who has never seen it, click on this link and see a short video about the phenomenon called "thundersnow". a very rare occurrence.

WEEK News 25

 

[AZTVR]

If you are ambitious, I would try bleeding the system first.
Clutch Fluid replace & bleed procedures
If that doesn't work, then you are looking at failed seals in the master or possibly slave cylinder.

 

[Viperguynick]

Another troubleshooting step you might want to try is to see if you can get the transmission into gear with the car turned off. If you can, leave it in gear (WITH NOTHING IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND YOU! AND THE PARKING BRAKE ON!) and try to start the car with the pedal all the way to the floor. If it starts and does not move, your clutch is disengaging and is working at least somewhat properly and the problem may actually lie within the transmission. If the car lurches when it cranks, it's most likely either the master or slave cylinder.

Just an Idea, but please be careful to not have anything in your direction of travel in case the car does lurch forward.

Nick

 

[RAYSIR]

Another troubleshooting step you might want to try is to see if you can get the transmission into gear with the car turned off. If you can, leave it in gear (WITH NOTHING IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND YOU! AND THE PARKING BRAKE ON!) and try to start the car with the pedal all the way to the floor. If it starts and does not move, your clutch is disengaging and is working at least somewhat properly and the problem may actually lie within the transmission. If the car lurches when it cranks, it's most likely either the master or slave cylinder.

Just an Idea, but please be careful to not have anything in your direction of travel in case the car does lurch forward.

Nick

Hate to cause an arguement here but the only way this could be transmission would be if the input shaft had welded itself to the pilot bearing and flywheel. Never seen this happen before in all the years of working on these things. The input shaft can't turn without the clutch or the clutch disc being rusted to the input shaft and jammed jammed. I've seen this on cars stored for a long time. Meaning not releasing. It won't be in the transmission though.

 

[Viperguynick]

RAYSIR -

You are 100% correct, I just was not sure if it might be related to some sort of spinning parts in the transmission. Like if he started the car and then released the clutch in neutral before re-depressing the clutch and trying to get into gear. This would cause the transmission internals to spin and thus show any issues with synchros, blocker rings, etc... if they exist. I just wanted to give him some more ideas of things to troubleshoot.

Nick

 

[gen2lover]

Looks like it was air in the clutch.Me and a friend bled it from under the car waited after we lowered it but nothing...so....I call the flatbed to go to my dealership.

As I was parking it outside my dealership after transport via the flatbed, I tried starting it and putting it in gear in their lot before I left it there.

Then BOOM! Clutch was working...better than ever! Weird coincidence.I was told by both Dan Lesser and the Wizard the flatbed helped the bleed process.

Thanks to both Chuck and Dan,2 GREAT GUYS! Kevin

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Weird.. makes me wonder how all of a sudden air got into the clutch system?

 

[gen2lover]

me too. i guess its just build up? might have never been bled in 8 years?

 

[gen2lover]

or maybe moisture/weather? I live in Ontario,Canada.