time for a new clutch?

[rcsavage]

ok over the last week, my car has been getting increasingly difficult to get into first gear. i relize this was stupid but i feel it helps diagnose the issue. i did a small burnout (less than 2 seconds) earlier today and almost immediatly after (like 1 minute) it became almost impossible to get into first from neutral and second got more difficult also. at first i thought i ruined something like a blocking ring or synchro, but my dad and a few others say it might have been the clutch. the car feels like im trying to put it in gear without the clutch pushed down quite far enough(if that makes sense). so, anyone know for sure what i broke?

Edit: i did try lifting the clutch pedal to adjust itself but it made no difference.

 

[SASHO91]

What type of fluid is in the trans? Mileage on the fluid?

What type of shifter is in the car? Rod or cable?
have you checked for play in it?

The clutch really wont have an effect on getting into gear(it does to a point). but rather the TOB has the biggest effect on gear selecting.

 

[SHOtime2511]

again check and change your fluid before you go spending a ton of money on a new clutch.the symtoms your speeking of make me think its low on fluid.
when you do change the fluid use mobil 1syn.

 

[Rustynuts]

Mine did the same thing and it was the TOB/clutch. I think the TOB goes first, but by the time it really gets bad (like not getting into first), you're eating into the pressure plate. The fingers on mine were almost worn completely through!

Time for a clutch/TOB. I went with the Grizzly Paw TOB as it's greasable and beefier than OEM. OEM TOB is non-greased. Just make sure they grease the Grizzly (idiot mechanic I went to first didn't and ruined the TOB in a week!). The Grizzly comes with its own little grease packet in the box.

 

[93rev2sev]

I second the changing fluid thing...It dosent sound like a worn clutch...

A worn out clutch will first start to shift real smooth (slipping between gears). Then it will start to slip without touching the pedal, perhaps at WOT. Once that happens, you will be going nowhere fast.

Mine went south when I slam-shifted 2nd at about 6000RPM. When I got off the clutch, it slowly went from 6000RPM to 5000 or so; it took about half a second for the wheels catch up with he engine (after letting the clutch out). And, I could smell it - this is the first sign of a sick clutch.

I was able to limp around for about 400-600 miles after that incident and may have been able to go further.

I think this is pretty much how it goes with clutches...they don't just wear out with no slippage. Also you would not have been able to do that burnout with a terminally ill clutch.

 

[rcsavage]

lol thanks. i feel really stupid about the burnout. like i said before, it was short and only at 4000 rpm's for about a two seconds. i guess ill get the car up this weekend and drain and refill and see if that does anything. is mobil 1 synthetic the agreed upon fluid to use, or is this like the oil debate?

 

[rfiltz]

Again, the hard shifting to first is NOT the clutch, it's the TOB. Mine got so bad I had to start in 2nd gear, or shut the engine off to get into 1st.

Once you're in there though for the TOB, you might as well do the clutch too.

 

[SHO04093]

waht oil to use

Hey guys I was just getting ready to change the oil in my tranny to on my 92 MTX So you guys say that Mobile 1 SYN is the best way to go?

 

[93rev2sev]

Yes mobil 1 syn...6.99 a quart, 3 quarts...buy 4 cause yull spill some.

 

[rcsavage]

ok thanks for all your help guys. guess ill be waking up early on saturday.

 

[SASHO91]

easy way to remove your old fluid....
buy a marine type fuel transfer hand pump... takes a minute or two to get it all out, but well worth it.

Unless you feel like installing a drain plug on the tranny. (not too hard, but you need to be careful)

 

[93rev2sev]

There's a sticky or somethin around here about using a shopvac...I'd try that on cool alone.

 

[SHOFire]

Reminds me of the time I laid some nice patches back at my old high school auto shop compound. 4k rpms, drop the clutch, and held if for a few seconds. It had a little trouble getting into first before I did the burnout(and after), and I knew my clutch was on it's way out anyway, and the fluid was old.

I remeber bieng able to drain the fluid by removing one of the bolts in the tranny, but you had to be careful cause it held a few things in place inside. It was one of the lowest bolts on the front of the transmission IIRC. And I believe there is a plastic or rubber plug in the bottom of the trasmission that plugs a threaded hole beside where the bellhousing bolts up. Take that out, put a bolt in there and your good to go. At least that's how it was in my old 91.

 

[rcsavage]

changed the fluid, it was filthy, put in the new mobil one fluid and drove it for about 20 minutes. it was shifting decently until right when i pulled in my drive way, it wouldnt not go into gear. i had to shut the car off put it in first and restart to get it lined up in the driveway. havent touched it since.

since the only two suggestions were the fluid and the tob, im guessing its time for a clutch job. i dont have a lift and im not gonna be able to have the car up high enough to drop the subframe. what is an appropriate price just for labor to do a clutch job on these cars?

guess im gonna start calling around for quotes. man, i love sho's

 

[SASHO91]

what do you mean you cant get the car high enough? Do you mean you dont have a jack/stands?
I have done countless clutch jobs in the garage.... granted its not fun on your back, but its still do-able....

As for labor, im not really sure.... (i've done all of mine, all but one) but upwards of 300.

 

[rcsavage]

the problem is, im still in highschool, i work wednesday thru sunday, and we dont have an empty garage bay to work in(would have to move the 72 cutlass out). im very mechanically inclined and could definatly tackle the job by myself( i bought josh's dvd) but my dad is 57, a hard ass, and a hot head at times. he would get ****** at the car sitting in the garage for that long and would become very frustrated. i would love to do the job myself, i think it would be a great experience and i would learn more about my car, but theres alot of factors working against me stopping me from doing it.

 

[SASHO91]

Ah, yes. Gotcha.

However, If you're constantly at it, I dont think it should take you more than a day or two...

The second time i did the clutch i had it done it about 8hrs... the first time was about 2 weeks.... had to wait on parts.... you know how that is.
Nowadays, its down to about 6hrs. out/in..(with a helper to move tranny around)I pull the tranny out of the drivers side, with the subframe half on the car, just FWIW.

 

[rcsavage]

you got me thinking about trying to convinve the old man. i know i can do it, i would order all the parts before i started and this way maybe i could save some money for some goodies. i would pull the subframe completly so i could install the alsfb's i got last year for christmas. you have a link handy to the engine support gizmo i need to build? i love being handy but i hate not having the right tools for the job.

 

[SASHO91]

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=9138

 

[SHOtime2511]

you got me thinking about trying to convinve the old man. i know i can do it, i would order all the parts before i started and this way maybe i could save some money for some goodies. i would pull the subframe completly so i could install the alsfb's i got last year for christmas. you have a link handy to the engine support gizmo i need to build? i love being handy but i hate not having the right tools for the job.

what clutch are you looking at getting?