Finiky Clutch

[NewmanJ]

Well yesterday my clutch was actin funny, it kept engaging way to soon, took me lots of hard shifts to diagnose this. Today it went away, but not completely. It still engages faster, but the pedal travel is back to normal. What the heck is going on?

On the transmission topic I have noticed my 2nd gear is the hardest to get into, its farther back than any gear. Is this because of my worn linkage, or is it the gear in the tranny?


Thanks,
Josh

[Josh Q]

If the clutch is engaging too soon (or sooner than normal) than you might be looking at replacing the clutch soon. I've had clutches go out that were fine one day and then bad the next. Check under the car to make sure no oil is leaking down on the trans.

Yeah if you're linkage is sloppy it will be hard to get into all or only certain gears. First and Second on my car are always the hardest ones to get into. It's not terribly hard to get them in gear, but in contrast to the other gears they're harder.

[JSF252]

How much fluid is in the master cylinder? Does the clutch pedal feel "spongy"? You might have a leak or something. Also cant the throw-out bearing come loose from the arm inside the bell housing? I would check the fluid first.
Josh F.

[screaming_bmwe30]

If it's engaging too quickly, sounds like a fluid or slave cyl. prob. If it's worn, it should take a while to engage, like almost take the entire travel of the pedal to engage. The syncros are usually warn the most in 1st and 2nd gear, but if you match the revs with the speed of the transmission, then you shouldn't need the synchro's to match the speeds for you. Replace the sloppy shifter if it is in fact sloppy! I bent a selector fork in my tranny, which basically forced me to put in a new transmission because i missed 2nd two times drag racing. You will love the feeling of a new tight linkage with a short shifter.